But I am not against black organizations (e.g., the NAACP) for the defense of black or colored people against discrimination. For example, the NAACP organized a contigent demanding the firing of racist cops in Alameda while I did my best to organize a contigent from UC Berkeley and write a statement for why they should be terminated without recourse, i.e., not allowed to return to the force after sensitivity training.
My skepticism here is of race exclusive organizations that have such broad political goals that they simply do not have the power to realize on their own; for example, I argued that the BPP did not have the power to impose the ten point program it drew. Whenever a black self defense organization starts talking about the overthrow of capitalism, I become skeptical. I am worried about the impact of separatist tendencies on class power that can only be organized in non racialist groupings. My criticism has not been of anti racist organizations but black nationalist groupings which attempt to subsume all the political and social interests of people to the detriment of building criss crossing proletarian alliances. That is obviously Farakhan's goal.
So I do not disagree with Charles' statement in favor of self defense organizations against white supremacy. It strikes me however that at some point the Black Power tradition evolved into a substitute for participation in other groupings all of which came to be understood as manifestations of an essential white nationalism. Instead of continuing to replicate black power formations in other ethnic or gender communities, I think we should consider if this devolves into a proliferation of powerlessness.
yours, rakesh