“But race is the child of racism, not the father. And the process of naming “the people” has never been a matter of genealogy and physiognomy so much as one of hierarchy. Difference in hue and hair is old. But the belief in the preeminence of hue and hair, the notion that these factors can correctly organize a society and that they signify deeper attributes, which are indelible—this is the new idea at the heart of these new people who have been brought up hopelessly, tragically, deceitfully, to believe that they are white.”
“Hate gives identity. The n*, the f, the b* illuminate the border, illuminate what we ostensibly are not, illuminate the Dream of being white, of being a Man. We name the hated strangers and are thus confirmed in the tribe.”*
*White America” is a syndicate arrayed to protect its exclusive power to dominate and control our bodies. Sometimes this power is direct (lynching), and sometimes it is insidious (redlining). But however it appears, the power of domination and exclusion is central to the belief in being white, and without it, “white people” would cease to exist for want of reasons.” *
― Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me
I guess I believe the most positive first step someone like me can take to combat racism is to try and understand what exactly racism is.
@HotCanary , my question about using race as a descriptor was not a response to your post (although your comment probably served as a springboard); it was a genuine question. I really want to know people’s thoughts on it. (I think you’re expressing your feelings just fine, btw.)
A black friend explained to me that it was white privilege to “not see color”. In other words, it is my privilege to not see or think about race when it is something that impacts her life daily. It’s a confusing position but I think I get it. With that said, it’s hard to know quite what to do with that. Or maybe it wasn’t said as something to act on but to reflect on…
alh, I loved that passage from the book. So much to think about. But I can see where if you’re white it would be difficult to read that (I’m Hispanic). And I wish that he would make it clearer that for lots of people it isn’t conscious.
My book club of all upper middle-class/very wealthy white women, except me, read this, and the discussion was so fascinating. To be in this book club, you pretty much have to fall in line ideologically. I’m pretty sure that we’re all BLM supporters, support liberal causes both financially and in deed, but I was a lone voice on some of this discussion. I was really surprised how quickly many of them just take the official police word as gospel. I brought up the local case of a black, unarmed, naked 17yo who was shot by an officer. Several of my book group defended the officer because the kid was on PCP. The kid was NOT on PCP, but that’s what the head of the union threw out there right after the shooting as a possible excuse for the officer’s actions. Thank goodness for toxicology reports. And I brought up the shooting of the black man in the back by the cop in NC (is that right?) last year. The cop’s story didn’t match the reality of the cell-phone video that he didn’t know about. Caught in a lie. And yet, all these enlightened women who think of themselves as on the right side of this issue had trouble believing that these are rare, isolated instances.
The injustice isn’t new; it’s just being filmed now.
@Youdon’tsay I just read that the union has refused to pay the lawyers fees for he cop in the Walter Scott shooting. Hopefully they will prevail in court. Maybe if overzealous officers know they don’t have an unlimited legal fund they will think twice.
I love Ta-nehisi Coates. He is one of the best authors of my generation as it relates to issues of race. He is a jewel of Howard University.
“…Peter Kraska [professor at EKU’s School of Justice Studies] is among those who do think police have become quicker to use force…”
“…By that he [Kraska] means certain training companies, which, over the past couple decades, have become very influential in the police world. What he doesn’t like about these companies, Kraska says, is the way they rely on videos from dashboard cameras and body cams that show officers being surprised or ambushed by suspects, sometimes with fatal results. He said emphasizing these moments in training can make officers paranoid…”
“…The mindset that he [criminologist from a different university] worries about is a sense of us versus them, one that regards the public as more dangerous than it is…”
Racism is a problem in my family – my parents and brother make a lot of casually racist comments. I call them on it, but it has little effect.
But my D1 called out my dad once – we invited my parents to an open house at the summer academic program where D was teaching that had a majority of minority students. My dad made a comment about the students the night before at the dinner table (don’t recall his exact words), and D looked him in the eye and told him he was not welcome to attend if he was going to make racist comments like that. Boom! She was his favorite, and he was stunned into silence and apologized! They went and were in their best behavior. I can’t say it changed him long term, though.
My nephew was on the track team. His group going to prom a couple years ago was he and his white date, and four other black couples. Those were his high school buddies. So I like to think that in our family, we have broken the cycle of casual racism at least – our younger generation are all horrified by it. Does that mean they are always mindful of their white privilege? Pribably not – but they do know it exists, and want to make things better.
Growing up, I remember hearing people say things like “I don’t think of so-and-so as black” and saying it was meant it as a compliment. Maybe even really thinking it was. But not thinking how wring it is to “compliment” someone by denying who they are.
I think “I don’t see race” sometimes comes across the same way.
