In
the wake of the June 17, 2015 massacre of nine African American worshippers in
Charleston, South Carolina by a 21-year white supremacist Dylann Roof, the news
and social media are awash with rueful comments and lamentations that President
Barack Obama “used the N-word” in one of his recent comments on the state of
race and racism in contemporary America.
I
am of the opinion that such lamentations missed the point the president was
trying to convey. I am disappointed that critics of the president’s alleged use
of the N-word apparently chose to take his choice of diction out of context.
Based on what I have read of the actual words of the president, all that he was
doing was to make a point that society should not be fixated (as it tends to be
from time to time) on whether a person has called another person the N-word as
a key or essential indicator of whether that person believes in and practices
racism.
Contrary
to what looks like an attempt in certain segments of the media to reduce and
trivialize the president’s exposition on race and racism in America, he, in
fact, did offer a nuanced and balanced historical and contemporary perspective.
As he put it,
Do not say that nothing's changed when it comes to race in
America — unless you've lived through being a black man in the 1950s, or '60s,
or '70s. It is incontrovertible that race relations have improved significantly
during my lifetime and yours, and that opportunities have opened up, and that
attitudes have changed. That is a fact (http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/06/22/416476377/we-are-not-cured-obama-discusses-racism-in-america-with-marc-maron).
Continuing,
however, President Obama then went on to assert:
Racism, we are not cured of … and it’s not just a matter of
it not being polite to say [the N-word] in public. That’s not the measure of
whether racism still exists or not. It’s not just a matter of overt
discrimination. Societies don’t, overnight, completely erase everything that
happened 200 to 300 years prior. What is also true is that the legacy of
slavery, Jim Crow, discrimination in almost every institution of our lives —
you know, that casts a long shadow. And that's still part of our DNA that's
passed on. We're not cured of it (http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/06/22/416476377/we-are-not-cured-obama-discusses-racism-in-america-with-marc-maron).
President
Obama could not be more correct about his assessment of the state of racial
animus in this United States, while pointing out, correctly of course, that `it
is incontrovertible that race relations have improved significantly during my
lifetime and yours, and that opportunities have opened up, and that attitudes
have changed. That is a fact.’
Contrary
to Dylann Roof’s reported goal of triggering a racial war in America by
cold-bloodedly murdering nine church worshippers inside a historic black church
(http://myfox8.com/2015/06/19/charleston-shooting-suspect-dylan-roof-confesses-to-killing-9-people/),
the multi-racial closing-of-ranks against his blatant racial terrorism and hate
that we witnessed in South Carolina in the aftermath of that massacre, attests
to President Obama’s assessment that `race relations have improved
significantly during my lifetime and yours.’ At the same time, however, the
President was correct in describing racism as a social DNA deriving from the
legacy of slavery and Jim Crow that has not been erased. And, he could not be
more factual in pointing out that racism is `not just a matter of overt
discrimination.’
The
Eyes of the Storm
From
the standpoint of a person who has been through the eyes of this insidious
monstrosity otherwise popularly referred to as racism, racism does not have to
be overt. In fact, as one of my brilliant students aptly put it, “Racism Is Not
Dead, [it is] Just Redesigned.” Yes, covert racism is difficult to track and
harder to prove though the victim is well aware of his/her predicament!
Scholarly
Perspectives
At
this juncture, let’s continue this discussion by recapturing a set of scholarly
perspectives on racism, and, as you read them, do take note that they are
articulations of racism that are largely shaped by the US social experience. I
provide this caveat because, as we shall see in subsequent sections of this
essay, racism and other forms of hate, are not peculiar to the United States or
any one human society. To say the rather obvious, hate is a global human
phenomenon that exploits a variety of social group constructs to transport
itself, often depending upon the tilt of the local balance of political power.
In
his Introduction to Black Studies (2010), Professor Maulana Karenga
offers as follows:
Racism is essentially a system of denial and deformation of
a people’s history, humanity and right to freedom based exclusively or
primarily on the specious concept of race. Stripped of all its cultural and
pseudo-scientific mystification, race is a socio-biological category designed
to assign human worth and social status, using Whites as the paradigm. Racism,
then, which begins with the creation and mystification of race, is social
thought and practice which expresses itself in three basic ways, i.e., as 1)
imposition, i.e., conquest and oppression of a people, and interruption,
destruction and appropriation of a people’s history and productive capacity in
racial terms; 2) ideology, i.e., an elaborate system of pseudo-intellectual
categories, assumptions and contentions negative to people of color and serving
as justification of the imposition and reinforcement of the institutional
arrangement; and 3) institutional arrangement, i.e., a system of political,
economic and social structures which insure White power and privilege over
people of color. Racism, thus, becomes a continuing problem, nor only for
social inquiry, but also for the quality of social life and the ongoing quest
for human freedom and human flourishing. And it is a problem that tends to
appear at every level and every area of social life (pp. 255-256).
