racial shame to empathy
TRANSCRIPT
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From White Racial Shame to Empathy for People of ColorPart I
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Fifteen years ago I began researching how to shift the shame and denial thatprevents me and other people of European descent from challenginginstitutionalized racism.
During my dissertation research (owards a !sychology of "nlearning Racism# $%ase &tudy of a 'uddhist "nlearning Racism %ourse for hite !eople) availableat http#**www.pro+uest.com*en,"&*catalogs*databases*detail*p+dt.shtml -) Idiscovered the relationship between shame and empathy) a relationship which isey to transforming racism and other forms of oppression.
If you would lie to communicate more e/ectively about racism with liberal whiteaudiences) read on.
0iewise) if you want to understand the role that shame plays in reinforcingoppression in general) read on.
White People Lack of Empathy for People of Color
I was moved to write this after receiving articles asserting that white peoplecannot empathize with people of $sian) $rab) 0atino) $frican and Indigenousdescentpeople of color#
https#**ose.utsc.utoronto.ca*ose*story.php2id34156
http#**restructure.wordpress.com*4717*76*78*white,people,lac,empathy,for,brown,people,brain,research,shows*
http#**www.guardian.co.u*commentisfree*4715*may*16*new,orleans,shooting,not,national,news
his is not a surprise. ith racism or any other form of oppression) the group on
the upside of ine+uity is positioned to be oblivious to the people on the downsideof ine+uity. In the case of racism) this positioning creates perception gapsbetween white people and people of color.
&ystemic socioeconomic ine+ualities cause white people and people of color tolive in di/erent worlds) governed by social rules and economic conditions thatadvantage white people and disadvantage people of color. !eople of color areusually aware of this9 white people are often not. his perception gap) which isalso an empathy gap) is di:cult for white people to bridge.
Even seasoned white anti,racist activists can lac this empathy. $nti,racist white
people;s awareness of racism and privilege is often limited to an abstract) two,dimensional acnowledgement. hite people who lac an emotional and
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embodied understanding of racism cannot feel into how people of colore<perience their daily lives.
hite anti,racist action that is not grounded in empathy for people of color canbe inappropriately passive or aggressive) can tae space from people of color)
and often lacs a strategic approach.
Experiences That Promote Empathy
hat does white people;s empathy for people of color loo lie2 $ccording toEileen =;'rien)
>Empathy means ? step@pingA across that perception gap) grasping the e<tent towhich racism still e<ists) and validating the e<periences of people of color.B
=;'rien;s boo) hites %onfront Racism# $ntiracists and heir !aths to $ction)describes two common scenarios through which white people begin to empathizewith people of color#
1. developing close relationships with people of color and witnessing theirmistreatment9
4. translating personal e<periences of oppression or abuse into empathy forpeople of color.
In the Crst scenario) a white individual becomes friends or lovers with a person orpersons of color) and witnesses Crsthand their di/erential treatment by o:cials)institutions) and groups) such as this typical interaction) described by oy Degruy#
In our highly segregated cities and towns) close interracial relationships arerelatively rare for white people) unless they long to be around those who aredi/erent) and act on this longing. %lose interracial relationships can awaen awhite person;s awareness and empathy about racism.
=;'rien suggests that a similar awaening may occur when white people aree<posed to creative e<pression by people of color. his was certainly true in my
case. &tevie onder;s 0iving For the %ity#
touched me profoundly as an adolescent) as did Fat;s aller;s 'lac and 'lue#
http#**www.youtube.com*watch2v3&56'6%$RG
In the second scenario) a white person who has e<perienced oppression (se<ism)homophobia) ableism) etc.- or abuse may empathize with the racism that peopleof color e<perience. his is even lielier when that white person e<periencesmore than one ind of oppression) such as being targeted for being both ewish
and lesbian) or being both disabled and a survivor of child se<ual abuse.
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'efore we loo further at how to awaen cross,racial empathy in white people)there are deeper sources of this empathy,deCcit to consider.
Participating in Racism Damages White People’s!manity an" Empathy
Racist institutions such as the global slave trade that abducted and enslavedmillions of $fricans) are born from callousness. =nce racist institutions areestablished) they are maintained by conditioning each generation of whitepeople to close their hearts to people of color.
hite children do not choose to live in a world of racial ine+uity or be a memberof the dominant racial group. hite children inherit a social world that teachesthem to overvalue white people and undervalue people of color. &ince whitechildren cannot ris losing the connection and safety of their community9 theyare forced to >Ct inB by tolerating unfairness and accepting racism.
his process of accepting this >one upB position at the e<pense of people of colorwounds white children. !articipating in cruelty and unfairness towards the>otherB conHicts with a child;s natural inclination to care and connect. &o at ayoung age) white children learn to betray their humanity.
