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www.readmetro.com August 2016
The rebirth of black separatist groups in the USA
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Society. The deaths of African Americans at the hands of white police officers have led to the rise of black separatist groups. Metro investigates whether these organizations could cause increased social unrest in the US. The man who murdered five police officers in Dallas, USA, in July, is believed to have had ties to black power groups. Micah Johnson, a former army reservist, was one of those believed to be a part of a recent rise in black separatist groups, which has not been seen since the 1960s. Although Johnson denied being affiliated with any separatist group during police negotiations, shortly before being killed by an explosivespacked bomb disposal robot, he had begun writing on a black power website just days before his death. Other black power groups denied having links with him and even revealed that he was denied the possibility of joining becasue they considered him “unstable.” The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) reveals that the 25-year-old Johnson was a fan of black separatist hate groups on Facebook and ‘liked’ the New Black Panther Party (NBPP), the Nation of Islam and the Black Riders Liberation Party – all listed by the SPLC as hate groups – on the social network. He also has a Facebook profile photograph featuring him raising a fist in a black power salute, which is associated with the Black Panther Party movement. Specialists warn that the recent murders of young AfroAmericans by the police could effectively contribute to the growth of hate groups. “These continuing police discrimination issues, and other acts of societal discrimination generate and sustain black separatist feelings and many other types of protest groups in US black communities,” Joe Feagin, professor of Sociology at Texas A&M University, told Metro. In fact, in 2015, two years after the birth of the movement Black Lives Matter, a significant growth of black separatist groups was recorded. “The category of black separatist groups was the other area of dramatic growth among hate groups in 2015,
of the most important black separatist groups
New Black Panther Party
Nation of Islam
The New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (NBPP) is a U.S.-based black political organization founded in Dallas, Texas, in 1989. The group portrays itself as a militant, modern-day expression of the black power movement. They frequently engage in armed protests against alleged police brutality and they believe black Americans should have their own nation.
Since its founding in 1930, the Nation of Islam (NOI) has grown into one of the wealthiest and best-known organizations in black America. Its stated goals are to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African Americans in the United States and all of humanity. They have a theology of innate black superiority over whites.
The rise of black power groups / GETTY Q&A
“These groups have only a little support in black communities” Joe Feagin
Professor of Sociology at Texas A&M University
Have the recent deaths of young African Americans at the hands of the police caused the rebirth of black separatist groups? They may have caused a small increase in black separatist groups, but the evidence so far is that these groups remain very small and are increasing only a little. Are US black separatist groups on the rise? with several new groups forming and existing ones growing, often substantially,” according to ‘The Year In Hate And Extremism’, a report published in February by the SPLC. “The number of these black separatist group chapters went up by 59 per cent, from 113 in 2014 to 180 last year.”
The limited evidence we have is that they are still very small, and have only a little support in black communities. Most of the well known ones have been around for some years now. What consequences can generate the rebirth or rise of black separatist groups? Of course, the continuing police shootings of black men have long created justified anger and concern in black communities. White-run police organizations, which unfairly target African Americans, have been created and/or used to “control” them now for over four centuries in the US. Many policing departments were created during our 246 years as a slavery-based society to control enslaved black workers and their families. These and other police departments also oppressed and targeted blacks during our 90 plus years of legal (Jim Crow) segregation, and this extreme racial oppression did not end The growth of black separatist groups could steadily rise if the black community falls victim to white police officers. Should this continue, peaceful movements like Black Lives Matter could be seen as insufficient by more radical supporters. “If today’s #blacklivesmatter activism becomes a massi-
until about 1969. Since then many police departments continue to allow or encourage discrimination in policing, such as racial profiling, which targets our black citizens.” According to your research, what is the main objective of these groups? The black separatist groups are created to protest many types of anti-black discrimination by whites, including police discrimination. Do these groups represent a danger to the United States? No, they are small, and they mostly represent an angry response to continuing anti-black discrimination by whites, especially white policing organizations. When or if whites end that largescale anti-black discrimination, which they created and still sustain now for 400 plus years, then these separatist groups will likely disappear.
ve sustained social movement with a broad range of goals, it is possible that a substantial number of activists could decide that more radical and revolutionary changes, such as racial separatism is necessary and feasible,” Clayborne Carson, Stanford history professor & director of the King Research & Education Institu-
Black Riders Liberation Party The Black Riders Liberation Party (BRLP) is a Black Power organization based in the American state of California. The group claims ideological continuity with the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. The Black Riders make use of paramilitary imagery and rhetorical devices used by the original Black Panther Party in styling itself as a new iteration of the former organization.
te, said. Although statistics confirm a greater presence of black separatist groups after the emergence of Black Lives Matter, which seeks to advocate dignity, justice and respect, experts agree that most of the African-American community does not entirely agree with their extremist vision and hatred towards other communities. “These groups are able to harness anger at injustice to grow their ranks, though most black people want nothing to do with their anti-Semitism or anti-white racism,” Heidi Beirich, director of the Intelligence Project
Nuwaubian Nation of Moors This is a religious organization founded and led by Dwight York. This group mixes black supremacist ideas with worship of the Egyptians and their pyramids, a belief in UFOs and various conspiracies related to the Illuminati and the Bilderbergers. The group’s founder and leader, Dwight York, took extreme advantage of its supporters, sexually abusing children and conning adults out of their possessions.
at the Southern Poverty Law Center, told Metro. Despite the 60 per cent rise in the number of black separatist groups over the last year, these organizations are not seen as a significant cause of social unrest in the United States. “These groups are not known for much violence,” Beirich said. “In general, white supremacists and antigovernment extremists are responsible for much more violence.”
Daniel Casillas MWN