If it can be said that America loves its gangsters. It can also be said that Black America, a community that has often taken its cues regarding values and the keys to success from Whites, has similar proclivities. Truthfully speaking, the adoration that Black America heaps on their “lawless,” a population that writer Gilbert Moore characterized as “bad niggers,” hinges on the rebellion being someway aimed against White supremacy. Many are shocked to find that the omnipresence of White Supremacy has failed to create an annual crop of “bad niggers” who seemingly revel at the opportunity to fight against occurrences of racial bigotry and institutionalized racism that impact all of Black America in one way or another. 

Maybe it can be attributed to the fact that there is no dearth of daily reminders, let alone a full history of racial oppression in this nation that causes African-Americans to include themselves in some intangible way to the antics of “bad niggers” rebelling against the existing system of racial oppression. It matters little to those offering what amounts to inconsequential support that from the moment they appear that their arc will be similar to shooting-stars in their spectacular impromptu appearance and short lifespan.

The recently released film Queen and Slim beautifully reflect this portion of Black life.  

One may wonder why Black America silently champions the “bad niggers” in their midst. The truth of the matter is that they realized long ago that it is the comprehensive tie of Race that holds the potential to put them all in the same boat. Blacks understand that neither educational attainments nor socioeconomic status mutes the dangers of being Black in White America. There is not a socially conscious Black person alive who does not have the absolute worst nightmare of being stopped by a bigoted “law enforcement officer” eager to express his own leanings lethally. 

Blacks know that even a mundane traffic stop like the one that starts a cascade of unexpected twists-and-turns in the film Queen and Slim is capable of ending Black life. The reality that Black life could terminate without any notice encourages their sporadic and tenuous moments of Black solidarity on behalf of “bad Niggers” like Assata Shakur, Eldridge Cleaver, Karl Hampton, and the fictional characters Queen and Slim. From the lens of Black America, the appearance of such figures conveys some hope that the battle over racial matters is not over. 

Albeit frustrating for White, racial matters are permanently affixed at the forefront of the minds of most Blacks. Many would argue that it is the single-most-important variable in their lives, and therefore it will never fully recede to the recesses of their minds. 

The criticisms of American Whites regarding Blacks continuing agitation for politico-economic improvement serves to encourage Black America’s rallying around “bad niggers” such as Queen and Slim seeking to capture tangible and intangible resources that Whites have always considered their sole possession. 

Let’s be honest about America’s Race problem. It began with White Anglo-Saxon Protestants who long ago shared their birthright with late-arriving European immigrants. It stands to reason that if the socially constructed system began and has been maintained for centuries by “Whites,” its existence and therefore demise lies in the lap of White America. Unbeknownst to Whites, African-Americans exist in a constant state of suspicion. Their skepticism of Whites revolves around the reasonable expectation that there will be a debut of chicanery designed to continue Whites’ monopoly over politico-economic resources.

When framed by the above matters, I hope that Whites are not bothered by the natural inclinations of Blacks to offer varying levels of support to “bad Niggrs” such as Queen and Slim as they seek to escape the hang man’s noose that Black Americans believe will one day be placed around their neck. After all, “bad Niggers” like Slim and Queen that White America denigrate “lawless gangsters” are inspirations to a maligned Black populace that has experienced far too many losses and been dominated far too long.

I guess it is true that one man’s terrorist is another man’s revolutionary. 

Dr. James Thomas Jones III 

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2019.