Why Are African-American Organizations So Influential in the US?
(China) on 12 October 2017
by Qiu Zhibo (link to original )
This is just one example. If you watch American politics, it is not hard to see the strong mobilization by African-American organizations. African-American groups are often vocal, often organize large-scale protests and are experienced in protecting their interests.
While America has often been called a cultural melting pot, it has never lacked racial conflict. After Trump became president, the problem became worse. While all minority groups are unfairly treated, when confronted with racial crises, African-American organizations are better at coming forward and fighting for their rights. What has created the high-level of mobilization and proactiveness among African-American organizations?
First, there is a long history of African-Americans fighting for equal rights in America. From the abolition of slavery to various civil rights actions, African-American organizations have never been absent from the equal rights movement in the U.S., and sometimes have played a leadership role in the revolution.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s "I Have a Dream” speech is at the core of the confidence of many African-American organizations’ participation in and guiding of political movements. A tradition of protests, marches, speeches and being vocal has made African-American organizations highly value equal rights, and has maintained their awareness of racist behavior. Of course, right-wing groups are critical of such actions, believing these African-American organizations have used political correctness to enjoy excessively beneficial policies, such as the preferential admittance of African-American students to colleges and universities.
Whenever I talk about political movements by African-American organizations with my American friends, they talk about their guilt from the “original sin” of slavery. These friends of mine tend to support left-wing parties, and are more sympathetic toward the civil rights movement. In their view, white American society committed “original sin” toward African-Americans, and the prosperity and wealth whites enjoy is built upon the slavery system.
My left-wing American friends identify with the lack of rights throughout American history; they believe African-Americans should enjoy more preferential treatment to make up for the mistakes white Americans have previously made. The sympathy and support from these whites have earned more support for African-American organizations; this is also why we could often see white participants in political movements protecting the rights of African-Americans.
In addition, famous African-Americans from Hollywood or professional sports, such as movie stars, singers and athletes, also exert enormous influence via social media. Any small-scale action by African-American organizations, even individual actions, are quickly disseminated by these celebrities’ social media accounts and help accelerate the power and promotion of these African-American organizations in the internet age.
The author is a former American-based employee of a Chinese organization.