PoC Solidarity: Is it a Myth?

[Chamomile]

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to know all of your opinions about PoC solidarity? PoC solidarity is essentially when PoC band together under the same banner to criticize the oppressive majority in their respective societies to facilitate and incentivize change.

I've been doing some reading on other majority-PoC forums such as LipStick Alley on this matter, and many posters disagree with the notion of PoC solidarity, in the context of the US, because it minimizes the specific struggles that Black people in the US go through in comparison to other groups of color.

However, on the other hand, the other side presents PoC solidarity as a good thing, because if PoC band together, then we are stronger had we not bound together to begin with. And, if we decide not to band together, then this will only benefit the majority group in society.

So I ask:

Is PoC solidarity a myth?
Are all PoC groups that are specific to certain racial groups' struggles, such as Black Lives Matter, entitled to give platforms to other groups of color?
How do we go about banding together without minimizing the struggles of certain PoC groups?

 

[woman]

Yes. Anti blackness is prevalent among all racial minority groups.

 

[Chamomile]

Yes. Anti blackness is prevalent among all racial minority groups.

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I agree. But, isn't anti-Blackness prevalent among the Black community as well? The entire light-skin vs dark-skin debacle and prioritizing the strugges of light skin women versus dark skin Black women seems troubling.

 

[woman]

I agree. But, isn't anti-Blackness prevalent among the Black community as well? The entire light-skin vs dark-skin debacle and prioritizing the strugges of light skin women versus dark skin Black women seems troubling.

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Yes, but that's colorism rather than anti blackness. Not that colorism isn't an issue.

 

[Deleted member 6230]

Yes, but that's colorism rather than anti blackness. Not that colorism isn't an issue.

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No, colorism is something specific and it's a phenomenon that exists in other groups of people not just those of African descent. Look at South Asia.

A black person can internalize and hold anti-black sentiments.

 

[Mammoth Jones]

Ideally solidarity is great. Together we're stronger and able to leverage more to benefit all of our groups. History however paints a different picture. With my peoples I noticed we get used for our numerical advantage then ignored downstream.

 

[woman]

No, colorism is something specific and it's a phenomenon that exists in other groups of people not just those of African descent. Look at South Asia.

A black person can internalize and hold anti-black sentiments.

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You can internalize anti blackness, I agree there. But the user I quoted was referencing the light/dark skin divide within the black community. As far as I know, colorism is the term used to describe that.

 

[SecondNature]

Minorities talk so much crap about other minorities without batting an eye.

 

[Zvonimir Boban]

Minorities talk so much crap about other minorities without batting an eye.

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Sad but true.

I have relatives that do this and it's rubbed off on their kids. Had to take my nephews aside once and let them know that kind of shit doesn't fly in my house. It's just another way that society keeps minorities down, we all recognise that we are discriminated against but still let those same prejudices about other minorities seep into our brains.

It's pretty fucked up.

 

[Deleted member 6230]

You can internalize anti blackness, I agree there. But the user I quoted was referencing the light/dark skin divide within the black community. As far as I know, colorism is the term used to describe that.

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Yeah that's what I know too. Sorry, misunderstood your posts.

 

[Chamomile]

Sad but true.

I have relatives that do this and it's rubbed off on their kids. Had to take my nephews aside once and let them know that kind of shit doesn't fly in my house. It's just another way that society keeps minorities down, we all recognise that we are discriminated against but still let those same prejudices about other minorities seep into our brains.

It's pretty fucked up.

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Yeah, it's strange. I see this mentality being prevalent in first generation immigrants in the US as well.

 

[Red Cadet 015]

Depends on the context. In opposition to oppression by white people? Yes, generally. If put into such a situation, most minorities will band together- at least in America. Exhibit A is Trump.

In a situation where our cultures are oriented counter to one another over a particular subject? No. One example is standardized testing and supposedly "non-biased" evaluations of student performance. I think (speaking as a black person) that black people are culturally at a disadvantage on any type of standardized test because our contributions arent (1) valued as something one should learn in school and (2) aren't reducible to an objective score. This is opposed to other cultures that embrace standardized testing- even more than white people. I generally oppose standardized testing. A person of another race that sees standardized evaluations as normal within their culture might have a different view.

