Brown is the New Black

Racism Circles Back to an Old Target

Arasmus Photo, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Common

The Hispanic man in the photo, face down on the floor with three members of law enforcement pinning him down, is Alex Padilla, a United States Senator from California. I can think of times in the recent and distant past when members of Congress have been arrested. I have no recollection of a Senator or Congressman on the ground being handcuffed in the manner of George Floyd. Alex Padilla has served as a Senator since 2021. First appointed to fill the seat of Kamala Harris when she was elected Vice President. He was then elected to a full term in 2022 in a general election. In his brief tenure, Padilla has learned that he can’t do what they do. Brown is the new Black!

In the history of America, brown people descended from Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies have always been held in contempt. During the period of westward expansion known as Manifest Destiny, the United States considered absorbing Mexico as part of its territorial expansion. Senator John C. Calhoun summed it up, saying we didn’t want to take over Mexico because it contained too many Mexicans.

“I know further, sir, that we have never dreamt of incorporating into our Union any but the Caucasian race — the free white race. “We have conquered many of the neighboring tribes of Indians, but we have never thought of holding them in subjection — never of incorporating them into our Union. They have either been left as an independent people amongst us, or been driven into the forests.” — John C. Calhoun

Donald Trump made it clear he considered El Salvador, Haiti, and other brown nations, “shithole countries” along with all African nations. He spoke of Mexico as being full of criminals and racists.

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best,” he said in the same speech. “They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

“They are not our friend, believe me. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” — Donald Trump

There are parallels in the evolution of America's Black and brown populations, but not exact. Neither the Black nor the brown communities are monoliths. Black people are separated by country of origin, whether they relocated recently from Africa, Haiti, the West Indies, or have been in America for several generations. There is the divide of colorism as well. Hispanics are widely diverse, with Cubans differing from Mexicans, Central Americans, Puerto Ricans, and others. Colorism affects that community as well. To varying degrees, both have been infected with the false hope of being treated as if they were white when all the evidence suggests it won’t happen.

The illusion of freedom and equality has long been known to be a farce among Black people. The first “free” Black people in America knew that at any time they could be thrown into enslavement if they couldn’t prove their free status or ran into a slavecatcher who didn’t care. When enslavement ended, that practice was replaced by the Black Codes and later, Jim Crow. Certainly, gains have been made throughout history, but it has often been the case of two steps forward and one, two, or three steps back.

America has a caste system in which brown people have not been treated well, but are considered a step above Black people. This dates back to the days after Bacon’s Rebellion, when race became the factor that drove our economic system after white and Black indentured servants were joined with enslaved people to burn down Jamestown. The new system made Black slaves the lowest rung of the ladder, with the poorest white person a step above. Brown people were somewhere between the two.

In some communities in South Florida and elsewhere. Brown people, because of their density, were able to form a power base with a semblance of control. For political reasons, Cubans were encouraged to emigrate, but that was more about resisting Russian influence than welcoming Cubans. It may be possible to walk around Little Havana in Miami and believe brown people had achieved equality, the same was once true of Black people in Harlem. Yet white supremacy has ways of making itself known, most recently with the current immigration and deportation policies.

A brown person in America must now be careful walking the street. Masket ICE agents at any time may swoop in and demand proof of citizenship or face immediate deportation. Brown people are not safe in hospitals, churches, schools, or Home Depot. Those who considered themselves safe and even supported the current policies have watched as their neighbors, family members, and friends have been caught up in these cruel policies. Cubans and Venezuelans, once considered welcome, have been betrayed by new travel policies.

“It’s yet another demonstration of how, in this white supremacist order, any alternative subject who demonstrates otherness — and that’s the case in Cuba, even if they don’t want to admit it — will be marginalized and basically put at a disadvantage. I hope the community is experiencing it for what it is, as another blow to the possibility of reinventing ourselves in exile.”-Anonymous Cuban academic

Brown people with allies have taken to the streets in protest and, in some cases, found the National Guard and U.S. Marines waiting for them. When Black Lives Matter organized a rally near the White House after the release of the George Floyd videos. Donald Trump openly proposed shooting them.

“Can’t you just shoot them, just shoot them in the legs or something?” — Donald Trump

White supremacists have never faced such concerns; they are considered patriots and “very fine people.” Ask yourselves which category brown people in America fall into. Brown is now the new Black.

The solution lies with brown people joining with allies of all colors to fight this oppression. Brown people will find their allies changeable, much like the Black suffragettes discovered once white women got the vote. Many policies in America have pitted Black and brown against each other so that the predominantly white elite can maintain power. Brown people are seeing their place in the caste system has been downgraded as white resistance increases to becoming a racial minority in the near future. Many groups originally not considered white in America are now regarded as white as needed. That includes the Irish, Greeks, Germans, Italians, and Jewish people. Brown people may have imagined they, too, would be thought of as white.

Donald Trump told friends when speaking of Senator Padilla, “Nobody’s ever heard of this guy. He looks like an illegal.” In the eyes of many, all brown people look like illegals. Brown is the new Black.