Prince Shakur
Day 27 of #BlackHistoryMonth Black Theory:
Prince Shakur
“Not only must we fight the brutal systems aiming to destroy us‚ but we must do so while recognizing that we are human beings in need of care ourselves. One without the other is not enough to sustain revolution — or life.” The Deadly Side of Activism
“If you want your movement to be as intersectional as possible, then you must understand how policies within your manifesto could disproportionately affect people of color, people living with mental illness, and people living with disabilities — all of whom are more likely to be killed at the hands of police, who are armed with militarized weapons as well. You must seize this moment in the national and global spotlight in a way that speaks truth and respects that dangers that black folks and marginalized communities face every day at the hands of violence, especially from police.” #MarchForMore: A Black Activist’s Response To #NeverAgain
“When we look at both battlegrounds for liberation, whether it be Palestinian or Black, there is an undeniable need to name the various enemies towards autonomy — militarism, racism, xenophobia, Manifest Destiny, and so much more. More than this, it is important to go deeper and pen language that makes tangible connections to how colonialism is the most foundational thread. Colonization is the process of taking another group’s land resources or labor for one’s benefit through social, political, and militaristic manipulations. To comprehend contemporary struggles, we must view colonization as the common antagonist. By recognizing this shared enemy, we can construct frameworks illuminating the contradiction and commonalities at play. To name something is to begin to have the capacity to change it.” Colonialism Is The Enemy To Palestinian and Black Liberation
“The United States of America is a direct byproduct of a British colony, forged by the killing of Native Americans in a show of settler colonialism and then funded by the enslavement of Blacks; both backed by Manifest Destiny, eugenicist medical policies, discriminatory laws, cultural imperialism, and structural inequality. This cocktail of degradation has placed Black Americans in what many Black revolutionaries would describe as an “open-air prison”, a language that harkens to South African apartheid and the current apartheid policies applied against Palestinians.” Colonialism Is The Enemy To Palestinian and Black Liberation
“Many times under colonialism and racial tyranny, what is procedural, like policing or carcerality, is embedded with countless forms of violence. Moving towards Black liberation requires that we disentangle ourselves from the ways that these oppressive systems rule our lives and the lives of others, to find ways to move the needle to improve our material conditions. To demand that Black people exist in this world as more than pawns of white supremacy, that we are not only alive to show the world that we can die.” Colonialism Is The Enemy To Palestinian and Black Liberation
“The Black Arts Movement was deeply rooted in the social and political realities of the time. It sought to challenge and dismantle the oppressive structures that perpetuated racial discrimination, inequality, and violence. The movement’s artists, writers, poets, musicians, and performers aimed to bring about a profound cultural revolution that would redefine the Black experience and challenge mainstream narratives. One of the main objectives of the Black Arts Movement was to establish a distinctive and authentic Black aesthetic. Artists sought to create works that reflected the lived experiences of Black people, their struggles, triumphs, and aspirations. They wanted to reclaim their cultural heritage and express it in ways that were free from white artistic conventions and standards….By providing a platform for Black artists to showcase their talents and express their unique perspectives, the Black Arts Movement aimed to empower and uplift the Black community. It sought to challenge the dehumanization of Black people perpetuated by racist systems and stereotypes, presenting an alternative narrative that celebrated the richness and complexity of Black culture.” The Power of Black Art In Harlem, Black Power, and Beyond
“I don’t want to live in the shadows or margins anymore. I deserve more, my Black body and all.” The Struggle To Find the Love I Deserve as a Gay Black Man | Well+Good
“We must define our realities for ourselves in more daring ways, with more daring art, each time” What ‘Poetic Justice’ Can Teach Us About Black Art Beyond Trauma
“When we consider the role of corporations, power dynamics, and the imperialism of first world nations, the question of how to effectively change the lives of exploited migrants and all people changes from the traditional idea of how to act politically. When regular people (and not politicians or the elite) can no longer depend on their institutions to protect them (#TaxScamBill , travel ban, Hurricane Maria, Trump’s attempt to build a wall between the U.S.A .and Mexico, sexual misconduct accusations against Trump, the War on Drugs under Duterte’s rule in the Philippines, etc), the question then becomes one of revolutionary potential, “How do we take care of each other when our own governments aim to allow the degradation/exploitation of ourselves and others?”” A Deeper Look At the Libyan Slave Trade As A Black American“When making ill-informed judgments on what is happening abroad, especially as people of privilege in the United States, we make the error of what many politicians do in their diplomatic action steeped in imperialism. We spread misinformation and do more harm than good. By talking candidly with others, you begin to insert a narrative that many people choose to ignore. The beginning of any social movement or significant social change is the understanding that we refuse to go back to ignorance, apathy, and inaction.” A Deeper Look At the Libyan Slave Trade As A Black American