$s the white racial ustice activist ab &egrest points out in her boo) 'orn o'elonging#
>?the profound damage racism has done to us) as if we as a people could
participate in such an inhuman set of practices and beliefs over Cve centuries ofEuropean hegemony and not be) in our own ways) devastated emotionally andspiritually?I am not e+uating the damage done by racism to white people withthe damage done to people of color?the pain of dominance is always+ualitatively di/erent from the pain of insubordination. 'ut there is a pain) apsychic wound) to inhabiting and maintaining domination.B
=ppressing others is dehumanizing9 it shuts down the ability to connect withourselves) others and &pirit.
&hame is at the core of the psychic wound that &egrest describes. It is human to
be ashamed of harming others. &o if white individuals are not able to stopcollective racist harm) they are doomed to live with shame.
What is Shame#
'ut what is shame2
First) shame is not guilt. Juilt is about doingwhat we did or did not do) and whatwe can do to mae amends. In contrast) shame is about beingwhat we are orare not. &hame says) >I am a bad person. I am unlovable)B or) >y people are
evil.B here is nothing we can >doB about shame) e<cept to stop e<isting.
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&econd) shame is a social emotion that is connected to our fear of losingcommunity. &hame tries to protect us from e<periencing e<posure) reection) andabandonment.
Finally) shame is an unbearable) intolerable emotion. &hame compels us to hide
to avoid being e<posed as unlovable in other people;s eyes. he .=. of shame isto curl up and retractKit is not conducive to connecting with others) much lessempathizing with them.
In fact) shame is so threatening to us that it triggers the amygdala;s automaticCght or Hight reactions of defend) attac) deny) withdraw and freeze.
o sum up) white people;s participation in dehumanizing actions causes them tofeel shame. hus) racism and shame co,arise.
The $icio!s Cycle of White Racial Shame an"Disconnection from People of Color
hite people;s shame about racism reinforces their disconnection from people of color in a vicious cycle of shame and unconsciousness. his vicious cycle showsup in several forms#
%!m&ing' White People’s Primary Racial Shame CopingStrategy
&hame is intolerable. e cannot live with it. &o white children) white adults learnto close our hearts and turn our eyes away from the su/ering we inHict on peopleof color. hite people have numbed and deadened ourselves for generations.
Lumbing is the primary shame coping strategy that I and other white peoplehave inherited from our ancestors. It is a coping strategy with a serious sidee/ectit destroys empathy) and prevents us from noticing and responding toinustice.
(ther Racial Shame Coping Strategies
=ver centuries) my peoplewhite peoplehave developed and practiced manyother collective coping strategies to avoid feeling shame about participating inthe genocide and slavery that founded this nation) and shame about the morerecent forms of white supremacy) such as internment camps) economice<ploitation of inmates) and anti,$rab and anti,immigrant policies.
hese shame coping strategies tae the form of automatic individual andcollective practices.$s we have resorted to these practices over and over again) they have becomenee,er reactions in the dominant white culture. hese coping strategies
include# defensiveness) withdrawal) under*over responsibility) proecting a falseself) self,absorption) absolution seeing) and paralysis.
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Lot only do these shame coping strategies reinforce racism) they are empathyillers. For e<ample) the shame coping strategy of self,absorption is highlightedby &panierman;s and Meppner;s telling comment in their study on thepsychosocial costs of racism to whites#
>%ontrary to e<pectation) no relationship was found between white racial guiltand ethnocultural empathy?white individuals who e<perience high levels of guiltand shame may be too overwhelmed to empathize with people of other races.B
0iewise) the shame coping strategy of proecting a false self undermines whiteracial empathy.
$s we have seen) white people can increase their empathy by forming closerelationships with people of color and witnessing their day to day lives.
"nfortunately) white racial shame causes many white people to proect a falseself and conceal their thoughts and emotions from people of color. his behaviorobstructs authentic intimacy and relating.
I new a woman who was so terriCed of maing mistaes around people of colorthat she would fall silent in their company. his fear loosened up after sheacnowledged and released some of her racial shame.
