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TLDR: A Diaspora Peace Post from a Black American

This is not a diaspora war post. This is a move toward peace.

But peace requires honesty, and I think one of the biggest things hurting diaspora relations is that much of the world has a completely distorted understanding of Black Americans. **Black Americans are among the most successful peoples on this planet, yet much of the world has been taught to imagine us as a population sitting at the bottom.** I do not mean we are better than everybody else. I mean that across economic power, professional achievement, education, institution-building, business, politics, science, athletics, intellectual production, and global cultural influence, Black Americans are an extraordinarily accomplished people.

The problem is not that people do not know our history. Most people know about slavery, Jim Crow, segregation, and the Civil Rights Movement. The problem is how that history gets interpreted. Black Americans built the country that became the most powerful nation in the modern world, built institutions and professional classes under conditions designed to suppress us, fought to expand American democracy, and created cultural forms that transformed the planet. I look at that record and think: *look at everything that was done to us, and look at what we still became.* Somehow other people look at the same record and conclude that we are uniquely dysfunctional.

I think one reason is simple: **Black American achievement gets Americanized while Black American failure gets racialized.** Our music becomes American music, our icons become American icons, our political victories become American progress, and our culture becomes global culture. But poverty, crime, educational inequality, or dysfunction remain specifically “Black American.” Our accomplishments become everybody's inheritance while our problems remain exclusively ours. That is how someone can consume Black American achievement their entire life and still believe Black Americans are lazy, incompetent, cultureless, or unsuccessful.

This is where some immigrants, including some black immigrants, make a serious mistake. They enter an existing American racial hierarchy and discover that “I’m not like those Black Americans” can be used as a claim to respectability: *we work harder, we value education more, our families are better.* But you are not escaping the hierarchy when you do that. You are accepting it and arguing that another people should remain at the bottom. **You cannot climb out of a racial hierarchy by agreeing that Black Americans belong beneath you.** Trying to gain white approval through Black American degradation is borrowed status, and it strengthens a racial logic that can eventually be turned against you too.

That is also why I reject the idea that Black Americans speaking openly about our success is somehow a “diaspora war.” We say we built this country, that our struggles opened doors, that our culture transformed the world, and suddenly people hear arrogance or hostility. Why? People are perfectly comfortable discussing Black American hardship, but when we discuss what we accomplished despite it, suddenly everybody wants disclaimers. Black American suffering can be discussed endlessly, but Black American achievement is apparently supposed to be whispered.

So when I call this a diaspora peace post, I mean it. African pride does not require Black American failure. Caribbean pride does not require Black American failure. The success of black immigrants does not become more impressive by comparing themselves to a caricature of Black Americans. And Black American pride is not an attack on anybody.

If your image of Black Americans is lazy, violent, incompetent, cultureless, and dysfunctional, ask yourself where that image came from. Those stereotypes were used for generations to justify our treatment in this country. They do not become objective simply because another black person repeats them. Look at the actual record: a people subjected to extraordinary exploitation and discrimination still became one of the most economically, politically, professionally, institutionally, and culturally consequential peoples in the modern world.

That is not evidence of Black American degeneracy. *That is evidence of extraordinary Black American success.*

Maybe diaspora peace does not require pretending all black people are one people. Maybe it requires something simpler: **stop needing Black Americans beneath you.**

We were never beneath you in the first place.

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**TL;DR:** Black Americans are among the most successful peoples on Earth, but racism has trained much of the world to see us as failures. Our achievements get absorbed into “American culture,” while our problems stay labeled “Black American.” Some immigrants adopt those stereotypes and try to gain status by distancing themselves from us, but that only reinforces the same racial hierarchy that can be used against them too. This isn’t a diaspora war post—it’s a peace post: stop believing the propaganda, learn the truth about Black American achievement, and stop treating Black American pride like an attack.

I saw this in another sub and figured I'd share it here. Feel free to discuss, respectfully.

We Are Not Foundational Black Americans!

In this clip, African-American political commentator Chainslayer vehemently refutes the ridiculous claim that Black people in the US are “foundational,” as in native to and belonging to the United States.

