Once in an interview activist Marsha P. Johnson stated, “Darling, I don’t have a job, I’m on welfare. I have no intention of getting a job as long as [America] discriminates against homosexuals.”
Even if you don’t identify as gay, here’s why this statement applies to you.
America’s foundation is dependent on anti-Black, capitalist violence.
Why do we keep giving our time, labor, and genius to this oppressive system?
Hustle and grind culture goes back to enslaved Africans working from sunup to sundown with white enslavers making money from their labor.
Exploitation of Black labor is still the American way, be it modern day slavery within the prison industrial complex or employee burnout seen across the country. 88% of Black women experience burnout in their careers.
With the amount of reparations we’re owed, we shouldn’t have to work or pay for anything. Black dollars hold a lot of weight.
Anti-Blackness is terrified of us standing up to capitalism so they make sure that it feels impossible.
Have you ever wondered what would happen if ALL Black people just refused to pay for anything? Even better, what if we ALL refused to go to work?
While taking down capitalism won’t happen overnight, like Johnson we must realize we’ll never defeat it by feeding into it.