Taking Shame Serio!sly
he white collective has inherited this multi,generational legacy of racial shame.&hame is a serious obstacle to white people;s ability to empathize across raciallines.
he vicious cycle of white racial shame and disconnection from people of color isa dead end.
hose of us who are committed to awaening white people;s cross,racialempathy cannot a/ord to reinforce white people;s shame.
In fact) those of us who are committed to social ustice cannot a/ord to reinforce
anyone;s shame.
En" of Part I
%ext month' Part II' C!lti)ating Cycles of Compassion*ill explore practical anti"otes to *hite racial shame+
Much gratitude to my sources: Butler, R. S. (Producer/Director). (2003). ight i!the shado"s# $eathersto!, %.&. 'erso!al commu!icatio!# are!, R. (**2,$e+ruary). Shame. tla!tic Mo!thly# ee, M. -. (Producer/Director). (*3). he
color o ear# Mci!!ey, . D. (2000). &1eryday "hite!ess: Discourse, story a!dide!tity# Brie!, &. (200). -hites co!ro!t racism: !tiracists a!d their 'aths to
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actio!# Brie!, &. (2003). he 'olitical is 'erso!al: he i!4ue!ce o -hitesu'remacy o! -hite a!tiracists 'erso!al relatio!shi's# Pa5to!, D. (2003).$acilitati!g tra!sormatio! o -hite co!scious!ess amo!g &uro'ea!6merica!
'eo'le: case study o a coo'erati1e i!7uiry# Segrest, M. (2002). Soul a!d-hite ol8s, i! Bor! to Belo!gi!g# S'a!ierma!, . B., 9 e''!er, M. %. (200;).Psychosocial costs o racism to -hites scale ('cr"): <o!structio! a!d i!itial1alidatio!. %our!al o <ou!seli!g Psychology, = (2)# ha!de8a. (2000). ear!i!gto +e -hite# hom'so!, B. (200). 'romise a!d a "ay o lie: -hite a!tiracistacti1ism# -illey, S. R. (2003). &5'a!di!g racial co!scious!ess: 'artici'atorystudy e5'lori!g -hite college admi!istrators u!dersta!di!g o "hite!ess a!dracism.
https',,&eyo!ngan"sh!t!p+*or"press+com,-./0,.1,/1,the2pro&lem2isnt2&lack2c!lt!re2the2pro&lem2is2yo!re2a2racist,comment2page2-,
The Pro&lem Isn’t 3lack C!lt!re4 The Pro&lem Is 5o!’rea Racist
!osted on &eptember 1N) 4715 by &olomon ong 481 %omments
Low that it;s not cool anymore to e<plain the di/erences between groups basedon their ethnicity or race) and it;s not yet cool to thin that institutionalizedracism might be a fucing thing) people are turning to >cultureB to e<plain whyblac people are still way poorer than whites) why they;re the most imprisoned)why their academic performance lags behind. he argument goes) white peoplearen;t responsible for problems in the blac community) blac people are.
hey;ve built a culture that values criminality) material goods) se<) drugs) andfun,having more than maing grades or holding a decent ob or staying out ofprison.
his neatly e<plains all the problems anti,racists claim are indicative of lingeringracism (or) very prevalent cloaed racism-) and shifts responsibility from whitesto blacs. It also avoids the speaer revealing themselves to be racist. It tradeson the idea that everyone is e+ual) with e+ual ability and potential. 'ut) lie most
racists; attempts to co,opt anti,racist rhetoric) it falls hard because of a cynicallac of respect for the concepts.
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>Ges) white people enslaved blac people for hundreds of years) and yes) thereare lingering e/ects of this in modern $merica. 'ut culture is a maor shapingforce. hat is where blac people live) not in the past where their ancestors wereenslaved.B
$t Crst blush) the culture argument has a pretty progressive attitude. $s I said) ituses anti,racist language and ideas to loo well,meaning) right,minded) andegalitarian. 'lacs have the same capacity for success) the same brainchemistry) and so on. It wors on the assumption that classical racism (ie)>blacs are inferiorB- is factually wrong. he thing is) you;ll often see thisargument being used to discredit anti,racist e/orts# 'y trying to be mindful andind to poor disadvantaged blac people) you;re not holding them to the samestandard you would whites. he phrase >soft bigotry of low e<pectationsBsometimes comes up in this culture argument) and does a good ob ofencapsulating the basic sentiment.
