The Term, ” Race War” has come to symbolize Trump’s administration and its overt racist nature. But White Supremacist desire for “race war” in America predates Trump and his administration. When white supremacists use the term “race war,” they are typically describing racial violence on a large-scale between the so-called races, pitting whites against African-Americans, Hispanics, Jews, and other minorities in an existential struggle. Since Trump became president, he has fueled this Racist dream of a race war in America.
The concept of “race war” have a long history in the United States, originating in fears of mass “servile insurrection” or slave revolt in antebellum America. During and after the Civil War, many Americans, convinced or fearful that whites and emancipated blacks could not peacefully coexist, warned of the prospect of a race war. Ohio Congressman Chilton White, for example, opposed the arming of black troops during the Civil War, claiming it would end “in a war between the white and the black races.” Late nineteenth-century author Henry Whitcomb Holley warned of the possibility of “race war.
In the above picture, armed white militia group members gather at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing. Protesters are demonstrating against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for the coronavirus stay-at-home order in effect through May 28. The United States is still reeling from a week of racial tension and graphic violence, and while there is more than enough anger in America, some continue to fan the fire that has been lit during the summer of 2016.
As tension continues to mount, some claim that we’re starting to see the beginning of a race war in America. But in reality, the narrative of racial warfare in the United States goes back two centuries. The Turner Diaries from 1978 — a novel about a race war started to prevent the government from suspending the Constitution. The book seemed to inspire Timothy McVeigh, who carried out the Oklahoma City bombings in 1995.
While the US is moving towards the so-called “race war” other nations like Germany are making positive efforts to address Racism and discrimination by taking the most crucial step of removing the baseless definition of the term, “Race” from their constitution.
According to Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD), the Federal Government wants to have the controversial term “race” quickly deleted from the Basic Law, the country’s constitution.
“There is complete agreement that there are no different races of people,” the politician told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. “That is why we in the Federal Government have agreed to revise the Basic Law at this point,” she stressed. The term should be replaced by a new wording to protect against racism.
“The Basic Law states that no one may be discriminated against on grounds of race,” Lambrecht quoted from Article 3, paragraph 3. “When our constitution was written in 1949, the term was included in order to clearly distance ourselves from Nazi racial ideology”, the Minister explained. However, the use of the term could lead to misunderstandings today and was therefore rightly criticized. “Wherever there is talk of different races, it is mainly prejudices and racist incitement that resurface today”, said Lambrecht.
However, the term should not be removed from the Constitution without replacement. “The Basic Law must protect against racism without talking about ‘race’,” Lambrecht stressed. “It is important that the same protection is guaranteed as before and that those affected do not perceive this as a deterioration,” she added. “I continue to advocate a change as soon as possible,” said the Minister, who is to prepare a draft to this effect together with Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer.
Hamburg and Thuringia intend to present a draft amendment to the Bundesrat this week. According to the Hamburg proposal, the word “race” should be replaced by “racist” elsewhere. The draft states: “No one shall be discriminated against or favored on account of his or her sex, ancestry, language, homeland, and origin, faith, religious or political beliefs or racial discrimination or preference”. Currently, the Basic Law states: “No one may be disadvantaged or favored on account of his or her sex, ancestry, race, language, home, and origin, faith, religious or political views”.
Activists and politicians, across the political spectrum, have called for the word “race” to be deleted from the constitution.
While many social scientists recognized that the term” Race ” as merely a social construct, millions of people tend to view and accept it as a biological and scientific definition and classification of people. On the contrary, the term race was designed to separate people and sustain white supremacist views of the world.
The term “race” is not biology and as such has no biological nor scientific value, but the continued belief in the existence of “race” as a concept provides justification for the continuation of racist policies and calls for racist so-called, “Race war”
Will the US take positive initiatives to address its original sin and for once tackle the issue of systematic racism? Biden has promised the nation that his administration will seek to unite all Americans. I hope that in the spirit of unification, the Biden administration starts the true and sincere dismantling of the so-called” Racial classifications throughout America’s institutions, and languages.
Author: Osayande Aghaze. US-Expert on Global Policy matters, and Human Rights. Afro Word News
