#BlackLivesMatter and its Clash with #RespectabilityPolitics

Our editor, Dr. Andre E. Johnson, was the guest on The Agenda with Christian Kirk. In response to his earlier post, “Dear Black People: “Our Respectability Will Not Save Us!” When Police and Respectability Collide,” the topic of the show was the “Politics of Respectability.” Dr. Johnson offered a history of the term and examined the way that respectability has functioned within the African American community. Moreover, he reiterated that respectability politics, the constant self policing of African Americans bodies to gain approval of mainstream society, cannot and will not save Black people from oppressive and unjust systems. In addition, he went on to detail why proponents of respectability seem to clash with advocates of Black Lives Matter movement. 

The Agenda with Christian Kirk airs every Wednesday at 4:00pm (CST)  on WUMR-FM 91.7 in Memphis, Tennessee. You can hear the interview here.