>&oft bigotry of low e<pectationsB was a buzz,phrase used by Jeorge . 'ush tosell Lo %hild 0eft 'ehind. o ustify L%0';s rigorous standards) he said it wasracist to !ot apply them across the board) because) what) do you thin blac idscan;t do it2 he phrase has been adopted as a format for snary article titles and)more pertinently) as a bolster for the >blac cultureB argument. hat it;s sayingis that to be truly anti,racist) you have to treat everyone e+ually (in this case)meaning no special programs) a:rmative action) outreach) etc.- and have thesame e<pectations for everyone. It;s lie colorblind racism# shut up about race)stop worrying about race) practice what you preach) and everything will be Cne.'ut both of these positions rely on the pie,in,the,sy notion that blacs andwhites are already on e+ual footing.
$ recent study Cnds that poverty changes how your brain wors. 'eing poor)preoccupied with clawing your way out of poverty) worrying about how you;re
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going to pay the bills) pay for groceries) pay for things more well,o/ people taefor granted) imparts a 15,point IO loss. his) say the authors) is e+uivalent tolosing a night;s sleep or being a chronic alcoholic (add this to people whoactually are alcoholics) and despair-. It leads to a tighter focus on basic needs)impairs decision,maing) and hampers the learning process. For people living in
low,income areas) it would beu!air
to hold them to the same standard. hisisn;t to say someone from these areas can;t succeed or e<cel) but simply to pointout that it;s ridiculous to e5'ect them to be as upwardly mobile and successfulas people in a better position.
!eople love to say >It;s about class) not race.B 'ut numbers show that that;scrap) too. Income levels between races are very imbalanced) and householdwealth levels are drastically more imbalanced than that. $nd while people can goahead and pull out the >ambition and hard worB argument as to why blacpeople have less money) it doesn;t change the results of the study. !overty is ofcourse only part of the problem. he lasting e/ects of violence) of broenfamilies) have a similarly devastating e/ect on the blac community.
If whites were in this position) they would be e<actly the same. o believeotherwise is racist. $nd if you wanna do that) then Cne) but sto' uc8i!g sayi!g
youre !ot racist . his idea erases imbalances) unfairness) preudice) andoppression by co,opting anti,racist language. It;s very sneay racism. It assertsthat liberals care so much about caring so much that they end up being racist bytreating blac people lie they can;t manage themselves. $nd this can be true.'ut the phrase is meant to discredit attempts to solve the problems. he realproblem) they claim) is cultural) and as such) it falls on the blac community toC< it) not people who want to help blacs get into college) or into better obs) orreform the ustice system that totally wors. It;s not the ustice system;s fault itputs so many blac men in prison for non,violent o/enses) it;s all that Jod,dangrap music and thug culture poisoning the youth.
he >cultureB argument presumes that blac people were never oppressed. It;simmediately unviable because it;s so often paired with a whining cry of >slaveryended almost 167 years agoPB and then sometimes they;ll be su:ciently foolishto go so far as to acnowledge im %row and segregation) which happened
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recently enough that your parents remember it. Mow is this relevant to theargument that blac people are illing themselves with a to<ic drug,money,se<,crazed culture2 'ecause culture isn;t ust created out of nowhere. It;s a long)long) long reaction to what a group e<periences. Race isn;t real in the sense thatit has no concrete) obective basis) but $frican,$mericans are a real group and
their culture is heavily based upon what they) as a race) have e<perienced.
&o even if this argument about culture was true) if blac culture really was theonly thing holding them bac as a people) its still "hiteys ault . 'lac culturewas shaped by history) by the white,run country they live in. 'y the whitegovernment;s ar on Drugs) which has helped put Q87)777 blac men in prison and destroyed nearly as many blac families. I mean) I can;t even tal about howblac culture was inHuenced without taing this argument apart.
hite people often feel lie they;re being udged for their ancestors; sins) andthis persecution comple< really speas volumes to how much people understandbut won;t consciously acnowledge. hey now slavery and segregation left
scars) and they now the way blacs are treated in this country holds them bac.'ut they want to throw o/ the chains of responsibility and come up with somee<planation for blac problems that don;t involve whites. In doing so) theydemonstrate a complete lac of understanding of what culture is and how itwors. hey have no idea how culture comes about) what its purpose is. =r)perhaps more liely) they never gave up on racism. hey say blac culture is theproblem because they aren;t allowed to say blac people themselves are theproblem. !eople who mae this argument have a choice# either they;re a racist)or a total idiot (really) it;s both-.
he blac community has every right to demand more from itself. Every
community has this right and should e<ercise it. hat;s RE$00G L= =$G is forwhite fucers to scold blacs for not pulling themselves up fast enough. It;s notoay for outsiders to wring their hands over blac ids liing shoes and gold andwhatever when they;ve been brought up in a society that) above ESERGMILJelse) wants us to buy shit. It;s wrong in every sense of the word to blame blacculture for the problems they face.
