Are rightwing black people traitors to the cause? Of course they’re not | Kenan Malik

The reaction to Kanye West’s view on slavery shows the need to listen to all sides

‘I feel the pressure, under more scrutiny/ And what do I do? Act more stupidly,” rapped Kanye West on Can’t Tell Me Nothing. And act more stupidly he then did. He began by embracing Donald Trump as “a brother” and ended by suggesting slavery had been a “choice”.

The backlash was swift. From 50 Cent to Spike Lee to Roxane Gay, celebrities, scholars and seemingly half of Twitter pushed back, pointing out the imbecilic character of West’s comments on slavery. Not only had savage force been used to capture, transport and maintain transatlantic slaves, but, despite the brutality, slaves had constantly rebelled against their condition, heroically and at great cost.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2jRA6ik