CARY, N.C. – “Privilege equals Process,” is a line from the upcoming graphic novel, Black Justice: The Awakening. Its author, Dr. David Washington, a consultant and attorney explains the impact of this statement on racial understanding in the United States. He explains “The term ‘privilege’ has been so weaponized that merely mentioning it can engender volatile and unproductive conversations.”
The term “white privilege” was popularized in the article, White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Women’s Studies by Dr. Peggy McIntosh in 1988. In the article McIntosh outlined that “I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group.” In Washington’s graphic novel he expands on this idea.
“In many cases, unfortunately, people examine privilege through their personal life experience, but not accounting for the impact of privilege on the larger societal landscape,” he explains. “For example, someone may say ‘I am white from a poor town in West Virginia. How am I privileged?’ However, this statement does not address that as a white person, that individual can more than likely walk away from a police interaction unharmed. While a black citizen may not.”
In the graphic novel, Washington explores other societal issues such as disparities in the investigative process for Black and Brown women that are abducted, abuse of power in governmental structures, and justice deferred. However, all this occurs within the superhero storytelling model. Washington noted two reasons for this literary choice.
“First, because of the negative connotations associated with these concepts, it is difficult to start a truly substantive conversation about race,” explains Washington. “But, if some of the venom can be removed from the words, then a serious dialogue can begin.”
“Secondly, and more importantly, representation matters. I am a huge action film and superhero fan and as a father, I was completely disappointed that my children could not see strong reflections of themselves in the genre. So, I decided to change that,” stated Washington.
The plot of the book is an African American entrepreneur and former Special Forces operator, Dr. Chris Withers, comes face-to-face with a system of injustice that drives him to vigilantism as Black Justice. Withers encounters supervillains, a corrupt police system, and social issues that stand in the way of him finding justice, but he persists through the process. Washington explains that his goal with the book was to provide an entertaining and informative story to readers.
The graphic novel, Black Justice: The Awakening is scheduled for release on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. The book will be available exclusively on Amazon.
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