The liberal critique of race argues that racial equality can be achieved through reforming white-dominated institutions. Accordingly, it appeals to the sympathy of whites, and places people of color in a subsidiary role of eliciting sympathy, relating their “narratives” (as the PoMo academy has it) and petitioning and marching and protesting police brutality every fucking year.

The radical critique of race argues that white supremacy can only be destroyed through revolution, through a massive restructuring of American society; through reparations to African-American, Native-American and all colonized Third World communities by whites who have concentrated wealth from their suffering. This necessarily involves resource redistribution. If the tax system was restructured, the public school and health-care facilities of American’s black and brown neighborhoods could be fixed tomorrow. Do we see white liberals fighting for this? No, because they're too materially invested in the current system to get off their asses and do something.

If white supremacy is going to be destroyed, the future must belong to people of color, and whites such as myself and others can play a constructive (but not a central) role in this. We cannot co-opt and paternalistically try to lead anti-racist movements. They aren't ours to take, and the focus can’t be on us! This is something Bartek needs to learn. Narcissism is inculcated in us whites by virtue of experiencing ourselves at the political/cultural center from day one, and we need to STEP THE FUCK BACK if we are to be anything but obstacles in the road to human liberation.