Newswise — Kimberly Blockett, professor and chair of the Department of Africana Studies at the University of Delaware, can comment on Donald Trump's recent appearance before the National Association of Black Journalists and remarks he made there regarding Vice President Kamala Harris' race.
Blockett said that the former president's goal was divisiveness when he agreed to attend the NABJ – conceived as a “safe” space for care and advocacy of Black journalists – and insulted three Black women interviewers and questioned Harris’ right to identify as she chooses.
"Divisiveness is a key strategy: Pit minority groups against each other (is she Black or Indian? Immigrants are taking Black jobs, etc.); and pit Black journalists against each other (dissent about Trump being invited to the NABJ)."
Blockett can also discuss the long history of contradiction in codifying race based on erroneous biological theories. Strategies as old as the “one drop rule” originated in 1662 and as recent as racial authenticity tests are aimed at dividing and conquering and ensuring white supremacy, she said.
"To acknowledge the intersectional nature of any person’s identity is to value their humanity. Complexity makes it difficult to assemble the categories necessary for dehumanizing rhetoric, actions and policies."
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