Kewku’s Korner
Kweku Akyirefi Amoasi, formerly known as Ramel Smith
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results in a hundred battles.” –Sun Tzu The Art of War
By Kweku Akyirefi Amoasi
Since Bacon’s Rebellion, colonizers understood that the masses armed in solidarity was a problem. In North America, especially for children of diaspora, racism has been the predominant evil that has kept a people enslaved and relegated to a second-class citizenship. However, Malcolm X stated there are other populations that have also been politically exploited, economically exploited, and socially degraded. Fred Hampton recognized this and created the original Rainbow Coalition. He understood there was serious cultural differences; but, the Lords (Latino), Patriots (White Appalachians), and Panthers (Afrikans) had more in common; and, if they banded together, they could create a coalition to dismantle the oppressive system.
The colonizers learned to create conflict over made-up terms that separate natural allies. In America, the enemy defines you, names you, dictates your culture, language, and religion. Citizens who fail to assimilate into the ethnocentric values of this society are doomed to be ostracized by the dominant culture. As a result, each successive generation of immigrants, to become “American,” goes through a process of acculturation.
Remember, Sun Tzu? The second part of his quote states “If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.” Colonizers have a 400-year head start and just need to maintain the pace. This will allow the status quo to remain unchanged. That is why Derrick Bell stated, “the more things change, the more they stay the game.” Colonizers do not care that a few people from an ostracized group make it out. Hell, they use it as justification for the others trapped in a suffocating system that their inability to succeed is due, solely, to their indolence.
Who is the enemy? The enemy is White Supremacy. White is not a color, it’s an attitude of power that creates systems of injustice. This is why BIPOC people can participate and help to promote White Supremacy. In America, the top percent owns 66% percent of the wealth. Of that 10% the top 1% owns over 30% of the wealth. America is so wealthy, that the bottom 50% maintain while splitting less than 3 percent of the wealth. Most of the time we have trouble defeating the enemy because we aid and abet the enemy. The last part of the Sun Tzu quote is “if you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
I accept my American citizenship, but I ain’t Black. I am an unapologetically Afrikan. My enemies are those who created and perpetuate systems of injustice. My allies, those who fight injustice for everyone, everywhere! I recognize the team that will dismantle this oppressive system will look different than the team I originally envisioned.
What if the enemy of my enemy was always my friend? Ask yourself, is it a coincidence that when Malcolm X wanted to bring charges to the UN, that when King wanted to redistribute the economic pain, that when Hampton wanted to create a rainbow coalition, that when Gaddafi wanted to create an African currency, they were all vilified and killed? Revolutionaries do not speak truth to power only, their actions dismantle powerful regimes.