"Non-Racist France" is Blazing with Unrest
Why declaring yourself non-racist doesn't actually solve racism
What is necropolitics and why is it relevant for social justice today? The term references the politics of death and is a critique of the way some people are seen as human while others are seen as being expendable.
Perhaps as concerning as the injustice of killing certain groups of people, with full impunity, is the moral apathy which enables people to shrug their shoulders in response. Why are so many Bible Scholars and Theologians able to look the other way during times of death and precarity? What value does theology have if it doesn’t provide us with opportunities to critique where we are? How can theology create better understandings of our relationship with God, self and neighbor?
When nations declare themselves “non-racist” while simultaneously creating a non-livable existence for people of color, because they are people of color, what does it say about the way we create nationalist identity?
Today, we must ask this question: what do Black people have to say about racism in France? It's clear that the necropolitics of Western countries must be challenged, adjudicated and ended.
In addition to other systemic approaches which thwart justice making efforts, refusing to hear from Black people and other people of color creates an opportunity ripe for social unrest and rebellion. There is no amount of “Black proximity” which justifies having non-Black people speak on behalf of Black people.
It may be tempting to just keep saying that racism is an “American” problem while causing irreparable harm to Black and Brown communities. But doing so provides the kindling to the fire of reckoning.