The Hard Truth… Traitors!

29th July 2013   ·   0 Comments

By Min. J. Kojo Livingston
Contributing Writer

They are not a new phenomenon.

According to current surveys, they are the 14 percent of our number that support George Zimmerman’s murder of Trayvon Martin.

Before that, they were the six percent of our number that voted to make David Duke governor of Louisiana.

Before that, they were the very vocal Black opposition to the Civil Rights Movement.

Before that, they were the Black slaves that betrayed nearly every major Black slave revolt in history.

Before that, they helped whites capture free Afrikans and turn them into slaves.

Before that, they helped Euro­peans colonize their own once-free nations.

They have become an integral part of our history, a factor in literally anything we do to make progress or seek justice. They are an embarrassment and an impediment that any group of people must overcome if they are to ever rise or accomplish anything of value.

They are the traitors, the sellouts, the enemy within.

They are the undercover agents sent to infiltrate most Black organizations, the anti-Black Blacks that conservatives and media trot out to condone the newest racist outrage or the so-called negro leader who is paid to keep Black people running in circles, they all serve the same ultimate cause…the betrayal of Black people.

Every group has them but we are nicer and more tolerant of ours than other groups are. That may explain why they are not so prevalent in other cultures.

They may do what they do for different reasons but the result is the same.

First, there is the true-believer. What Franz Fanon calls “Inter­nalized Racist Oppression” or racist brainwashing/indoctrination, (self-hatred) has taken root so deep that they actually believe that white people are their god, that white is always right, regardless of the facts of a case. These people will turn on you, spy on you, betray you for nothing more than the sheer satisfaction that they are doing “marsa” a favor. They neither ask nor expect any compensation; a “good boy” or “good gal” and a pat on the head from their master is enough for them. Many believe they are doing the will of God.

These are the minority.

The vast majority of traitors to the Black race are the sellouts. These are the ones who are paid or compensated in some other way for their service in supporting, endorsing or aligning themselves with racist people, racist acts, racist policies, racist statements, racist events, racist viewpoints, etc. Not all traitors do this on a full time basis. The vast majority of Black elected officials sell us out regularly. They don’t want to offend white people by asking dangerous questions or taking courageous stands on even the most obvious of issues. But when it is safe, they will “jump militant” often enough to give the appearance that they are working for us. This is also true with many ministers and civil rights leaders. Much of what happens with them is done “under the table” so you don’t know that you have been betrayed until late in the game…if ever.

In fact turning on Black people is a profitable business. Although I am not a very high-profile individual, if I would turn on Black people I would be handsomely rewarded. My fiscal status would change immediately. Any Black person, no matter how unknown or unqualified, who speaks out against Black people becomes an instant celebrity/hero with racist/conservatives. They are suddenly on the lucrative speech and media circuits. They are praised for their “new perspective” and “fresh honesty” regardless of how old or inaccurate their rhetoric is.

These sellouts know their job: to justify any attack or offense against us, regardless of the scale or severity. Just recently we have seen them in the media justifying not only the stalking (against police direct orders) and shooting of an unarmed Black teen for minding his own business, but they also justify all racial profiling and any killings that may result. “The problem is Black people,” they say.

Their mission has more to do with emboldening and massaging the conscience of white people than it is about trying to confuse or deceive Black people. They can also be a time-wasting distraction from the work of pursuing real and total liberation.

Other activists laugh at me for being amazed how far these people will go in their conscious, willing service to white supremacy. But I am often also surprised at who chooses to side with racists. This happened recently as we began the boycott of Essence Fest and magazine.

As we move forward and things get more dangerous for our people, many of our number will find it safer and more profitable to side with our enemies. We will have to create an internal environment that makes betrayal an undesirable option. We must instruct our children at an early age about the value of loyalty to the race. We must find creative and effective ways to expose sellouts and hold them accountable.

Our resolve to move our people forward must be greater than that of any enemy…internal or external to destroy us or move us backward…
…and That’s the Hard Truth!

This article originally published in the July 29, 2013 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.