Tag Archives: Conspiracy Theories

Why the Introduction of Conspiracy Theories Amplifies the Dangers of Covid-19 for Black America

The moment that Idris Elba, a phenomenal actor I was initially introduced to as Stringer Bell on The Wire, was afflicted with the Coronavirus (Covid-19), my mind immediately reverted to Marcus Mosiah Garvey’s most poignant observations revealed about his prodigious travels abroad. According to the famed Pan-Africanist,

I don’t care where you go or what type of society you view. Our people are always the least educated, the poorest, own the least amount of land, and die the soonest.

When it became clear that the Coronavirus was going to have an unprecedented impact on this nation, I feared that Black America would receive at least a double-portion of the pain and misery flowing from this unexpected intruder.

My fears are buoyed by the information presented by medical professionals that the chronic medical issues affecting Black America lessen its chances of surviving Covid-19. Additionally, the members of our community are the most likely to be uninsured or possess the multiple variables needed to “shelter in place” for a significant period. I am saddened to write that it appears that Black Americans are perfectly positioned to receive a heaping portion of the negativity promised by the Coronavirus.   

Reasonable-minded African-Americans understand that Blacks are no different from other American populations in that we were devoid of a reliable defense against the looming pandemic. Unfortunately for reasonable-minded Blacks, their grounded understanding of such matters neither removed nor muted the ascension of a cadre of boastful, loud-mouth, and ill-informed Negroes who continued a well-worn pattern of propagating dim-witted statements that comfortably pass the threshold of outlandish conspiracy theories. Not even the following statement by Idris Elba served as a sufficient deterrent to the hair-brained conspiracy theories of a rambunctious few. According to Elba,

Black people, please, please, please understand that coronavirus, you can get it. There are so many stupid, ridiculous conspiracy theories about black people not being able to get it. That’s dumb, stupid. All right? That is the quickest way to get more black people killed.”

I intuitively realized that not even the pleadings of Stringer Bell were sufficient to beat back the tide of conspiracy theories whose replication mirrored that of Covid-19.

While Black medical professionals issued repeated warnings to our community, conspiracy theorists countered scientific advice via the internet to a frightened and unknowing community. A familiar refrain that authoritatively stated that Blacks could not contract Covid-19 due to melanin or a litany of other racial signifiers. Such advice worsened the survival chances of a community marred by a host of issues ranging from compromised housing, marginal economic status, and the usual challenges inextricably linked to Black socioeconomic marginality.

Instead of working to provide life-saving information to a frightened Black populace, the conspiracy theorists in our midst grasped for a few fleeting moments of semi-importance. It seems that every tragedy that befalls Black America is considered an opportunity by the least of us to stoke the embers of confusion and darkness. In many ways, it is inexcusable that at the very moment where light is desperately needed, conspiracy theorists flood our community with darkness. The time has come for conspiracy theorists to abandon ridiculous constructs and intricate lies that make them little more than conmen seeking to not only exploit others but also muting the voices of medical professionals who hold the keys to lessening the portion of misery and suffering befalling Black America.

I am sure that you are much like me in that I have had my fill of unnecessary pain, misery, and suffering. It is time that the conspiracy theorists in our midst are shunned and silenced “by any means necessary.”  

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2020.

I thank you and appreciate you visiting Manhood, Race, and Culture.

If you enjoy the content that you find here at Manhood, Race, and Culture.

It would be greatly appreciated if you would consider purchasing my book, “Foolish” Floyd: The Life & Times of an African-American Contrarian.

Why Umar Johnson’s Penchant for Conspiracy Theories Does a Disservice to His Followers

Unfortunately for Black America, Umar Johnson has reappeared. Yep, despite innumerable promises that his “public career” was over, Umar Johnson is back. If nothing else, Johnson should be applauded for his uncanny knack to break every promise or commitment that he makes to anyone willing to listen to mounds and mounds of his foolishness. In every way, Umar Johnson is nothing more than the latest in a long line of self-proclaimed “Race men” whose antics have retarded the progress of Black America.

Prior exposure to Umar Johnson’s foolishness makes his most recent video essays regarding the tragic death of former Los Angeles Laker superstar Kobe Bryant inevitable.

In response to Bryant’s death, Johnson issued a wild conjecture filled conspiratorial tale whose most tangible support was of a helicopter crash of the incident. The only problem with this crucial piece of evidence was that the footage was not of the crash that led to the death of Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and others. Johnson’s total ignorance regarding this being the incorrect video is in a word, revealing. In fact, it is predictable as none of what can be termed his signature conspiracy theories are evidence-based. His followers are apparently not bothered by a small thing such as evidence.

Make no mistake about it, Umar Johnson’s antics have done a grave disservice to the downtrodden Blacks who follow him. You know the type of people that I am referring to, those whose daily experiences inform their intuition that the deck of life is somehow stacked against them. Devoid of the means of articulating their angst, they turn to the Umar Johnson’s of the world to articulate the voluminous pain that shadows them daily. History will remember many of Umar Johnson’s followers as well-meaning lambs who were victimized by greedy conmen who simultaneously filled their pockets while building towers of self-importance that benefited their followers in no appreciable manner.

Umar Johnson’s roving sideshow serves as the antithesis of Malcolm X’s charge to Black leaders to “Tell the truth.” Instead of truth, Umar Johnson intentionally makes up theories and stories based on nothing other than the fanciful, flighty, and frightening notions of his mind. In many ways, it appears that Umar is actually sharing with the world an internal dialogue that would be best shared on the sofa of some credentialed psychiatrist. Yet, there are those in Black America who are so desperate to make sense of this world that seemingly rests on deplorable principles such as denigrating Blackness at every turn that they not only listen to the conspiratorial stylings of Umar Johnson but allow such foolishness to significantly alter their world. If they are not careful, they will accept Johnson’s implicit argument that blackness dooms them to be oppressed their entire lives.

When one really thinks about it, Umar Johnson’s standard shtick that conveniently attributes tragedies ranging from Kobe Bryant’s death to his own failed endeavors to a yet to be identified conspiracy from “White folk” fashions Whites as Gods capable of destroying the plans of mere Black mortals. I am sure that I do not need to tell you that this reliance on conspiracy theories must be abandoned immediately and replaced with Marcus Garvey’s mantra of “Up, you mighty Race, achieve what you will.”

It is the only reasonable path forward, and that is no conspiracy.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2020.