With Trump hell-bent on destroying Black progress, our people must stand together

The more I write about race and class, the more I realize America is dealing with issues that go well beyond the subjugation of some groups at the hands of others.

In truth, we are locked in an ever-evolving fight for power, and the battle lines are not always clearly drawn. That fight can cross the boundaries of skin color and ethnicity, gender and class.

In fact, the fight can sometimes leave groups squaring off within their own ranks. Those intramural battles play out often in my own community, because no one tears down their own like Black folks.

I watched as it happened during the recently concluded District Council 33 strike, as a mostly Black union relentlessly attacked the character, appearance, and integrity of Cherelle L. Parker, Philadelphia’s first Black female mayor.

Given I have known Parker for more than 20 years, both as a neighbor and a political leader, it hurt me when I drove past a group of picketers at 1515 Arch St. and heard Black women yelling, “To hell with Cherelle.”

It hurt me to see social media posts that falsely claimed she’d given herself a 9% raise. I was astounded when I read personal insults I won’t repeat here, because I don’t want to dignify them with a response.

But this isn’t about the lies, the disrespect, or the personal slights. This is about the overriding truth that Black people must embrace. We have to treat one another better. Not because it will change how other people view us — it won’t. We must treat one another better because it will change how we view ourselves.

African Americans are unique in that we have endured hundreds of years of indoctrination at the hands of those who would have us believe we are inferior.

It’s impossible to know the full effect of that kind of psychological torture. However, it’s easy to see that far too many of us have difficulty trusting one another, respecting one another, or following one another. That’s learned behavior, taught to us by oppressors who thrive on a divide and conquer strategy.

Far too many of us have difficulty trusting one another, respecting one another, or following one another. That’s learned behavior, taught to us by oppressors who thrive on a divide and conquer strategy.

That mistrust permeates every aspect of our lives, including our interpersonal relationships, leaving Black men and women at odds in ways that can be toxic. We saw that during the strike.

As a former city employee who was once a member of DC 33, I believe the workers were right to seek a life-altering increase in their wages. However, the debate devolved into personal, petty, and misogynistic drivel, with Black men who weren’t even union members lobbing rhetorical grenades at the Black female mayor.

Yes, there will be disagreements between Black men and women as we engage in the very human struggle for power, but I embrace a rather simple and old-school point of view. One of our most important jobs, as Black men, is to protect Black women. Whether we are in leadership or not, whether we are in power or not, whether we are in lockstep or not.

We can disagree with them. We can argue with them. We can be in conflict with them. But we can never be the source of the kind of hatred that belittles Black women and besmirches their character. That’s never where a Black man should be.

» READ MORE: I love seeing anti-Trump protests. Like many other Black folks, I won’t be joining them. | Solomon Jones

That’s especially true now, when we are facing a Trump administration that seems hell-bent on destroying Black progress.

In just over six months, Donald Trump has rescinded a decades-old executive order that prohibited federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of race, sex, and national origin.

He has sought to eliminate all federal diversity, equity, and inclusion staff. He is fighting to upend the constitutional requirement for birthright citizenship — an amendment created specifically for Black people.

And because Black workers make up 18.5% of federal employees — more than the Black share of the population — Trump’s mass firings of federal workers will disproportionately affect African Americans.

Does this mean Black people should focus solely on Trump and ignore deficiencies in Black leadership? Of course not. But we can no longer afford to treat Black leaders, and especially Black female leaders, with disdain. This is not the time for that.

This is the time for Black men and women to stand up together, before those who hate us can once again drive us apart.