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On this Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, let's talk about the Magic Negro Syndrome

On this solemn day when we celebrate the only American who has his own national holiday, I think it's fit and proper to reflect on something which came into stark relief with the stupid tweet which fronts this piece.

Blake Hounshell of Politico thought it appropriate to shame Michelle Obama for not riding in on her white horse to save the country.

Now, needless to say, he's being ratioed to death. And, as our own BB said, this was probably what he wanted. As the old adage goes, no publicity is bad publicity.

But his risible tweet speaks to a deeper problem among much of white liberal America: The need for a non-white savior.

Dr. King is the prime example of this. He is now an anodyne exemplar of racial reconciliation. People forget his lacerating criticisms of milquetoast white moderates. They forget his growing radical opposition to the Vietnam War. They forget his growing critiques of American capitalism, and America's neglect of the poor of all races. For too many, he's a figure singing "We Shall Overcome," without acknowledging just how much he had said needed to be overcome by April 1968. In the mind of much of white liberal America, he is a savior who imparted no harsh lessons; he merely soothed their faint anguish. He never cast the money-changers out of the Temple. He's as mild-mannered in their conceptions as they are.

This is the "Magic Negro Syndrome". Although it takes its name from Black America, it applies to any person of color whom White America latches onto to salve its soul. As a Latino, I'm not immune to this; I wrote a piece years ago on the former blog about a white man who, brazenly, while I was on the reference desk, sought fit to wax lyrically about how proud he was of me, a man from a rural Cuban background, being as smart and accomplished as I was. (Nevermind that my family was from Havana, nevermind that my family valued education above all else. For him, I was a figure of white American benevolence, accepted because I "did the right things". Hell, I was even "whitesplained" by one person in the comments to that piece, which added insult to injury.)

You can also call it the "Bagger Vance Syndrome," the magical Black caddie who helped a white golfer discover his groove. Instead of looking within themselves. too much of liberal white America searches for someone from outside of their community to save them, rather than doing the hard work of joining with communities of color to save everyone, including the white people who vote for people like Donald Trump.

I need to tell no one who reads this blog that both Barack and Michelle Obama are subject to this Magical Negro Syndrome.

As I tweeted (including Hillary for good measure, because she lost in part due to her centering white racism in her campaign):
The Obamas did everything they could aside from taking your ass to the voting booth and voting for you. At some point, people have to take responsibility for their own choices. We're seeing this from the much-maligned white female vote, which has turned, if polls are accurate, decidedly against the New Order. White men? Well, I have no explanation. Fear and loathing are a hell of a drug.

White liberals who cry for saviors who are people of color have to ask themselves this: Why? Why are you doing this? Why aren't you taking it upon yourselves to speak to members of your community who vote for evil? Why aren't you talking to your Fox-watching grandmother? It might make no difference, it might change not a single mind. But it's not the job of Blacks or Latinos or Asians or Native Americans to fix racism and bigotry. We have our own crap to deal with. Systemic racism is by, of, and for White America. The work isn't with Barack Obama, or Michelle Obama, or Dr. King. Hillary Clinton tried—and continues to try—to show you the way, as well as other white liberals who center anti-racism in their politics. Follow their example.

But Michelle? Naw. She's good. She did her bit.
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