Describing
racism as “societal waste,” Professors Joe Feagin and Hernan Vera articulate it
as follows in their 1995 book, White Racism:
White racism can be viewed as the socially organized set of
attitudes, ideas, and practices that deny African Americans and other people of
color the dignity, opportunities, freedoms, and rewards that this nation offers
white Americans. The concept of white racism encompasses the attitudes and
ideologies that motivate negative actions against blacks and other minorities.
Racist acts have ranged from overt extermination and murder, to subtle gestures
of social exclusion, to passive acquiescence in the racist acts of others.
Typically, racist acts and practices are institutionalized; they are embedded
in and shaped by social contexts. These practices have sometimes been defined
as illegal under U.S. law. This is the case for certain types of blatant
employment, educational, and housing discrimination that fall under the 1964
and 1968 civil rights acts (p. 7).
Racism
can be broken down into various types, including personal or individual racism,
collective or group racism, institutional racism, environmental racism and even
intellectual racism. In their American Politics and the African American
Quest for Universal Freedom (2006), Hanes Walton, Jr. & Robert C. Smith
assert that individual racism “occurs when one person takes into consideration
the race of another to subordinate, control, or otherwise discriminate against
an individual” (p. 7). In contrast, institutional racism “exists when the
normal and accepted patterns and practices of a society’s institutions have the
effect or consequence of subordinating or discriminating against an individual
or group on the basis of race” (p. 7).
Ingredients
of Racism
What
are ingredients of racism? From my own investigation,
·
Absurdity
constitutes a central marker of racism;
·
Racism
derives partly from cultural ethnocentrism;
·
Racism
could exist in the form of an attitude, action, institutional policy or pattern
of actions;
·
In
general, racism denies biological racial equality and assumes that some “races”
are biologically inferior;
·
Racists
view the physical, mental and cultural attributes of the “inferior” race or
person as naturally defective;
·
Racists
tend to fixate on their victims;
·
Racism
may lower the self-worth of persons who internalize negative stereotypes about
them; and
·
Racial
prejudice may constitute an insidious force working from within the oppressed
to nurture the message of the oppressor. (For more on this, check out James
Jones' 1997 book on Prejudice and Racism through McGraw-Hills).
The
last two bulleted points can be a key for unlocking such socio-psychological
phenomena as self-hate and loathing of one’s own kind and one’s own cultural
identity.
White
Supremacism
White
Supremacism, as a form of racism, is defined by a belief that “Caucasian/Aryan
people are from a superior gene pool, and that all other minorities are
inferior. There is a particularly embittered hatred towards black people
linking back to slavery, but also an increasing hatred towards Hispanics as
that group has grown due to migration” ((http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33198061).
A
report says that white supremacists are not homogenous, “but what defines them
is hatred - usually directed at race and the government. Weapons are a key part
of their ideology: far-right websites dedicate entire sections to recommending
what guns and other weapons to buy. Nazi ideology is one symbol seen in nearly
all far-right groups, with tattoos of swastikas common” (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33198061). Notice how,
on the one hand, white supremacist Dylann Roof was pictured burning the United
States flag (a blatant display of contempt for a symbol of US sovereignty) and,
on the other hand, valorizing the Confederate flag, a symbol of rebellion
against the Union (http://beta.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33211192).
Be
that as it may, fundamentally, a white supremacist, simply put, is a person who
subscribes to a belief that `Caucasian/Aryan people are from a superior gene
pool, and that all other minorities are inferior.' Thus, to qualify as a white
supremacist, a person does not have to act violently or burn the US national
flag like Dylann Roof. Since consciousness precedes action, a person who
harbors consciousness that `Caucasian/Aryan people are from a superior gene
pool, and that all other minorities are inferior,' is most likely to judge
human affairs and to relate to the Cultural Other from that standpoint.
In
his 1990 work, Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous?, Haki R.
Madhubuti describes white supremacism as a system and one which exerts a
debilitating influence on black families and black manhood. Among other goals,
he states, the white supremacist system rewards black men and women who assist
in the oppression of the black community. The system targets, labels, and
harasses black men and women who dare to speak out on behalf of black humanity
(p. 73).
Hate
as a universal phenomenon
It
must be understood that hate, as a human emotion, just like love, is not
peculiar to any human group. Hate, like love, exists in all human societies. It
must also be clear that hate uses a variety of social anchors for its
fermentation and growth. So, apart from the social category of race, hate also
exploits ethnicity and religion.
