2016 Election
Rebirth of the American Nationalism
Rebirth of the American Nationalism
Donald Trump, the president-elect, has dominated the spotlight during the 2016 election season. His policies were evaluated to represent American Nationalism. The campaign mainly focused on the word "America" and Trump has promised to take back our country by producing goods in America, keeping jobs in America, protecting America first, and prioritize America before other countries needs. (Mills, Adam)
Donald trump's RNC Speech
On July 2016, Donald Trump accepted his nomination for the Republican nomination receiving 1,725 votes (69.78%). His acceptance speech was examined to be nationalistic. For example, in his speech, he voiced, "I am going to work very hard to repeal that language and protect free speech for all Americans. We can accomplish these great things, and so much else – all we need to do is start believing in ourselves and in our country again. It is time to show the whole world that America Is Back – bigger, and better and stronger than ever before." This speech successfully reflected his campaign very clearly; Trump emphasized the prominent values of America. (Donald Trump's Entire)
Obama's Reaction
On November 15, 2016, Obama took his last trip to Europe as the president of the United States. Recently, Donald Trump had appointed, an alt-right nationalist, Stephen K. Bannon to the top position in his campaign. Bannon was the CEO of the Breitbart News which has been criticized to promote "white nationalism", alt-right, and even racist. Obama challenged Trump's appointment during his speech in Athens. He voiced, "I do believe, separate and apart from any particular election or movement, that we are going to have to guard against a rise in a crude sort of nationalism or ethnic identity or tribalism that is built around an ‘us’ and a ‘them". (Harris, Gardnier)
White Nationalism
Associated Press released a headline on November 15 stating, "Donald Trump's choice of far-right publishing executive Steve Bannon as a top White House adviser is bringing new scrutiny to a troubling, decades-old ideology: white nationalism." It explains that White Nationalists belive they are under an attack in the United States and need protection from the growth of immigrants and minority groups. It also adds that these Nationalists see diversity as a threat and even a white genocide. There are different perspectives on this ideology; while most people view this as a white-supremacist group who degrades minorities, the White Nationalists themselves argue that they just want their own country and minorities have their own nation. While the definition of such concept has been left controversial, according to the Southern Poverty Center, white nationalist organizations are recognized as a racist group. (AP EXPLAINS)
"Are there racist people involed in the alt-right? Absolutely. Look, are there some people that are white nationalists that are attracted to some of the philosophies of the alt-right? Maybe. Are ther some people that are anti-sematic that are attracted? Maybe. Right? Maybe some people are attracted to the alt-right that are homophoes." -Steve Bannon- (Quotes)
History of White Nationalism
White Nationalism has few sub-groups such as white-separatism and white-supremacy. White-separatists seek their own white nation while the White-supremacist seek dominance over all races (rooted from Social Darwinism and Nazism). A famous example of both separatists and supremacists is Ku Klux Klan: an insurgent group formed to maintain slavery after the Civil War. They sabotaged black neighborhoods and abused minorities for over 150 years. This supremacist group continues to exist today. Another example is the American Nazi Party popularized by George Lincoln Rockwell. The party promoted the idea of "White power" and advertised that America is only for Americans additionally implying that Americans are to be white. (White Nationalism)
(Davis, William E.)
Black Nationalism
Black Nationalism, like White-Nationalism, argue the supremacy of the African race and demand their own state. They have also adopted Social-Darwinism into their own ideology. Critics have condemned majority of this group for irrational violence such as riots, violent protest, and shootings outside of their neighborhoods. Even though Black Nationalism has retreated over time they are still marked as a racist organization according to the Southern poverty Center. (Black Nationalism)
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(Posey, Sean)
History of Black Nationalism
Martin Delaney (1812-1885) is known to be the grandfather of black nationalism. He was an abolitionist journalist who advocated abolition of slavery back in the Civil War Era. He was inspired by the Haitian Revolution and sought value in his own race. Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) has promoted Black Nationalism as well. He insisted the importance of black psychology and later formed the United Negro Improvement Association. Malcolm X, known to be a black-separatist, demanded independece of the African race and focused on the masculinity of the black pride. These men's actions later inspired the establishment of the Black Panther Party which monitored and protested against police brutality.