“When we map out the many ways that our institutions and figures are connected to events that degrade and destroy the lives of marginalized bodies, we begin to see the interconnectedness of our struggles with the struggles of others as well. This is a core element of effective, meaningful solidarity.” A Deeper Look At the Libyan Slave Trade As A Black American
“When we take the opportunity to build and act with the people around us, we see who our friends are in the struggle towards a better world. We start to carve out a reality where a tragedy abroad means a tragedy at home as well, so we have no choice, but to act.” A Deeper Look At the Libyan Slave Trade As A Black American
“I shouldn’t have to ask you how you’d react if I died at the hands of a cop’s gun for you to pull your head out of your feelings to see the reality. We are all in danger. The world is political. Whiteness and white comfort is not only assumed “normal”. It’s a “normal” worth defending by brutalizing, killing, and imprisoning others in the sake of capitalism and white supremacy. It is your job as a white person to attack white supremacy. If I die, I want you to cry for me but not really me. I mean, the collective me, the black bodies with endless stories and centuries’ old grudges that you often overlook. I want you to realize that I have broken in places that can never be fixed and that is because more people did not speak up, block roadways, create autonomous zones, or act upon the need for a better world.” To White Friends That Disappoint
“If you want to be a good white person to the black people in your life, be reliable. Check in on your black comrades. Respond accordingly. Be angry and not passive to the white apparatus that has crafted your understanding of yourself. Destroy that apparatus daily. Figure your shit out with your openly anti-racist white friends (if you even have them), then come to black people ready to destroy what is present and built what is better for all.” To White Friends That Disappoint
“What about the slave ships, the shackles, the salt water and the rats gnawing at dead bodies piled on top of each other in those seaward vessels of wood? What about the Japanese internment camps? The bombings? The drones? The corralling of indigenous people to schools meant to “civilize” them? The police raiding gay bars, shoving women to the ground, ripping wigs off of people in drag, spitting on them in jail cells? What about the conversion therapy programs? What about bringing Christian fundamentalism to an island that my family calls home and teaching homophobia? I look around and I see people sitting in their homes, quiet and gentle and numb as they watch the news and I fear that will be me one day. I don’t want to sleep walk through my life, working job after job for my own benefit as the world continues to turn. So where does black rage go?” Black Power and Police Brutality: Where Does Black Rage Go?
“It’s easy to believe in your right to love, life, and longevity when the entire world seems to validate it. But what do you do when the world does not? What do you do when your people have been shackled, whipped, raped, lynched, permed, renamed, spit on, shoved into barrels, had crosses burned in their yards by white terrorists, cry after shootings in their churches, read books about false histories and stay silent, silent, silent, quiet, timid, afraid? How do we escape this labyrinth of suffering? Acknowledge our rage and use it as a means to dismantle the very systems that we were forced into building?” Black Power and Police Brutality: Where Does Black Rage Go?
“We must acknowledge that this suffering is systemic and real. It kicks down the front door, shots tear gas into a living room and murders the little girl sleeping on the couch. It’s me confiding to a room of mostly white people a week ago about the racism in Montana and being told, “But Prince sometimes you’re too sensitive.” It’s the kink in your neck when you wake up from a bad dream and realize that life, this reality is part of the nightmare. It starts with the acknowledgment that the struggle for freedom is going to hurt, but would you rather let the suffering go on?” Black Power and Police Brutality: Where Does Black Rage Go?
“Black rage has taught us how to love so deeply that we continue to exist in a world that has branded us criminals. It allows us to find beauty in the darkness, where all things are created. It emboldens us to believe that we deserve “a better forever”. Maybe black rage never went anywhere. It’s just a matter of how we use it.” Black Power and Police Brutality: Where Does Black Rage Go?
Links:
Website -
YouTube -
https://www.youtube.com/c/PrinceShakurYoutube
Writings -
https://level.medium.com/the-deadly-side-of-activism-900cefd92a50
https://princeshakur.substack.com/
https://princeshakur.medium.com/
Interviews -
The Beautiful Idea
https://zencastr.com/z/AN3xzaVz
Electric Literature: A Queer Black Anarchist’s Journey to Find Liberation in America and Abroad
https://electricliterature.com/prince-shakur-memoir-when-they-tell-you-to-be-good/
Prose and Protest
https://ohiocenterforthebook.org/podcast/prose-and-protest-with-prince-shakur/