^ Especially since it’s not like something many white people go out to claim. I can’t help that I was born white any more than a black person can help that they were born black. It feels like a guilt trip.
Right. Which is why I wish the msg were a bit tempered, but I get why he writes like he writes. I had to quit reading the book after about 70 pages because I felt so overwhelmed – and I was a sympathetic reader. I put it down for three weeks and finished it the night before book club.
intparent, when ds1 was born I told my father that if he ever said anything racist in front of my son that I would restrict his access. He hasn’t broken that rule except once in 24 years. They can help themselves if they really want to.
In my eyes someone saying “I don’t see color” or “I’m colorblind” is not a literal statement as many here are defining it. It is metaphorical in that it means it makes no difference in my treatment of people. @myloves had it correct when she interpreted my statement as I see people. Again I ask, what is the answer? If I say I don’t see color I’m scolded for not recognizing and celebrating differences. If I say I recognize color and celebrate differences I’m told color shouldn’t matter and all deserve to be treated equally. That puts me in a no win situation.
In my life I have friends of all races, ethnicities and sexual orientations. I also know people of all races, sexual orientations and ethnicities who I know will never be my friends. Does that make me racist or homophobic because I don’t relate on a personal level with some people?
I truly don’t know the answers to these questions and I still contend that todays climate and tone is not the answer.
》》 In my life I have friends of all races, ethnicities and sexual orientations. I also know people of all races, sexual orientations and ethnicities who I know will never be my friends. Does that make me racist or homophobic because I don’t relate on a personal level with some people?《《
@partyof5 - I haven’t responded but I have been reading. I am interested in fighting racism. I’m deeply saddened about how I see our nation treating and viewing people of color. I am also surprised at how many people here on Cc have been raised in outright racist environments.
I am 55 yrs old and was born and raised in Ca. I grew up in an area that was multicultural. In my schools growing up we had Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, Asian and a large percent of Pacific Islanders. It was probably considered a lower middle class neighborhood.Or at least that was how we saw our neighborhood. Our schools were diverse in race but not socioeconomic. None of the parents of my friends had a college education. Most of the men worked in the shipyards and oil refineries. My stepdad was an iron worker. I was one of the few who went on to college after HS. What is interesting to me is that not going on to higher education beyond maybe a few yrs at a community college has continued onto the next generation. Opposite of what we see here on CC. Interracial dating wasn’t a big deal and many of my HS friends have interracial marriages.Of my siblings 1 married a Pacific Islander, 1 a Sunni Muslim and 2 to Jewish men. My Irish catholic Mom never said a word.
I consider myself, my H, my kids and our extended family to be liberal, open minded and colorblind.Yet I still feel like I need help in learning more about racism in America and how to talk about race.
My hopefully future DIL is African American. I hope to one day have biracial grandchildren. I am truthful that I don’t even think about her skin color. I hope I judge her by her actions. I know she feels racism at times. I can try to understand but in reality I can’t know what it feels like to be in her skin. I think my S has only recently realized that much of America is not like the liberal state of Ca. I also am honest that I don’t have a clue as to how to talk about racism with my S GF. I don’t want to ignore it but I also feel like I treat her the same way I treat the other SO of my kids.
I don’t think it’s not caring, it’s really not knowing what we can do that would truly be helpful. I am not convinced that we will get rid of racism until we all intermarry and everyone is brown, but that is decades away at best.
At our last neighborhood association meeting we had a speaker from My Brothers Keeper. It was a pretty uplifting meeting. I think young black men desparately need more mentors and role models and while I, as a white woman, can’t probably provide that, there are things I can do more behind the scenes the support the organization and there were plenty of concrete suggestions. One of the very simple things they were doing was setting up collections of children’s books at barbershops and then having an incentive program for kids to read them. They needed book donations and/or money to buy books. I know when I was a PTA leader one of the things we had to make an effort to do was make sure our leadership represented the whole school, not just racially and ethnically but by class as well. It’s too easy to just ask people like you to head up committees.
I think the Avenue Q song is probably correct. We’re all a little bit racist. I believe that evolution pushes us to form groups of “people like us” - they don’t have to be sorted by race, but they often are. There’s a wonderful article about a woman who realized that she was more racist than she thought. Google “The Day I Discovered I Was A Racist Daily Kos” - I don’t think I’m allowed to provide the link.
Thinking about the exercise, I think whites were taught to not be racist by being told not to notice race. Which really is silly. We are different for many reasons and that’s okay. I remember first thinking about this when I read Black Ice by Lorene Cary a wonderful memoir by the way which made me realize how easy it is for white people to say really stupid insensitive things while thinking we are being helpful. Reading more authors with different life experiences is another way we can understand other points of view.