Ethnicity
as an anchorage for hate
Ask
the Tutsis of Rwanda, more than 200,000 of whom were massacred by their Hutu
fellow nationals in 1994, about how ethnicity can become a deadly vehicle for
hate (http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/Genocide/genocide_in_rwanda.htm).
Ask the Igbos of Nigeria who lost up to 700,000 of their brethren in the pogrom
that took place within Nigeria between 1966 and 1967 whether ethnicity can also
serve as a ferocious vehicle for hate (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woQ0KcAeVWE).
The subsequent Civil War of 1967-1970 claimed about a million lives, including
the lives of the secessionists and Nigerian troops, but predominantly the
former.
Religion
as a basis for hate
It
must be recognized that hate exists in other forms as well. Hate can be
religion-based. As a prominent contemporary example, consider northern Nigeria
where a group that calls itself Boko Haram and mis-uses the name of Islam, has
systematically targeted and killed thousands of fellow Nigerians, particularly
Christians, including deadly attacks on Christian church sessions. When translated,
Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden” (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13809501).
Boko Haram's religion-based, hate-driven insurgency is said to have claimed
about 13,000 lives
(http://africacheck.org/reports/have-13000-people-been-killed-in-nigerias-insurgency-the-claim-is-broadly-correct/).
Xenophobia
Hate
also exists prominently in the form of xenophobia. For example, during the
month of April 2015, South Africa experienced another bout of xenophobic
attacks that targeted and killed some of the resident Africans from other
African countries (http://www.ibtimes.com/south-africa-xenophobia-2015-victims-names-nationalities-released-1900755).
Seven people were killed in this round of xenophobic violence, but three South
Africans also lost their lives. Thousands of foreigners living in South Africa
were driven from their homes in this wave of xenophobic violence that swept
from Durban in KwaZulu-Natal province to Johannesburg and other cities in
Gauteng province. It will be recalled that back in 2008, “a spate of
anti-immigrant attacks swept South Africa, resulting in at least 67 deaths” (http://www.ibtimes.com/south-africa-xenophobia-2015-victims-names-nationalities-released-1900755).
Conclusion
Well,
where do we go from here? As a cross-section of political and civic leaders in
South Carolina have admirably done in the wake of the bloody tragedy of June
17, 2015, all persons of goodwill and all persons who believe in human
brotherhood and human sisterhood that transcend the boundaries of race and
ethnicity should strive to join hands together against hate—in all its
identifiable manifestations.
Speak up and bear witness to justice when you witness
hate though I understand that there are risks (including social ostracism) that
are associated with challenging hate, particularly where it’s backed by the
levers of power. Secrecy allows hate to flourish because the perpetrators of
hate are aware that they are on the wrong side of the law and morality. So,
help by taking steps to unmask them. Expose them! Remember what the sun-shine
glare does and can do to a Dracula, fictional as it may be. Endeavor not to
play the role of an acquiescent by-stander!
Do
not knowingly defend hate; and do not protect an acknowledged hater that
masquerades within your zone of awareness or allow yourself to be hoodwinked
into rationalizing hate.
Given
that racism tends to be grounded in absurdity, critical thinking skills, when
backed by a deep understanding of human diversity issues at stake, can serve as
an effective anti-dote. Check-out Richard Paul & Linda Elder's Critical
Thinking: Concepts & Tools (2009) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l0SDLmeBf8).
So,
endeavor to apply the basic rules of critical thinking. For instance, if you
are told about or you receive a "report," or a "sourceless
rumor," demand for the full name of the reporter, and demand for the name
of the employer of the reporter. Don't dignify or act on a "report"
which has no named reporter or use such a "report" as a basis for
decision-making aimed at exonerating a person who stands accused of or who is
known to have engaged in an act of hate. If you are told that "it's our
government," ask to find out which government--local, state or federal.
Ask to find out the specific name of the agency that's claimed to be the source
of the report. Then, contact the leadership of that agency and inquire about
the authenticity of the alleged report, particularly if it does not square with
the reality that you are familiar with.
If
you occupy a position that empowers you to act against hate, do not hesitate to
wield your power in a manner that can serve as a deterrent against hate. As the
universal human experience has shown from time to time, when ignored, hate only
tends to metamorphosize and wax stronger, not weaker. When ignored, hate feels
emboldened, grows in complexity, mutates, manufactures “new evidence” through
mischief and false transmittals to the authorities, markets itself to the naïve
and the gullible through its simplistic appeals to base human instincts, and
worse still, creates room for copycats.