 

[shintoki]

Most definitely There is truth behind the idea, but it always falls apart once issues arise between two groups(Typically from the fuck you, I got mine already attitude)

 

[Chamomile]

Depends on the context. In opposition to oppression by white people? Yes, generally. If put into such a situation, most minorities will band together- at least in America. Exhibit A is Trump.

In a situation where our cultures are oriented counter to one another over a particular subject? No. One example is standardized testing and supposedly "non-biased" evaluations of student performance. I think (speaking as a black person) that black people are culturally at a disadvantage on any type of standardized test because our contributions arent (1) valued as something one should learn in school and (2) aren't reducible to an objective score. This is opposed to other cultures that embrace standardized testing- even more than white people. I generally oppose standardized testing. A person of another race that sees standardized evaluations as normal within their culture might have a different view.

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This raises a good point on standardized testing, which I also disagree with. What type of method would you use to evaluate students, which replaces the traditional testing methods? Should we go for a more holistic model? How do we classify "good" versus "bad" students in this model?

 

[Ryouji Gunblade]

Regardless of whether or not you view Asians as PoC, I am always disappointed in the Asian part of my family's racist remarks and general distrustfulness towards non-whites. Nowadays I call them out on it every time and I wish I started sooner.

 

[Bronx-Man]

I wouldn't say it's a myth, but it's not as tight-knit as it needs to be right now.

 

[ccbfan]

Here's a shocker for everyone.

As an Asian, from my experienc white people are by far the least racist racial group or at least they willing to hide it. The vast majority of my experiences of slanty eye gestures and mock Chinese comes from minorities.

 

[AnansiThePersona]

Yeah I think it's a myth. Maybe it's cynical to think, but there will always be people, regardless of race, that will point fingers at another group as a scapegoat for issues in their communities. To the point that black communities would feel other PoCs struggles are not equal, I can't say that because I don't know every races' struggle, but black people have been dealt a pretty shitty hand in history all things considered. I'd like to think in the near future, we will see more of this solidarity as PoCs become more of a majority, but as long as people like the GOP have power they will point fingers at Muslims, Blacks, and Hispanics, and people will believe them when they do.

 

[Red Cadet 015]

This raises a good point on standardized testing, which I also disagree with. What type of method would you use to evaluate students, which replaces the traditional testing methods? Should we go for a more holistic model? How do we classify "good" versus "bad" students in this model?

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My short answer is that you generally shouldn't. I would replace standardized testing with some sort of teacher "endorsement," where the teacher certifies to the next grade level or college professors that you understand "xyz" concepts well enough to advance to the next stage. If the teacher (or professor) gives bad endorsements, this would lower the teacher's standing. Losing standing would have consequences for teachers professionally like losing tenure or promotional opportunities. There could be different levels of endorsements like "unacceptable, passable, moderate, and exceptional," to differentiate between different skill levels, too.

I'm not an expert on education by any means, but our exclusive reliance on standardized testing is something I'm almost certain we're doing wrong. Ironically, when we have competitions with students from other countries, foreign students do better than us on those standardized tests even though they have fewer tests of the type.

EDIT: Obviously, this raises the problem for the student's end... what if the teacher just doesn't like the student? A way to remedy that would be to require teachers to store their student's assignments for a number of years so the student has some recourse if they want to contest an endorsement.

 

[Aiustis]

It is and it isn't.
Most people feel comfortable in groups amongst their own.
But I find solidarity when I've been in really white situations and places.

e.g. I was in a class with 50 students. All white except me and a Korean girl, who picked me out as a partner for classwork; we bonded over the situation; she invited me to a lot of events (which was nice because I was not very social).
Spent a lot of time around Indian students because they were often the other minorities I was around.
I considered joining the Latino fraternity because they were always inviting me to their events and were all cool peoples.

Usually falls apart when one minority group is doing something against another though.

 

[Zvonimir Boban]

Yeah, it's strange. I see this mentality being prevalent in first generation immigrants in the US as well.

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I think it's because they are indoctrinated into believing that whiteness is the ideal towards which they should strive.