Cress Welsing: Racism and the Black Child and Youth Inferiorization

The following is an excerpt from The Isis Papers. The Keys to the Colors. By Frances Cress Welsing, M.D. Washington, D.C. 1989. Available [HERE] and [HERE

Generally, it is assumed that a society or social power system seeks to support the development of all of its infants, children and youth. This is a totally erroneous assumption in a social power system built upon racism for the purpose of white genetic survival. The assumption is erroneous even when the white supremacy system is highly refined and masked. Thus far, Black people have failed to decode fully the power system established to maintain white genetic survival. And, to the same extent that we have failed to understand white genetic survival or white supremacy, we have failed to control the symptoms that arise from this destructive power dynamic, which is positioned against the maximal development of Black genetic and constitutional potential.

In a social power system established for white genetic survival, children classified as non-white (black, brown, red and yellow) are inferiorized systematically so that they will become and remain dependent and susceptible to control throughout their lives. In the terminology of Erik H. Erikson, author of Childhood and Society, when the social environment supports the developing fetus, infant, child and youth into adult existence, the child's psycho-social development advances through the following eight stages: 1) basic trust, 2) autonomy, 3) initiative, 4) industry, 5) identity, 6) intimacy, 7) generativity, and finally, 8) integrity. However, each one of these eight stages has its counterpart in failure when society fails to support the child systematically. Instead, the social power system subjects the infant, child and youth to an overwhelming degree of stress. Instead of basic trust, there is mistrust; instead of autonomy, there is shame and doubt; instead of initiative, there is guilt (the sense of "I cannot" versus "I can"); instead of industry, there is inferiority (or lethar­gy); instead of identity, there is role confusion; instead of intimacy, there is isolation; instead of generativity, there is stagnation; instead of in­tegrity, there is despair.

This process of failed psycho-social development, which is brought on by all levels of environmental stress that occur under white supremacy domination and impact Black people most heavily, forces massive num­bers of Black infants, children and youth into the destructive chain of events that I have referred to as the process of inferiorization: mistrust, shame and doubt, guilt, inferiority, role confusion, isolation, stagnation and, finally, despair. Thus, while large numbers of white infants, children and youth receiving societal and environmental support progress through the eight stages of psycho-social development, their Black counterparts, the recipients of high level environmental stress, progress through the stages of failed psycho-social development, or inferiorization. It is within this schema that the deteriorating picture of Black life (from infancy to adult age) must be understood. This is not the accidental development of an underclass. This is planned inferiorization for the purpose of white genetic survival. Most important, clinicians caring for Black infants, children, youth and their families must understand that this destructive dynamic is historically and solidly situated, and it is on-going.

However, it is not possible to comprehend the process of inferiorization of Black youth and the seriously compromised functioning of the Black adult without a specific understanding of racism as the struggle for genetic survival on the part of the genetically recessive global white minority population that currently controls power in the world.   Because few Blacks or other non-whites understand racism at this level, they fail to understand white supremacy as actual systematic warfare being con­ducted by people who classify themselves as "white," against people whom whites classify as "non-whites."

Few Blacks or other non-white people are aware that white people are conducting major discussions on the white birthrate. Few Blacks or other non-white people are aware that white scholars and experts are discussing the projection that by the year 2073, whites will represent fewer than 3% of the people on the planet. Few Blacks or other non-white people are aware that white experts are projecting that within six to nine generations, non-white people will represent the majority of people in U.S.  Few Blacks or other non-white people are aware that these white experts are concluding that they will be left in a state of peril if these facts are ignored. The war for white genetic survival is conducted simultaneously on nine battle fronts: economics, education, entertainment, labor, law, politics, religion, sex and (military) war. The war is conducted through aU forms of behavior. In addition, within each of these areas of activity there haveevolved myriad institutions, all of which nirther the goal of white supremacy.

Because Blacks and other non-white people have failed to understand racism as white genetic survival, they erroneously have believed that they could be integrated into the white supremacy system and that they could depend upon whites to maximally develop Black infants, children and youth in the same manner that white people promote the maximal development of white infants, children and youth. Blacks and other non-whites have failed to understand that if white people were to do this, it would mean active white participation in white genocide. Black people must master this perception of racism (local and global) as a war for white genetic survival, a system into which non-white people never can be integrated.

