The wedge argument that the ADOS/FBA/AfAm nativist movements hinges upon is that African Americans who were enslaved on American plantations are uniquely disadvantaged compared to even other Americans (Afrodescendant or otherwise) who immigrated voluntarily.
Unfortunately, the ADOS/FBA/AfAm nativist movements parlay this wedge into helplessness and futility toward the WASP American power structure, as well as a wide-ranging angst and contempt against almost everyone else in the world.
For liberals and progressives, what is the utility of this wedge which separates descendants of the antebellum enslaved in the United States from descendants of those enslaved elsewhere?
How do those who do not share in the mythology of the voluntary immigration experience – particularly of the depiction of immigration as a formative, affirmative rite of passage and ethnogenesis – deal with this wedge in a healthier way than ADOS’ nativism? Or, alternatively, being a Black expat?
I fear that progressives and liberals do not yet have an answer to this wedge, no way to resolve the contradiction of a big tent bringing together descendants of slaves, immigrants, aborigines and settlers.
Enough of the big tent broke ranks to vote against that solidarity and sacrifice some immigrants’ dreams, livelihoods and potentially lives in the name of security and certainty.
We need a better arrangement to bridge this wedge, a liberalism which can respect and celebrate immigrant experiences while respecting that it’s not a formative experience for some ethnicities and may be less pleasant to experience in reverse from the most powerful country on earth.
We need a liberalism which can promote immigration as a benefit for those who did not experience immigration, even for those who are descendants of forced migration and enslavement like myself.
Racedep (race depolarization) happened this election, to the benefit of anti-immigrant, anti-urban conservatives like Donald Trump. Promoting an alternative integrative social contract will be a major task of the post-Obama Democratic coalition.
