Black Protectionism

Katheryn Russell-Brown has written a book on why so many black people stand behind high profile blacks who wind up in trouble. For example: Marion Barry, O.J., and R. Kelly. The book is entitled “Protecting Our Own: Race, Crime, and African-Americans.”

Russell-Brown examined 30 cases involving what she labels “black protectionism.” She also held focus groups with blacks and finds there is a simple explanation for the black-white divide in these cases.

““When white people hear that a black celebrity is accused of a crime, they ask one question: Did he do it?”” Russell-Brown said. ““For African-Americans, there’s a longer list of questions. Did he do it? If he did, was he set up? Is he the only person who has committed this offense? And is he being treated the same as whites who have done the same thing?””

Those questions are rooted in American history, which is rife with examples of entrapment and false prosecution of blacks, Russell-Brown said.

The State Of . . . Us. Russell-Brown hypothesizes that this protectionism does not transfer over to black women. Why? Folks didn’t stand behind Anita Hill but, instead, Clarence Thomas. Will we stand behind Cynthia McKinney in the coming months as so many of us stood behind Barry and OJ? We even love Colin Powell more than Condi.

Yes, other groups show protectionism as well. We see White protectionism whenever we hear about little white girl no. 53 getting lost for 30 minutes. The upside of protectionism is that is builds unity. The downside is that is blinds the group to the clear misdeeds of the person in focus. Going forward, how will you analyze the situation when a high profile black is put in the spotlight? I think we should stand back and look objectively to determine if they are worthy of our embrace.