Killing Rage: Ending Racism

hooks opens by describing historical bonding between Black people based on skin color, as well as racial background, including some light-skinned Black people who chose not to pass for white but to assert their Blackness. In the 1960s, militant revolutionaries encouraged this behavior and called for people to love Blackness openly. However, some Black people believed that one proved one’s Black “identity by the manner in which one responded to whiteness” (241). She notes that there were Black folks who assimilated and took on white values, as well as separatists who believed Black values were fundamentally different from white values.

Later, she adds, when some Black people began to gain power in the capitalist system, conceptions of Blackness changed. This was due to racial integration replacing segregation after the civil rights movement. Some separatists assert that Black identity is static, while other people believe identity changes. Black nationalists also insist that Blackness is unitary or can be represented in one way. hooks quotes Marimba Ani about Afrocentricity, which centers on the lives and outlooks of African people, rather than Europeans. However, hooks notes that the interests of African people are not all the same, and she warns against adopting a utopian and unitary ideal of Africa.

Next, hooks criticizes Black nationalists who “uphold a vision of patriarchal family life” (244), arguing that it is important to question the male-centered family structure. She observes that, when Black feminists ask these questions, they are treated as traitors. hooks notes that some nationalist groups utilize progressive language about gender to gain new members, but inside the group, they value the intellectual work of men more than women. Many Black nationalists consider feminism and will not discuss Malcolm X’s progressive points about gender. hooks argues that focusing on the patriarchal family structure shows how Black men want to have power over women.

Black nationalists need to change conceptions of Black identity so it is “not sexist, homophobic, patriarchal, or supportive of capitalism” (246). hooks and other Black people who are not nationalists challenge patriarchy and capitalism. hooks states that Black identities can include aspects that are not part of traditional Blackness, and she quotes Cornel West about a new framework for Black identity that is diverse and can be questioned, though it does need to be formed outside of white supremacy. hooks notes that many Black people focus on race and do not discuss class and sexuality, adding that the unitary conception of Black identity has endured because it is connected to the history of Black resistance.

Challenging white supremacy is an ongoing process, hooks adds, and one that is based on what you do rather than who you are. Change is an essential part of a fluid Black identity, and fluidity and diversity are important in the quest for liberation and Black self-determination.

hooks begins by claiming that patriarchal values and a lack of coalition building lead to the adoption of capitalistic values in Black communities, which ultimately prevents people from overcoming racism. White power leaders worked to undermine the struggle for Black liberation with assassinations, imprisonment, and the disruption of Black leaders. They also aided specific Black men who assimilated white values, especially in academia, in gaining financial and social status. hooks argues, therefore, that there is a tension between succeeding in academic institutions and being able to be a public speaker for the masses. Black nationalists will reach a wider audience if Black intellectuals stay within predominantly white institutions.

hooks advocates for critical vigilance, stating that criticism should be offered only alongside new strategies for radical social change. She discusses how academic jargon can make progressive thought inaccessible. hooks, and others like her, use the terms that Black conservative nationalists use, such as Black liberation struggle and Black self-determination. However, she offers a different context for them, namely, as ways to improve the lives of Black people. She argues that there should be more accessible classes outside of academia that teach people to disassociate well-being from the excessive consumption of material goods. These classes can counter the narratives presented by capitalist media about the importance of luxury items. hooks adds that the idea that consumption is success causes some Black people to commit crimes since they see unethical white people succeeding and wish to emulate them.

hooks argues that more attention should be paid to how television promotes capitalism in Black communities than to how rap music harms Black communities. Many Black people who become famous in white-dominated media are chosen by white people due to their ability to assimilate. hooks contrasts Malcolm X with Louis Farrakhan in terms of their opinions about capitalism. To achieve Black self-determination, hooks contends, people must decolonize their minds. Decolonization includes learning about the history of resistance, about the institutionalization of white supremacy, and about the media. Critical literacy is key.

Next, hooks condemns bourgeoisie values held by Black people. Unlike Malcolm X, who was critical of capitalism, many Black people want financial success and material goods. She clarifies that she is only condemning excessive consumption and hoarding of wealth, not advocating for austerity. hooks also argues that spirituality outside of patriarchal institutions offers guidelines about how to live simply and avoid excess. She notes that Black people will only gain self-determination if they overcome sexism, homophobia, classism, and nationalism. Black self-determination requires people to take responsibility for changing the world. The goal is to overcome “neo-colonial white supremacy” for not only Black people, but all people (261). hooks envisions traveling schools that can teach people all over the US and tailor their education to the specific needs of different people. She imagines that at these schools people would learn critical consciousness as well as skills needed to change their lives.

hooks laments the fact that racism hasn’t ended. She longs for “a place for the beloved community” (263). She discusses how Martin Luther King Jr. envisioned a place where skin color wasn’t seen. hooks argues that this idea is flawed because it emphasizes erasing differences. She asserts that Black people need to be able to imagine a positive vision for the future, as well as be able to discuss the issues of the present. hooks gives the personal example of working with activists in Appalachia and how decolonizing their minds made small beloved communities possible.

hooks continues by emphasizing the central role of love in radical justice. She argues that “love is the antithesis of the will to dominate and subjugate” (265). Part of this love is affirming differences and being committed to the anti-racist struggle. She warns against following religious fundamentalists and notes that Black nationalists and separatists are cynical about the potential of ending white supremacy. When segregation ended, many white people claimed they were not racist anymore. However, they did not challenge the white supremacist thinking that permeates the media and academia. These people fear Black people, when it is Black people who are the victims of violence.

hooks supports this claim with the example of a colleague of hers at an academic institution. This white woman was sexually assaulted by a Black man, which caused her to fear all Black men. However, she was vigilant in her commitment to anti-racism and overcame those feelings of fear against Black people who were not her attacker. Next, hooks warns against internalized racism that causes Black people to think they are lesser than white people. She says that there are white people, like her friend, who are anti-racists, and so Black people should not hate all white people. While some white people are still committed to racism, hooks contends that there is no inherent racism, only learned racism.

She adds, furthermore, that the idea of inherent racism is an excuse for white people not to take responsibility for their racist actions. They, and Black people, have to continuously work at being anti-racist. However, many people have feelings of hopelessness about the future. These can be overcome by committing to collective action for racial justice and pursuing the vision of the beloved community. People—like hooks—who have created small beloved communities and can envision a positive future for larger ones need to make their voices heard. Beloved community, she says, is where differences are celebrated, problems are addressed, and borders are crossed. Longing for this community will sustain activists through the struggle that is to come.