Reddit reviews Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness?: What It Means to Be Black Now

* sigh *

/r/BlackAtheism, we need to get around to writing this FAQ: http://www.reddit.com/r/BlackAtheism/comments/r9bfa/interested_in_writing_a_rblackatheism_faq/

We address this ALL the damn time.


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Now to you, antisyzygy

Read the following and come back:

read these and tell me where you stand afterwards BEFORE you reply:

http://www.reddit.com/r/BlackAtheism/comments/rcy7h/a_case_for_equality_my_problem_black_atheism/


http://www.reddit.com/r/BlackAtheism/comments/r7f43/calling_out_racism_on_the_site_of_rdf_richard/

http://www.reddit.com/r/BlackAtheism/comments/r9b4s/tim_wise_on_white_privilege_yes_even_atheists/

http://www.reddit.com/r/BlackAtheism/comments/m3t30/black_atheists_act_white/

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/fashion/african-american-atheists.html?pagewanted=all



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This is a response I typed to someone else that basically directly applies to you. Don't take offense:


In short, we don't like having to segregate ourselves or give the appearance that we are doing just that....but these differences DO exist and are barriers to the promotion of atheism.

/r/BlackAtheism was started because of a few reasons:

1. /r/atheism constantly asks where all the minorities in the atheism movement are
   
   
2. There was no one place for minorities to associate with other minorities.
   
   
3. atheists, even on /r/atheism, have often shown themselves to be incapable of understanding the concepts of racism, sexism, and classism. All of which are real things and have present consequences. You see a majority of reddit suffers from white-privilege. While it hurts to say it, its true and frankly not everyone is able to deal with it in the same way.
   
   
4. there is a lack of concentrated content pertaining to minority atheists.
   
   
5. There aren't that many places for minority atheists on the internet.
   
   
6. The community of minority atheists is growing larger. Just check the campaign for minority humanists here: http://aahumanism.net/we_are_aah
   
   
7. atheism doesn't account for marginalized groups who aren't able to express themselves. Ask yourself why its appropriate to have female, lgbt, and ex-(insert religion) reddit groups. Are they not pinching off into their own?
   
   
   See the fun part about pretending to be post-racial is that it doesn't exist if the things we're combating ...still exist.
   
   We can act like trayvon wasn't black... and he was just a boy senselessly murdered, or we can realistically assess the influence race had in the situation.
   
   By coming together we fight the stereotypes, not the other way around. We're not self-segregating, we're unifying to lead the charge and show our influence. Diffusion hardly ever works the we way we think it does.
   
   Minority groups of any status in the history of the world never got ahead by asking for acceptance. They created their own and forced their way in.
   
   We have no problem melding into the larger diaspora...but we have to feel welcomed and we cant do that if minorities aren't aware of their power to speak out and know that they have support.
   
   Imagine if we had more black celebrities challenging religion in the public sphere. It would be hard for them to do that if they weren't aware that a community exists for them to even represent. Otherwise they would be somewhat crazy to just project themselves into a realm of uncertainty without knowing how they might be received.
   
   Its nice to be a leader in your own right, but its even better to know that you're actually leading a group that can be defined and who is actively listening.
   
   I too long for a period where race doesn't matter, but that won't happen if we ignore the influence that concepts of race currently have. For example, white people have learned to curb their bias and lessen their prejudice ONLY AFTER BEING AWARE THAT INJUSTICES EXIST. We can't expect them to have learned it any other way. Their understanding of our perspectives would have never reached us if we didn't force them to listen.
   
   You can't change anything if you're never aware of it.
   
   
   Not only are we small in number but visually, we're different from the majority of the demographic in this country.
   
   Granted /r/blackatheism can extend beyond the borders of the USA and often does, the fact remains that minority atheists are few and far inbetween...at least the open ones that is.
   
   Who knows what the future holds. 50 years ago imagining even a 1/2 black president was a long shot.
   
   We're seeing religion fall apart at a rapid rate.
   
   We just had the largest gathering of Atheists in American History yesterday in DC.
   
   Things are changing...
   
   But all we know is that RIGHT NOW... /r/BlackAtheism is fulfilling a need that exists presently.
   
   We can talk about "disbanding" once we feel that we no longer have to explain the complexities of not only being an atheist, but also being a minority atheist.
   
   Again, you're so stuck on being "post-racial" that you're failing to see the problems that race causes right now. Those who are discriminated would LOVE for race not to be an issue. Wouldn't you think?
   
   We didn't invent the word "black"...they did.
   
   Toure has a book out now that I think you should check out on being "Post-Racial": http://www.amazon.com/Whos-Afraid-Post-Blackness-Means-Black/dp/1439177554
   
   Also, try to learn about things like White Privilege and why just saying "race doesn't matter anymore" doesn't equate to that just being true. http://www.reddit.com/r/BlackAtheism/comments/r9b4s/tim_wise_on_white_privilege_yes_even_atheists/
   
   I never try to use the race-card in my personal life...but many times I find that others aren't unwilling to do so. So I have to remain vigilant of the ways that others choose to encounter me. Its just how things currently are.
   
   Just remember this. Whenever you ask why we needing to use terms of being "black atheists" and other terms that "segregate" us, try to see if whenever you do that if others are willing to accept your termination of the phrase. If they fail to see it, then you still have some ways to go.
   
   As I personally and presently see it, as a black atheist, I feel welcome into larger communities like /r/Atheism, but the arena for discussion whenever race gets brought up sinks DEEPLY into racist, ignorant, and generally misinformed perspectives about how minorities really live.
   
   Being an atheist is nothing special. We're all born atheists, some of us get reminded of this sooner than others.
   
   Atheists can be just as racist, just as ignorant, just as silly and just as inconsistent about other topics as well.
   
   On the topic of race, gender, and sexuality, the atheist community has a long way to go and we're trying to do what we can to meet that need.

You should check out this book by Toure: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1439177554/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

Basically about how being black has nothing to do with the hip-hop ghetto ignorant thug image. How people will tell a black man that he's "not black" because he's educated and speaks properly.