This is a claim that has been vigorously pushed by the so-called "Foundational Black American” (FBA) movement, whose leadership has funding ties with the right-wing Heritage Foundation. The FBA movement has incubated a pseudoreligious, self-denialist belief system surrounding the identity of Black people in the US, including fierce refusal to acknowledge their African heritage, anti-historical denial of the centuries-long kidnapping, tr\\\*fficking and ensl\\\*vement of Africans in the Americas, and reflexive hostility toward any other African-heritage populations, including Caribbeans and continental Africans.

What do you think about his argument? Drop us a comment.

Follow us: @spearhead\\_af

Video credit: @chainsl4yer9000

By: The Spearhead

Source: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdmJcnEzrsl/

SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
Learn more about the prospective governor placements ahead of this year’s midterm election

With only seven weeks left until Election Day, voters are diving deeper into their understanding of candidates. Across both major parties, there are Black candidates seeking election to be governor of their respective states. If these candidates are elected, they have the potential to make history, as only three people have previously been appointed governor who are African American. One of the three previous elected governors is Maryland Governor Wes Moore, who is currently seeking reelection. 
While Moore has been vocal about his desire for there to be more Black governors alongside him, candidates must appeal to a larger audience of voters than before, beyond just Black voters. Similar to the wave of Black female candidates who were running for Senate earlier this year, this is another historic number of Black candidates for this election cycle. This could be what sets the tone of a new era commencing for more minority representation in political leadership. 
John James

John James. Credit: Nic Antaya/ Getty Images
With a blend of military service and political leadership roles. John James is running to be governor of Michigan. James served as a Ranger-qualified aviation officer in the Army for eight years before being elected to Congress in 2022.  He won the Republican primary election earlier last month and will now compete against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. James is also tied to President Trump as someone who has shown vocal support of his presidency. As well as, being personally endorsed for the governor position, which was what led to his win in the Republican primaries. Some of the priorities he’s emphasized along his campaign trail have included removing income tax for the state, strengthening the cannabis regulatory agency, and even a parents’ bill giving parents a heavier hand in their children's education. If James wins the election, he would be the state’s first Black governor. 

Byron Donalds

Byron Donalds. Credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Similar to John James, Byron Donalds is also running for governor as a republican candidate. He currently serves as the U.S. representative for Florida’s 19th congressional district. He’s not only been endorsed by President Trump, but has made it a point to amplify his conservative perspective throughout his campaign. This has included vocalizing his stance on border control, property taxes, and data centers. The issues that he’s platformed during his campaign trail have included pushing back against illegal immigration, environmental preservation and restoration, and deepening economic opportunities for Florida residents through education and lower taxes.  In the event Donalds is elected, he will succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis in leadership.
Keisha Lance Bottoms

Keisha Lance Bottoms. Credit: Nykieria Chaney/Getty Images
Former mayor of Atlanta Keisha Lance Bottoms is seeking to take things up a notch in her political career as she campaigns to be elected governor of Georgia. With a background of serving in all three branches of government, Bottoms’ background in political servitude has prepared her for the campaign she’s currently running. Some of the areas she’s highlighted during her campaign include lowering housing costs, retaining land ownership for farmers, and increased state support of local law enforcement to help improve public safety. Bottoms has also introduced a grocery and essentials tax relief plan that she hopes will lower the cost of groceries for families to have necessary essentials in their homes, with additional taxes on items. If elected, Bottoms would not only become the state’s first Black governor, but also the first Black female governor.
David Crowley

David Crowley. Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Serving in his second term as the seventh executive for Milwaukee County, David Crowley is vying for governor of Wisconsin. Much of his campaign has emphasized empowerment for residents, affordability in health care and housing, and climate advocacy. He has even been vocal about the recent emergence of data centers and their impact on residents across the state, expressing his belief that restrictions should be put on these entities to ensure residents’ resources and perspectives are being prioritized. Being endorsed by fellow political leaders such as Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Congresswoman Gwen Moore, and current Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has helped Crowley keep strong footing in exposure ahead of Election Day.

