UNIVERSITY CENTER – Jelani Cobb stated that white nationalism was on the rise in the United States during a speech held at Delta College. Cobb also said that white supremacy had greatly impacted American democracy from the beginning.
Cobb earned a Ph.D. from Rutgers University in American History. He was invited to Delta College as part of the President’s Speaker Series to share his race, politics, and history knowledge. Cobb’s lecture touched on all three, mentioning events spanning from the foundation of the country to a mass shooting he covered as a journalist in South Carolina.
The shooting was perpetuated by a white supremacist and led to Cobb’s message that we should be “very concerned” about the rise of white Christian nationalism.
“More people have been killed by domestic terror than terror shipped in from abroad,” said Cobb.
According to a 2019 article from the FBI, more deaths and arrests in recent years have been from what the agency describes as “homegrown violent extremists.” They state that racial minorities continue to be targeted for attacks, a claim that fits the theme of Cobb’s speech.
The “same dynamics” that led to events such as lynching, the Chinese Exclusion Acts, and the Johnson Act are still in play, said Cobb. The Johnson Act, also known as the Immigration Act of 1924, restricted immigrant access to the country.
“The Chinese were accused of taking jobs and bringing drugs into the country; sound familiar?” Cobb said.
Cobb also stated that those same forces were not just present but “accelerated” in 2008 with the election of a black president. Even with all that in mind, Cobb still says he is “an optimist like a boxer in a late round.”
“If you’re still on your feet, you’ve still got a chance,” he said.
Cobb received a warm reaction from the crowd, who had remained captivated throughout and gave a standing ovation at the end of the talk.
Terry Basmabjian, who is not enrolled at Delta College, said it was “nice to hear and see him.” She says she read part of one of his books and noted his speech was more colorful. She was happy she came.
Ryan Duball, a student who attended the event, said it was “excellent.” He said he attended as a requirement for one of his classes but enjoyed it nonetheless.
“The way he was able to tie in history and how it relates to our current events and how race ties into all of that, I didn’t know a lot of that stuff, so I found it very interesting,” he said. “It definitely makes me interested and want to check out his stuff in the future, too.”
