Black law professor Stephen L. Carter released the controversial book Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby in 1991. In the chapter “Silencing Dissent,” Carter asserted that race-conscious affirmative action had become a shibboleth.
The word shibboleth comes from an Old Testament story that took place in the land of Gilead. After defeating an invading army, Gilead soldiers blocked all escape routes. Any man wishing to leave Gilead was required to enunciate shibboleth, which the inhabitants of Gilead uniquely pronounced, and anyone who mispronounced it was deemed an enemy and executed.
In modern times, the term shibboleth has become a metaphor for a test used to determine who is an authentic member of a group.
According to Carter, there was a “correct way” to discuss affirmative action in Black America. Black people were expected to argue that affirmative action was a “simple matter of justice” and the “minimum a racist society ought to offer the victims of its oppression.” However, if a Black person disagreed, it was like mispronouncing shibboleth, and that person was labeled a traitor who should be expelled from the Black community.
In 2023, the United States Supreme Court overturned affirmative action.
The ruling not only ended race-conscious admissions programs at colleges and universities, but it also eliminated a long-held shibboleth in Black America. While the merits of removing affirmative action can be debated, the lack of an all-encompassing issue in which the “correct answer” confirms legitimate group membership and the “wrong answer” indicates an outcast should be welcomed. Instead of Black America embracing a post-shibboleth era, new shibboleths have emerged with “correct answers” that are disturbing.
For instance, last month, Philip Anthony Mitchell, a prominent Black preacher in Atlanta, told his congregation the story of when the Pharisees attempted to trap Jesus by questioning whether it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. If Jesus supported the tax, he was a traitor to the Jews; if Jesus opposed it, he committed treason against Rome. Given that Caesar’s face appeared on the coins used to pay taxes, Jesus avoided the trap by telling his inquisitors to give back to Caesar what was Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.
Anyone with a church background is well aware that this biblical story corresponds with a message about “submitting to earthly authorities.”
Mitchell went on to inform his congregation that Christians had a responsibility to be “model citizens” under any government. Then he discussed the police. He stated that while there are “bad cops out there, not every killing of a Black man is due to a bad cop.” Some of these fatal incidents occurred “because we have not taught our children to be obedient to authority.” Then he emphasized, “Stop blaming White cops for the killing of Black kids. Instead, teach your Black children to be obedient to authority.”
Anyone with a church background grasped the biblical principle, even if they were uncomfortable with the example Mitchell used to illustrate it.
However, Mitchell’s example went viral, and the backlash he received prompted him to issue an apology. He said, “I understand the framing I used about Black children and their relationship with the police was and is harmful. I know that Black people have been killed by the police when being both compliant and noncompliant … I have a responsibility to all the people watching me. [They’re] expecting to see an example of what true discipleship of Christ looks like. That includes acknowledging when you have made a misstep or been wrong.”
Mitchell did not make a mistake. He mispronounced shibboleth. The “correct answer” is that the cops are always at fault, regardless of the circumstances, and anyone who claims differently should repent or be excommunicated for committing a thought crime against the Black community.
Recently, a Cincinnati police officer shot an 18-year-old Black man named Ryan Hinton five times. Hinton died at the scene. According to the Cincinnati Police Department, Hinton and three others bolted from a stolen vehicle when officers approached them. The police officers pursued them. Two were detained, one escaped, but Hinton was tragically shot because he was carrying a firearm, which was captured on the police officer’s body camera. (Because the officer was running, the body camera footage was blurry.). The footage does not show Hinton pointing the gun toward the officer, but it is in his hand.
The next day, the deceased’s father, 38-year-old Rodney Hinton Jr., and family members viewed the footage at the police station. According to the Cincinnati City Beat, Hinton was “upset” and “agitated” after witnessing a police officer kill his son. The police were concerned about Hinton’s emotional state and recommended that he not drive.
Hinton left with family members, but he returned a few hours later to retrieve his vehicle. While Hinton drove, he noticed retired Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputy Larry Henderson directing traffic. Hinton waited for traffic to clear before he crossed multiple lanes, accelerated, and collided with the 57-year-old deputy. Henderson died later that day at the hospital.
Hinton was arrested. The police interpreted Hinton’s act of running over a random law enforcement officer as retaliation for the police’s murder of his son. Hinton was charged with aggravated murder, and the prosecution plans to seek the death penalty.
Then something disturbing occurred.
Black social media accounts shared photos of Hilton and praised his actions. The comment sections were filled with admiration for Hilton as if he were Huey Newton. However, any Black person who condemned Hilton and his admirers was guilty of mispronouncing shibboleth, because the “correct answer” is that the police are always at fault regardless of the circumstances.
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