Trent Biaza

This paper explores one of Audre Lorde’s famous quotes: "the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house" through the lens of systemic racism in the United States. By tracing the institutional construction of race from slavery and Black Codes to Jim Crow laws and contemporary voter suppression, the essay argues that American democracy remains built on and reinforced by white supremacist structures. Lorde’s intersectional framework is applied to reveal how efforts at reform within these systems often reinforce existing hierarchies rather than dismantle them. The paper culminates in a critical analysis of Trump’s second term, arguing that his administration does not seek to reform or preserve the tools of oppression, but rather to destroy them entirely. This aim achieves the goal of leaving marginalized communities vulnerable within an intact yet unaccountable Master’s House. The essay ultimately warns that the dismantling of democratic safeguards without dismantling the structures of white dominance threatens the very fabric of liberation and equity.