Segregation vs Separation

Panthr is a first of it's kind platform. For a company to make a statement as bold as "Black Only", it is important that we define what this stance means. In this blog we will explore the history of Black and White racial dynamics in the United States.

History of the United States

The United States has a history of segregation. "White Only" is a phrase that rings viscerally deep into the memory of trauma that lives with Black America. So it may seem that a statement like "Black Only" from a Black owned Social Platform can cause the same pain as segregation. Cecil Williams Drinking from a White Only Water Fountain; 1956

However, this is where the differences of segregation and seperation become critical. The US also has a history of separation. Black Wall Street, Seneca Village, and most recently "Return to the Land" are examples of these. Separation has a different denotation and conotation than segregation, though the terms are similar. The destruction of Black Wall Street; Tulsa, Oklahoma; 1921

Definitions

The Oxford definitions for segregation and separation are:

segregation /ˌseɡrəˈɡāSHən/ noun

• the action or state of setting someone or something apart from others.

separation /ˌsepəˈrāSHən/ noun

• the action or state of moving or being moved apart.

There is some overlap in these definitions. However, let's pick them apart in detail. Segregation is the action of setting someone apart from others. As in, the segregator is imposing the separation of someone else.

Separation is the act of moving apart (or being moved apart). What's important here is the first half of the definition. To paraphrase: "the act of moving oneself apart" (i.e. self-imposed). Segregation does not include this crucial piece.

Voluntary vs Involuntary Separation

In short, segregation is an enforced and imposed separation. The undertone of having the power to separate is important in this definition. Segregation implies the segregator has power over the segregated in order to enforce it. In the history of the United States, segreation has been used as a tool to maintain economic and social advantages for the racial group in power. Segregation was a tool to maintain power for white supremency. I will elaborate.

Segregation and White Supremecy

During segregation, the enforcer of the segregation controls the means by which separation occurs.

Separation without representation

During the racial segregation that occurred in the United States, the racial group in power (white) imposed segregation on Black people. White people at the time wrote the laws because they held most if not all seats in government. Voter discrimination was still a rampant practice. A majority of major business, land, and resources were owned by white poeple.

The consequence of this is that racial segregation was on white people's terms. In most cases, white people controlled what businesses, resources, food, and even bus seats that Black people had access to. Who get's access to the freshest groceries, the cleanest water, the best loans? Whichever the segregator decides.

Segregated bus seating in North Carolina; 1955

Similarity Bias

Unfortunately, as humans we are at the whim of our emotions and psychology. Similarity Bias is a prevelant factor of human psychology. It dictates that humans are inclined to act in favor of those that are more similar to them.

Under legal segreation in the United States, this is how we end up with situations where a white bus owner gives the convenient front seats to white people and sends Black people to the back.

Voluntary Separation

Voluntary Separation is a self-imposed choice to create distinct social, political, and cultural institutions for different groups of people. In Voluntary Separation, groups move apart on their own terms and control their own resources. It's important to note that the group in power does not control the means or terms by which separation occurs. Voluntary Separation is about self-determination. The Honorable Ministor Louis Farrakhan famously stated "the responsibility that life gives every creature is that every creature must do for itself".

"The responsibility that life gives every creature is that every creature must do for itself"

- Minister Louis Farrakhan

Voluntary Separation does not impose control on outside groups. It is a practice of nature. Yellow birds commune with yellow birds, black birds commune with black birds. Yet they all share the same sky, same earth.

Panthr is a platform for voluntary social separation. So that the Black community can focus on uplifting ourselves and building communities that we are proud of.

If you are a Black person, download and join Panthr.