Prize-winning Black author Saeed Jones came under fire on Twitter last week when he said representation would help dismantle white supremacy.
“It’s not that I think “representation will save me.” It’s that dismantling white supremacy requires victories on myriad fronts and representation is one of them,” Jones tweeted on March 15 to his more than 196,000 followers.
Jones is known for his writing and poetry, and it didn’t take long for social media users to come for him for his comment.
“How is representation going to dismantle white supremacy does anyone have even one (1) example,” @jasminprix tweeted in response. “It seems to me that things that make us feel better>> about being in a white supremacist system and things that would actually destroy that system are being conflated.”
“Perhaps for that individual but we’ve had plenty of black ppl in high positions of power and the esteem doesn’t seem to trickle down to the collective. Even if it did it doesn’t affect the material reality of white supremacy,” @aobepurecrush wrote.
“People who ‘just want to see people who look like them in the media they consume’ are exactly why white supremacy will continue to exist because people don’t watch things critically while ideas are being projected to them. That is the work of the C*I*A.,” @Mammals4Life rebutted.
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Still another user @thotscholar responded, “this some middle class sh*, why do y’all refuse to READ history? i bet if we took a look at the facts, i.e. Black firsts, we’d see colorism, classism, & recessive features. read Derrick Bell’s ‘Faces at the Bottom of the Well.’ representation is individualism in blackface.”
Some users came to Jones’ defense, however. “The shouting down of Saeed on this tweet is part of how people decide the left, or movement spaces, aren’t for them. How can we reach folks if we can’t comprehend how and why they get seduced by representation?” @earthseeflower wrote.
“Who said it will dismantle white supremacy? People just want to see people who look like them in the media that they consume. Have y’all come up with a plan to dismantle white supremacy yet? Or are you still just crying into the air whilst sitting on your couch? You get no points,” added @raemiestpret.
After the firestorm of comments, Jones noted he’d appreciated the pushback and would further educate himself. “I learned a lot from the pushback this tweet got. And I appreciate it. I’ve got a lot of reading to do,” Jones tweeted.
