‘Psychological gentrification’ is muddling the American mind

Drew Barrymore’s cringey plea for Kamala Harris to be “Momala” of the country was yet another reminder that many actors, comedians, and media personalities are progressive shills. But the reaction to her request from Essence magazine — a firm declaration that “BLACK WOMEN ARE NOT YOUR MAMMIES” — was a reminder that many black institutions and influencers have invited white people, including washed-up actresses, to take up permanent residence in their minds.

It is important to understand this phenomenon of “psychological gentrification” because the most valuable property that any person controls is his or her own mind. What a person fills it with will impact one's values, beliefs, words, and actions.

A lack of clear thinking and moral reasoning are the natural byproducts of a gentrified mind.

The hallmarks of urban gentrification include new restaurants, coffee shops, dog parks, and bike lanes. Gentrification is a complicated topic because even the people who resist the changes to their neighborhood appreciate the increase in their property value as well as the new amenities that accompany an influx of affluent residents.

Psychological gentrification offers no such perks. All it does is leave people feeling perpetually offended and unable to think clearly.

Amanda Seales is an actress, comedian, and author who holds herself out as equal parts entertainer, intellectual, and revolutionary. She recently did a three-hour interview with Shannon Sharpe on his "Club Shay Shay" podcast.

It was clear that her mind is gentrified.

Seales spoke extensively about all the ways she has been victimized throughout her life on account of race. She accused a former teacher of being racist after getting in trouble for “correcting” the adult in front of the class. She also said her fellow child actors called her the “N-word” and bullied her. She even claimed that white supremacy was behind the black media outlets being willing to engage with Candace Owens.

None of this was surprising, given that Seales proclaimed herself to be a race “scholar” who sees the world through a racial lens. She claimed that people don’t like her because she’s straightforward and tells the truth, but she shut down and became defensive when Sharpe tried to get her to consider any perspective that moved her out of the victim seat. It’s hard to lead a revolution when you can’t even stomach having your perspective questioned.

Boyce Watkins is another person who speaks extensively about race. He holds a Ph.D. in finance and is the author of “The 10 Commandments of Black Economic Power.” Watkins occupies a different space in the black political ecosystem than Seales but suffers from the same symptoms of psychological gentrification.

Watkins tried his hand at sports commentary during the recent NFL draft when he posted, “The NFL draft is a lot like a slave auction, except the slaves aren’t working for free.”

Hundreds of people — myself included — pointed out that the NFL draft is nothing like a slave auction, especially since the players want to participate and will be paid a king’s ransom. Watkins is not the first person to compare professional sports leagues with a large percentage of black athletes to slavery.

The journalist William Rhoden published a book in 2006 called “40 Million Dollar Slaves” that argued black athletes had as little power in their respective sports as their enslaved ancestors had on plantations. More recently, the backup quarterback-turned-police abolitionist Colin Kaepernick claimed that the NFL Combine was similar to a slave auction. Jemele Hill, former ESPN personality, said the same thing a few years before him. There was also the lawsuit brought by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores that began with an accusation that the NFL is run like a slave plantation.

All these individuals have demonstrated a lack of clear thinking and moral reasoning, both the natural byproduct of a gentrified mind. Professional athletes in the NFL make more in one year than the average American makes in a lifetime. They train their entire lives with the hopes of making it to their respective leagues. Not only that, but their parents invest countless resources and time to get them into the pros.

I’m no history major, but I can’t recall a single account of an enslaved mother and father who jumped for joy as their child was sold on an auction block.

Black America will never reach its full potential if we are unable to think about a complex, dynamic, ever-evolving society without lazily reverting to slave metaphors or assuming all our problems stem from racism. This is a guaranteed recipe for social and economic stagnation. If you think of yourself as a slave, then you will always be looking for a master and be terrified of the responsibilities that come with freedom.

Booker T. Washington understood this well. He gave his black students at Tuskegee University an education in skilled trades as well as liberal arts. He instilled a sense of pride and dignity in students who were literally building the school in which they learned. He took this approach so that graduates could go back and empower their communities across the rural South. Washington knew that a man who is stable and secure in his own identity can engage, build, and partner with others as equals, not as someone seeking pity, affirmation, or protection from the people he claims are oppressing him.

A lot of people today need to learn the same lesson.