On January 6, our communities witnessed the latest in a series of white supremacist attacks of democracy. In various forms of Blackface, Redface, and anti-Semitic paraphernalia, the institgators made a failed attempt to disrupt the peaceful transition of power, a process which is the hallmark of American democracy. Despite their best efforts, January 6 also marked the historic victory of organizing led by Black women in Georgia to turn the state blue.
Although they were unsuccessful in their efforts to engineer a coup, the events of that afternoon laid bare the realities of white supremacist operations in this country. From the police who met the mobs with a vastly different attitude than the one they had reserved for Black Lives Matter protests to the Republicans at every level of power that endorsed overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election, these mobs did not act alone.
The people who encouraged these attacks cannot be trusted to lead us and are equally accountable for the violence we witnessed. This is why Congress must act to preserve the transition of power by impeaching Donald Trump and demanding the resignations of those elected representatives who engaged in sedition.
Congress and Trump were not alone; social media corporations finally taking action against Trump and others aligned with the Capitol attackers are engaging in elaborate political theatre. For years, online platforms have profited off of the hate spewed by the very same people who waved gun in the capitol. We will continue to escalate in demanding social media platforms take more permanent solutions to stop the spread of white supremacist hate on their watch through coalitions like Change the Terms.
It was white supremacy as old as the United States on display, and we echo the need to refer to it as such. The actions of white supremacist mobs cannot be an excuse to criminalize protest. These attacks will not be stopped by a return to the same language of “terror” and policing that have criminalized Black, Muslim, and immigrant communities. Equality Labs is committed to holding the line around democracy, and to solidarity with the communities at the forefront of the struggle against white supremacy and fascism in the USA.
Equality Labs is also committed to working within South Asian networks to confront brahminical networks of power that see brown communities showing up to buffer white supremacy. We firmly hold acountable desis like Vincent Xavier who is vice president of the Vice President of FOMAA, the largest Malayali-member organisation in the United States. South Asians cannot be complicit at a time when all of our destinies are linked.