A Few Words About “Uplift Suasion”

Today we are going to talk about “uplift suasion”.

What is “uplift suasion”? you ask.

Uplift suasion is essentially the idea that black people can persuade away racism by being the very best version of themselves that they possibly can, thereby proving all the racist ideas wrong.

Ibram X Kendi, in Stamped From the Beginning, defines it thusly:

This strategy of what can be termed uplift suasion was based on the idea that White people could be persuaded away from their racist ideas if they saw Black people improving their behavior, uplifting themselves from their low station in American society. The burden of race relations was placed squarely on the shoulders of Black Americans. Positive Black behavior, abolitionist strategists held, undermined racist ideas, and negative Black behavior confirmed them.

Uplift suasion doesn’t work.

Why? Two reasons:

First, it assumes that racism is rational. Racist ideas are a rational response to reality, and those who hold racist ideas are simply responding rationally to the reality that they see. Thus, if they can be persuaded rationally that said racist ideas are wrong, then they will let go of those ideas.

You and I both know that is not the case. Racism is irrational; racist ideas exist only to provide justification, however far-fetched, for racist behavior by individuals and racist structures in society. Prove the original racist ideas wrong and racists will only come up with new racist ideas to take their place. We have seen this time and again through the centuries of American history.

Second, black people aren’t perfect. You and I both know that we aren’t perfect. The same is true for black people – even more so if you hold the racist notion that black people are inferior to white people. Yet uplift suasion places the burden of race relations squarely on the shoulders of black people and asks of them the impossible: that they be living proof that racist ideas are wrong by being the very best version of themselves that they can possibly be. If racism persists, then black people are to blame because they failed to be the very best version of themselves that they could possibly be.

You and I both know that is not the case. It is similar to the notion which is all over the place in American evangelicalism that women are responsible to keep men out of sin by dressing modestly. My response to that was, and still is, “Bullshit. Men: You try showing some fucking self-control.” My response to the concept of uplift suasion is essentially the same: White people, you try letting go of your racist ideas.

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