Aaron Ford

Aaron Ford. Credit:Ian Maule via Getty Images
Aaron Ford, who currently serves as Nevada’s attorney general, is also vying to be the state’s next governor. Going against Republican nominee Joe Lombardo, Ford is bringing his experience as a lawyer and former member of the Nevada Senate as minority and majority leader to the table. His priorities during his campaign have touched on public safety, living costs, and education. While in his role as attorney general, he helped to advocate for reproductive freedom and fought for Nevada residents who were experiencing predatory lenders and difficulty receiving medical insurance coverage. After being the first Black person to hold a statewide constitutional office in Nevada as attorney general, Ford could make history again as the state’s first Black governor.
Jermaine Johnson

Jermaine Johnson. Credit: Sean Rayford/Getty Images
Jermaine Johnson currently serves in South Carolina’s House of Representatives, where he sits on the committee for labor, commerce, and industry. His doctoral degree in organizational leadership from Northcentral University, alongside his experience working in education and the nonprofit sector, is the perspective he could bring to the table if elected governor. Some of the policies he’s emphasized during his campaign trail have included lowering taxes on property and income, providing more resources to trade schools, and passing more hate crime bills. Johnson is running alongside Sam Skardon, a well-known businessman in the area, to be his lieutenant governor.
Lisa Demuth

Lisa Demuth. Credit: Star Tribune via Getty Images.
As one of the few Black female candidates for governor, Lisa Demuth is making a name for herself as one of the only women vying for office as a Republican candidate. Demuth currently serves as Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. Her background spans entrepreneurship, education, and political leadership, including being House Minority Leader and Speaker of the House, making her the first Republican woman and Black lawmaker to do so. Like other Republican candidates vying for governor, her priorities center on tax relief for residents, along with stricter parental controls and transparency in education. Demuth’s win would be historic for the state as it would make her the state's first Black and first female governor.

Wes Moore

Credit: Jamie Sabau/Getty Images
Almost four years after being elected to the role of governor of Maryland, Wes Moore must now advocate for himself again to remain in the position. He made history as the state’s first Black governor in 2023 and has made it a point to support economic growth through raising wages for workers, investing funds into HBCUs, and creating new roles as businesses opened across the state. Though he didn’t have an extensive political career prior to being elected governor, he is a combat veteran of the U.S. Army after years of service. His re-election campaign centers around continuing the work he’s already done for the state and ensuring that affordability is at the forefront for Maryland residents.

Ex-Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum is back in jail after he was previously arrested in Alabama in July and charged with meth possession.

Per the Tallahassee Democrat, an order of commitment to jail signed by Baldwin County District Judge Scott Taylor indicated that Gillum’s bond was revoked during a court appearance on August 6. That was after the 47-year-old missed a drug screen and then tested positive for meth. 

The court docket also made mention of Gillum participating in drug court. People who participate in that diversion program have their charges dismissed if they undergo successful treatment. 

As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Gillum was arrested for drug possession in Alabama back in July. 

Per TMZ, court documents stated that the 47-year-old was charged with one felony and two misdemeanor counts. The criminal complaint further stated that Gillum was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) as well as misdemeanor possession of marijuana for personal use and possession of drug paraphernalia. 

Officers arrested Gillum in Daphne after he was pulled over for driving waywardly. Authorities said officers found 3 grams of methamphetamine, 8 pre-rolled marijuana joints, 4 cut straws, 3 pipes and a bong in the car. 

Gillum checked into rehab for alcohol abuse in March 2022. He said in a statement that he had arrived at the decision after “conversation with my family and deep reflection.”

Gillum’s personality in 2018 drew parallels with former US President Barack Obama. Beyond their personalities, Gillum, just like Obama for America, ran in Florida as a progressive with refreshing ideas for an electorate who were skeptical of the future.

In the end, Gillum lost to Republican nominee Ron DeSantis by a close shave, a percentage margin of 0.4. But pundits and the Democratic believed the story had only begun for a young bright star.

The 47-year-old previously served as mayor of Tallahassee from 2014 to 2018.