After they killed Dr. King, the white power structure decided one thing: never again. They looked at the 1960s — H. Rap Brown, Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, the Panthers, SNCC, the SCLC, the Freedom Rides, the sit-ins — and they saw America brought to the brink of disintegration. They swore there would be no next wave of Black revolution.
They changed the strategy. Instead of fighting our leaders in the streets, they dismantled the infrastructure that made leadership possible.
Phase 1: Economic Strike on Black Men
In the 1970s, they went into the high schools of Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, and across the country — and ripped out the industrial and trade programs. No more carpentry, plumbing, welding, roofing, or electrical work taught to Black youth.
Seventy-five years ago, our grandparents could graduate high school with a skill that paid the bills. They lived better without college degrees than many of us do now with them — because skills meant independence.
At the same time, they pulled industries out of Black neighborhoods and replaced them with prisons. This made the Black man economically irrelevant to the Black woman. And just to seal it, they pushed welfare programs that rewarded households where the man was absent. It wasn’t about helping Black women — it was about breaking the Black family.
Phase 2: Social & Chemical Warfare
In the 1980s, they dropped off the crack — take it or sell it, either way you’re headed to prison. This set the stage for Bill Clinton’s 1994 Crime Bill — the Democratic president who locked up more Black people than any Republican ever did.
Phase 3: Spiritual Strike
By the 2000s, George W. Bush rolled out the “faith-based initiatives” program — offering federal money to Black churches. The price of the check? Stay out of the struggle.
Many churches that once fought gentrification, police violence, miseducation, and economic apartheid retreated to the sidelines. In some cities, pastors even became informants, feeding the FBI information about community activists. The church — once a cornerstone of Black liberation — became a tool for keeping the peace in our oppression.
Phase 4: Divide & Conquer Gender Politics
This all fed a wedge between Black men and Black women. Brothers, stripped of their ability to provide, faced social irrelevance. Sisters, encouraged to “do it alone” by the system, were told they didn’t need their men.
A house divided cannot stand. If Black men and Black women are fighting each other, how can we fight white supremacy? This is an old colonial tactic: divide and conquer, separate and rule.
The Global Connection: Pride Comes from Power
I’ve seen this not just in America, but across the African world. In Jamaica, there are people who say they weren’t from Africa — not because they don’t look African, but because they don’t see African identity as a badge of pride.
It’s the same in South Africa. There’s a population called “coloureds” — mixed race — and they’ll tell you straight up: “I’m not African.” Why? Because African identity has been stripped of its dignity and power.
But here’s the truth: the minute Black South Africans take back the diamond mines and the gold mines, the pride will return overnight. Nobody brags about being on a losing team, but win a championship and suddenly everybody wants the T-shirt. Until Blackness equals respect, many will run from it. Once Blackness equals respect, they will run to it.
The Path Forward: From Survival to Victory
This is why, I want to teach our boys to love who they are — not from a speech, but from seeing that being African is a badge of honor backed by achievement.
As Africa goes, so goes the African world. None of us — in America, the Caribbean, or Europe — will rise to our full potential until Africa rises to hers. We have to make Africa great again. We have to make African people great again.
