Fundamental Elements of "Black on Black" Racism

This article is about intra-racial discrimination. Black racism is fundamentally rooted in the historical, systematic oppression of people of African descent.

In my first year in senior secondary school, we paid a visit to the Slave Trade museum center in Badagry, Lagos state. It was one of the most heart-wrenching experiences in the early phases of my life, as I was only 13 at the time, and my perspective on humanity changed forever. Before the visit to the Badagry museum, I had only read about racism via Literature and movies; I had never experienced the ambience of hostility, as I was predominantly among my own people, fellow Nigerians.

Fundamental Elements of "Black on Black" Racism

We were privileged to see the point of no return; however, on our visit to the monumental environment, we were reminded that, as black persons, our forefathers and ancestors were taken overseas to work on a plantation in Europe or across America in exchange for mundane products such as gunpowder, mirrors, and ceramic plates. We were lectured on the intricacies of the slave trade and racism; however, no one spoke about how black people are also willing participants in these vile acts.

We need to sit down and reflect on the role of black people in racism.

Who sold the black man to the white man?

Who benefitted from the acquisition of black people? 

To keep it simple, it was other black people. Black people who wanted to enrich themselves at the detriment of their own people and those within their own race. Black people don't care about other black people, and it is an observation of mine.

Understanding Fundamental Elements of "Black on Black" Racism

An imprisoned black man (Photo from the museum)

During my research, I gathered that "Black-on-Black racism" or intra-racial discrimination refers to prejudice, discrimination, or bias within the Black community, where individuals hold discriminatory attitudes toward other Black people based on skin tone, cultural behavior, or internalized societal stereotypes. 

This phenomenon is not distinct from racism in general but rather a byproduct of systemic racism, where the negative societal stereotypes thrust upon Black people are adopted and perpetuated within the community. 

The Problem With the Black Man

The Black man (Written by Okwu Enyia)

The average black person is a religious person. He is either a Christian or a Muslim on the surface level; he claims to love God and wants the best for himself and his household, albeit his methodologies and approach to life say otherwise. Embodied in jealousy, envy, and covetousness, the average black man doesn't see his contemporaries as a human being; he sees him/her like a disposable object that could be flung away with the wind.

Look at how teachers scold their students in school, the Nigerian government, and how they treat their wards, like other black people who ended the lives of nationalists such as Patrice Lumumba, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jnr, to name a few, some black people till this day abhor major animosity towards their contemporaries.

Dishearteningly,  they only see their black brethren the same way the slave traders did back in the 19th-20th century. You are seen as an exchange for a mirror, or in modern times, you are only worth a penny for your time. The black person blames everyone for their own mishap, talks about colonialism and neo-colonialism, tribalism, and racism; however, they never really discuss how they are unwilling to collaborate with their fellow black people to achieve a simple goal, which is progress and excellence.

Black people ought to come together against creed and tribe to achieve the objective of building our race. However, with what I see and perceive, there would always be black people who only see their brethren as a commodity that is worth less than a penny.