The Empire Is Collapsing, and We Are the Collateral Damage

A Bargain Bin Post

I've been quiet for the last 30 days. Not because I didn't have anything to say, but because I needed to sit with what I was witnessing. I needed to process the horror of what is happening in real time. I needed to ask myself: What is the goal for my legacy? What is the goal for how I plan to uplift my community? And where do Black people fit into this latest chapter of American empire?

Because what we are witnessing right now is not just a political crisis. This is the collapse of an American empire in real time, and Black and Brown people, both domestically and internationally, are being positioned as the collateral damage.

On January 3, 2026, the US military invaded Venezuela, captured President Nicolás Maduro, and flew him out of the country. The occupant of the White House justified the invasion by claiming it was necessary to combat drug trafficking and restore democracy. But during the press conference, The Occupant repeatedly mentioned Venezuelan oil, the largest proven oil reserves in the world.

This is not about democracy. This is about theft. This is about empire. This is about a white supremacist, capitalist system that is willing to destroy entire nations: to kidnap their leaders, to bomb their cities, to steal their resources to maintain its grip on power.

And it's not just Venezuela. On December 25, 2025, the US launched airstrikes on Nigeria, claiming the strikes were necessary to "protect Christians" from persecution. But the real goal is access to Nigerian oil and minerals. The US empire uses the language of "humanitarian intervention" to justify military action in Africa, but the real goal is always resources.

And it's not just in other parts of the world. Here at home, the Occupant's administration announced plans to deport 15 million people, a number that exceeds the estimated 10.5 million undocumented immigrants in the US. This suggests that the administration is planning to target legal immigrants, asylum seekers, and potentially even US citizens, particularly Black and Brown people.

The goal is to eradicate the Black and Brown population, to steal their labor, and to maintain white supremacy.

This is the Faustian Bargain on a global scale. And the question for Black people is: What do we do now?

The Faustian Bargain

I've written extensively about the Faustian Bargain, the deal Black men make with a white supremacist, capitalist system in exchange for access to wealth, fame, and power. But what we are witnessing right now is the Faustian Bargain on a global scale.

The US empire made a deal with the world: in exchange for access to resources (oil, minerals, labor), it would maintain "stability" and "democracy." But that deal was always a lie. The US empire has always been built on the exploitation and destruction of Black and Brown people.

And now, as the empire collapses, it is doubling down on that exploitation. It is invading Venezuela to steal oil. It is bombing Nigeria under the guise of "protecting Christians." It is planning mass deportations that target not just undocumented immigrants, but Black and Brown citizens.

This is the Faustian Bargain coming home to roost.

The Sacrificial Bargain

And who will be expected to absorb the violence of this collapse? Black women.

Black women will be expected to hold their families together when their partners are deported. Black women will be expected to work multiple jobs to make up for lost income. Black women will be expected to be the emotional laborers, the caretakers, the ones who "hold it down" even as the system destroys us.

This is the Sacrificial Bargain in action: Black women are expected to absorb the violence, the exploitation, and the harm that the system inflicts on us, without complaint, without resistance, and without accountability.

But Tamika Mallory is saying NO.

On January 3, 2026, Tamika Mallory posted on Instagram calling for a work stoppage in response to the US invasion of Venezuela and the mass deportation plans. She wrote:

"We cannot continue to work for a system that is actively trying to destroy us. We must refuse to be the labor force that sustains this empire. We must refuse to be the collateral damage."

This is the refusal of the Sacrificial Bargain. Tamika Mallory is saying that we will not absorb the violence of this collapse. We will not work for a system that is actively trying to destroy us. We will not be the collateral damage.

Nicki Minaj's Betrayal of Black People

And then there's Nicki Minaj.

In December 2025, Nicki Minaj appeared at a Turning Point USA event alongside Charlie Kirk's wife, Erika Kirk, a far-right political activist who has promoted white nationalist rhetoric. She also gave a speech at the UN about violence in Nigeria, framing herself as a humanitarian advocate for Christians.

But her appearance at Turning Point USA, a MAGA-aligned organization, has been widely criticized as a betrayal of Black people.

Nicki Minaj is willing to align herself with white supremacist organizations in order to maintain her proximity to power and wealth. She is willing to betray Black people, to support a political movement that is actively trying to destroy us, in order to secure her own success.

And this is not new. We saw the same thing with Kanye West. We saw the same thing with Ray J. We saw the same thing with every Black celebrity who has chosen proximity to power over accountability to the people.

The Faustian Bargain teaches Black people that their individual success is more important than the collective survival of Black people. And that is a lie.

So... What Do We Do Now?

So what do we do now? Do we continue to work for a system that is actively trying to destroy us? Do we continue to celebrate Black celebrities who betray us? Do we continue to absorb the violence of this collapse without resistance?

Or do we refuse the bargain?

Tamika Mallory is calling for a work stoppage. She is calling for Black people to refuse to be the labor force that sustains this empire. She is calling for Black people to refuse to be the collateral damage.

And I am joining her call.

We cannot continue to work for a system that is actively trying to destroy us. We cannot continue to celebrate Black celebrities who betray us. We cannot continue to absorb the violence of this collapse without resistance.

We must refuse the Faustian Bargain. We must refuse the Sacrificial Bargain. We must build our own systems of survival and resistance.

This is the work. And it's time.

Hilerie Lind is a PhD student in Africana Women's Studies at Clark Atlanta University and the author of "What If I Told You I Was Worthy Before?" She writes about the intersection of Black Feminist Theory, hip-hop culture, and the gendered politics of "selling out" in Black communities.