Under the stress of white supremacy, numerous offspring prevent the possibility of adequately meeting the needs of each individual child, as each child crowds out the opportunity for emotional nurture of the others. This crowding prevents high level psycho-social development from taking place. This promotion and insurance of failed psycho-social development is the process of inferiorization, which in turn promotes and ensures local and global white genetic survival.

What then is to be done? What short- and long-range strategies and tactics do Blacks need to employ in order to neutralize the ongoing white supremacy thrust for white genetic survival, which is achieved through Black infant, child and youth inferiorization? As an initial response to this important question, all Black people must abandon the illusion of integration and face the difficult reality that most Black people prefer to ignore: you do not win a chess game if you have no knowledge of the exact objective and rules of the game. It is imperative that all Blackpeople understand they are not in a benign environment of benevolence and support, and that the surrounding highly structured environment is deadly; a very specific warfare is being waged against Blacks and other people classified as non-white in this social system. Further, all must understand that the specific war is racism for the purpose of white genetic survival -by any and all necessary means, inclusive of chemical and biological warfare. (Chemical warfare is designer drugs, such as crack and PCP. Biological warfare entails the production of cultural and ethnic organisms in viruses such as AIDS.)

Additionally, Black people must recognize the following points:

1)The war of white genetic survival achieves a major effect through inferiorization or failed psycho-social development, creating dependency, negative self-image, negative self-concept and vulnerability.

2)The war of white genetic survival attacks the functioning of Blacks in general, but most specifically attacks the Black male, as it is the Black male who most specifically threatens white genetic survival at a level the Black female is unable to approach.

3)Blacks must learn to counter the thrust of white supremacy and Black inferiorization effectively.

4)Blacks must discuss openly those means by which Black male infants, children and youth can be supported and developed maximally in order to counter the attack of white supremacy on Black male development and functioning.

5) Black male infants, children and youth need their fathers constantly present to support the behavior and identity of Black male children. And, because of the historic removal of Black fathers from homes, classes are needed to promote high-level functioning of Black males in their roles as fathers.

6) The white supremacy attack upon the Black male causes a collapse of Black family life and a distortion in the role of the Black female. This, in turn, causes a distortion and collapse of the support system for Black infants, children and youth, thereby beginning the process of inferioriza­tion.

7) Blacks must think about and openly discuss, not how to beg white people to stop racism (because white people will have to continue their efforts for white genetic survival), but instead, how Black people can organize their own behavior on an ongoing basis, specifically to neutralize white supremacy and its impact on the development of Black offspring.

8) It is futile to beg white people to give grants and funds to foster the maximal development of Black people. To do so is to ask white people to commit white genocide.

9)Blacks must be able to discuss openly the logical necessity for Black inferiorization in whites' struggle for white genetic survival.

10) The singing of "We Shall Overcome" will not combat white supremacy or Black inferiorization any more than singing any song will help to solve a problem in medicine or physics.

11) Immature and overwhelmed fathers and mothers cannot promote psycho-social development and counter Black inferiorization in the next generation.

12) Single female teenagers cannot promote psycho-social development in male or female offspring. And, most certainly, they cannot develop male offspring. They only can prepare these male offspring to spend their lives in penal institutions, while preparing their own daughters to become teenage mothers.

13) No Black female should become a mother before 30 years of age. No Black male should become a father before 35 years of age. Each Black family should have no more than two children, no closer together than three years apart. And, both Black males and females should, at a minimum, complete high school and become fully self-sufficient before marriage and parenthood. These structures are specifically for the purpose of countering the thrust of Black inferiorization and failed psycho­social development, under the conditions of white supremacy.

14) Maximal development of the collective Black genetic and constitu­tional potential will take place by the efforts of Black people alone -through their knowledge, understanding and behavior.

It is my hope that eventually every Black person in the healing profession will master an understanding of the etiologic chain that leads to Black inferiorization. Furthermore, it clearly would be to the benefit of Black people if Black professionals, in their efforts of healing, pass on this knowledge to their Black patients - enabling the patients to neutralize the impact of white supremacy on their lives and achieve a development of their Black genetic and constitutional potential, second to none.