Black Americans aren’t being “selfish” , “exclusive” , or "divisive" when they protect Hoodoo—they are safeguarding something sacred. Hoodoo isn’t just a practice; it’s a survival technology, a cultural inheritance, and often, a final refuge for a people who had nearly everything else stripped from them.
Hoodoo was criminalized for centuries. Practitioners risked beatings, lynchings, prison, or the death of their entire family/friends (due to fear of it's preservation).
White academics, witches, and influencers have profited off of it without honoring the lineage or people.
Arab, European, and sometimes even African religious communities contributed to erasing its legitimacy or labeled it “evil” or “low.”
So now? It’s protected like a last remaining sacred language.
Because it is.
Gatekeeping is necessary.
