To: Kamau Bell
From: Adam Mansbach
So, to recap the last 12 hours for those who slept:
* I made up a hashtag, #WhitesAgainstTrump, in an article you and I co-wrote for Salon. We were discussing your brilliant idea that white people need to disavow and confront Trump as white people, because he’s the result of a long American tradition of white supremacy. I thought that was really ingenious – a way for white people to claim and wield whiteness with authority rather than apology, and a means of rendering whiteness not just visible, but useful.
* Then, just before the GOP debate, you tweeted the hashtag and suggested people use it.
* Slowly, it started to catch on.
* Then, holy shit, it really caught on. By midway through the debate, it was the No. 4 trending topic in the United States – on what had to be one of the heaviest Twitter nights of the year – and later it hit No. 1.
* Then everybody was like “OMG Kamau Bell made up #WhitesAgainstTrump I LOVE HIM SO MUCH LOL!!!” Which is always how it happens in this country: a hardworking white man has an idea, and a black man swoops in and takes all the credit. Just kidding -- it’s never that way. And I’m not that hardworking. Also, according to many of my charming new white supremacist Twitter acquaintances, I am not white, but rather a dirty Jew.
To: Adam Mansbach
From: Kamau Bell
I think what this shows us is that this idea of white people needing to stand up for themselves Marcus Garvey-style is an idea whose time has come. I was thinking it. You were thinking it. Lots of people on Twitter responded like it was the perfect metaphorical back scratcher for the Trump itch. (Now, I’d like to figure out how to make #TrumpItch a trending hashtag too.)
But it was a trending topic. Congrats to us. Congrats to Black Twitter (whom every good hashtag needs). And of course congrats to the white people who jumped onboard and dug deep to express their frustration with the Trumpster. There was beautiful stuff where people claimed their white privilege and used it as a digital battering ram on the Trumpster. Some white people used the actual definition of patriotism to talk about how the Trumpster is ruining our country. And some white people very definitely aligned themselves with the many Muslims, Latinos, undocumented workers, black people, and others who have been Trumped on. Beautiful. I almost cried a Denzel Washington "Glory" tear.
To: Kamau Bell
From: Adam Mansbach
From what I could tell, the vast majority of the people using the hashtag understood its intentions very well. When people are bringing “silent majority” signs to Trump rallies, white supremacists are openly embracing his campaign, and his speeches consist mostly of racist, xenophobic, Islamophobic dog whistling and militaristic saber-rattling, there is something especially important and empowering about a not in my name style response. And people got that.
The range and the vehemence of the tweets was stunning. So was the number of non-white people who expressed relief, pride, hope and surprise at this outpouring of white anger.
The Internet being the Internet, not everyone enjoyed the party. Dissenting opinions included “just because I’m white doesn’t mean I have anything to do with Trump” (which, read a different way, doesn’t actually sound like a dissenting opinion at all), and “Why not #HumansAgainstTrump, you racists” (a line of “reasoning” similar to the #AllLivesMatter trolling that #BlackLivesMatter had to endure).
By far the most interesting dissent, though, was “it’s easy enough for white people to make themselves feel good by dissing Trump with a hashtag, but it doesn’t change anything, and unless there’s a way to build on it, this will just be a way for white people to feel like they’ve done their part and walk away.” Except in 140 characters.
And it’s a great point. Hashtags are just hashtags. So what’s next, Kamau? What should #WhitesAgainstTrump do now?
To: Adam Mansbach
From: Kamau Bell
It was a fun evening of hashtag shenanigans. But now you and your people need to take it to the streets. #WhitesAgainstTrump meet #BlackLivesMatter. #BlackLivesMatter started as a hashtag. Then it became a movement. Then it became real world, three-dimensional protests. Then it changed the national conversation on race and racism. And now it has a seat at the table with the (sane) people who are running for president. You and your white people need to follow that blueprint, and you’ll be fine. If you don’t believe me, listen to one of your own.
Maybe white people can think of this like a Silicon Valley start-up. Get a URL, a co-working space, hire a marketing team, get some focus groups going, hire Aaron Sorkin to write the screenplay, write some code, make an app, go to the the national White Privilege Conference (YES, THAT’S A THING!). But must importantly to paraphrase The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, say it loud, “I’m with #WhitesAgainstTrump and I’m proud!”
Hopefully #WhitesAgainstTrump can be the gateway hashtag to actual discussions, actions and the true civic change that we need to address racism and the other societal ills constructed by white privilege in this country. Because as the news today of a mistrial in the Freddie Gray case proves, even if Trump goes away there is always more work to do.
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