(Delaney, Martin)
Colin Kaepernick Case
Kaepernick Movement: kneeling to the National Anthem and to the flag of the United States of America. This fashion has permeated throughout the NFL community and the entire country. However, it has sparked a controversial dialogue. Kaepernick protested to convey his message against the police brutality on the African-American communities. Then, many of his colleagues, such as Arian Foster, Eli Harold, and Robert Quinn, joined the movement to dedicate their full support despite their public image. Kaepernick, himself, as been highly praised by the black community and those who speak out against such issues. At some regards, however, Kaepernick is being condemned as an unpatriotic citizen. Many journalists and critics have bashed his behavior as a disrespect to our military and the nation; they belive Colin Kaepernick is abusing his freedom of expression. Colin Kaepernick has been displayed as a black nationalist on media multiple times for his actions while on some aspects he has been represented as an American who courageously protested the white nationalistic ideology. He has publicly stated that while he does believe in patriotism but he does not belive in nationalism. (Henderson, Thearon W)
"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people ad people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave ad getting away with murder" -Colin Kaepernick
America's reaction
No matter if you were a 49ers fan, Kaepernick's fan, or any football fan, Kaepernick has disappointed the NFL community as some would say. After a series of protest led by Kaepernick, his fans began burning, trashing, and boycotting his jersey to stand up for their idea of patriotic value. They have voiced that the disrespect for the national anthem, the troops, and the nation can never be overshadowed by their affection to football. (Chamseddine, Roqayah)
"[Colin Kaepernick] disrepect[ed] our national anthem and our flag after so many people have sacrificed so that he could have the freedoms that he has today, so that he could make a very, very good living in this 'racist' land" -Dr. Ben Carson- (Kosar)
Kaepernick has received harsh criticism over the last few months. However, America's support for his protest has not diminished. When Kaepernick initiated the movement, many of his colleagues appreciated and followed his lead. Famous atheletes like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have spoken out, praising Kaepernick's courage by defining what true patriotism is. Even though his actions were denounced by many it has also inspired many student athletes and citizens across America. (Abdul-Jabbar)
"Kaepernick is taking a stand for what he believes. What he did, like Dr. King, Muhammad Ali, and so many others have done in the past, was sage a nonviolent protest." -Ed Williams- (Cross Roads)
References
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our patriotism than his." The Washington Post, 30 Aug. 2016,
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our patriotism than his." The Washington Post, 30 Aug. 2016,
www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/08/30/
insulting-colin-kaepernick-says-more-about-our-patriotism-than-his/
?utm_term=.03f2fab3fe0e. Accessed 10 Jan. 2017.
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2016, www.foxnews.com/us/2016/11/15/
ap-explains-election-brings-white-nationalism-to-forefront.html. Accessed
17 Nov. 2016.
"Black Nationalism." Wikipedia, 15 Nov. 2016, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Black_nationalism. Accessed 17 Nov. 2016.
Chamseddine, Roqayah. "The Kaepernick Fallout Proves That American Nationalism
is the Worst Nationalism Of All." Paste Magazine, 15 Sept. 2016,
www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/09/
the-kaepernick-incident-shows-that-american-nation.html. Accessed 17 Nov.
2016.
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why-colin-kaepernick-and-so-many-others-frustrated/. Accessed 16 Jan. 2017.
Davis, William E. We are All Loyal Klansman. Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Ku_Klux_Klan. Accessed 10 Jan. 2017.
Delaney, Martin. Black Past Organization, www.blackpast.org/aah/
delany-major-martin-robison-1812-1885. Accessed 10 Jan. 2017.
"Donald Trump's entire Republican convention speech." YouTube, uploaded by CNN,
21 July 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs0pZ_GrTy8. Accessed 17 Nov. 2016.
Harris, Gardnier. "Visiting Europe, Obama Warns Against Rise of ‘Crude
Sort of Nationalism’." The New York Times, 15 Nov. 2016, www.nytimes.com/
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Henderson, Thearon W. Colin Kaepernick. USA Today, www.usatoday.com/story/sports/
columnist/martin-rogers/2016/09/12/
colin-kaepernick-national-anthem-kneel-protest-san-francisco-49ers-st-louis-rams/
90290074/. Accessed 10 Jan. 2017.
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www.thepoliticalinsider.com/
ben-carson-brutal-response-colin-kaepernick-100000-shares-must-see/.
Accessed 16 Jan. 2017.
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Liberties Law, harvardcrcl.org/a-history-of-trump-in-five-acts/.
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author-asks-if-black-nationalism-will-ever-re-emerge/. Accessed 16 Jan.
2017.
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