Fifty 5ears 6fter the 7arch4 White People 6re Still aDisgrace
Tom Scocca
!roCleFollow "nfollow
he white guy was looing up at the S in a rest stop on the ersey urnpie.=nscreen) the news was showing ohn 0ewis speaing at the anniversary of thearch on ashington. TI am not going to stand by and let the &upreme %ourttae the right to vote away from us)T 0ewis said. he white guy in the rest stop
glared at the S) then looed around the dining space. -hat>s he ?@A
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a+out he ased his family or the air) the world around him. Me was seething9 hewanted to be heard. e S the right to 1ote. Mis idsKthree of them) dar blondKept eating their fast food. Mis female
companion said nothing. Mis angry) stupid) would,be,superior observation hung
in the air) useless.
aybe it made the white guy feel better) taling bac to the old blac man on
the television set. ho nows what maes white people feel better) these days2
0aura Ingraham) the white radio host) cut o/ a clip of 0ewisU remars with a
gunshot sound e/ect) after spending the lead,in taling about the problem of
blac criminality. TDid anyone tal about the horriCc crime rate in the blac
community2T the white radio host ased) celebrating the 67th anniversary of
artin 0uther ingUs call for an $merica in which blac and white people could be
counted as one community.
hite people have to mae udgments. heir status as white people depends onmaing udgments. his is why blac criminality is a big topic with them these
days. It is how they have decided to resolve the problem of an unarmed teenager
having been shot to death while waling home. &tatistically) white people say) it
maes sense to shoot a teenager if heUs blac. =r at least it maes sense to be
prepared to shoot the blac teenager.
It is a perilous world) the world white people inhabit. urder and rioting are
always ust around the corner) luring in the shadows. hite people have been
illing trees and clearing farmland for decades to get away from that corner) to
build streets that donUt even have corners. $nd still the white people are angryand afraid. &till they feel threatened or cheated.
his is N7 years after M.0. encen diagnosed the Thereditary cowardiceT of
$mericans who identiCed as T$nglo,&a<onT and wrote#
he !ormal merica! o the C'ure6+loodedC maority goes to rest e1ery !ight
"ith a! u!easy eeli!g that there is a +urglar u!der the +ed, a!d he gets u'
e1ery mor!i!g "ith a sic8e!i!g ear that his u!der"ear has +ee! stole!.
In the intervening years) the white $merican race has e<panded its boundaries
beyond self,styled $nglo,&a<ons and Lordics to include such formerly inferior oruntrustworthy strains as the Irish) the Italians) or even the ews. 'ut the
fundamentally defective character of white $mericans has not changed9 if
anything) it has gotten worse.
VVV
'ecause white people ruin everything) they have spent the past wee
particularly focused on ruining the legacy of the arch on ashington (with a
brief interlude to ruin twering-. he arch) in white peopleUs recounting) was
when artin 0uther ing r. brought hundreds of thousands of people toashington D.%. and told them to stop maing a big deal about race.
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C<a! ? Say "er8C Miley <yrus Alossary or -hites C<a! ? Say "er8C Miley
<yrus Alossary or -hites C<a! ? Say "er8C Miley <yrus Alossar
=n &unday) the 0ord;s day) iley %yrus crawled out of a big teddy bear (that had
eaten her) I?Read more Read more!ulitzer !rize winner athleen !arer) of the -ashi!gto! Post ) o/ered the
standard white tae on history last wee) in her column about how blac people
are prone to rioting and how !resident =bama was irresponsible to rile them up
about the rayvon artin case#
athlee! Par8er ?s <ertai! that Blac8 Peo'le re Riot6Pro!e athlee! Par8er ?s
<ertai! that Blac8 Peo'le re Riot6Pro!e athlee! Par8er ?s <ertai! that Blac8
Peo'le re Rathleen !arer) a syndicated columnist not worth reading) is one of $mericaUsforemost?Read more Read moreo" sad, as "e a''roach the =0th a!!i1ersary o the march Marti! uther i!g
%r. led o! -ashi!gto!, that e1e! the 'reside!t resorts to udgi!g !ot +y the
co!te!t o o!e>s character +ut +y the color o his s8i!Ethe a!tithesis o the great
dream i!g articulated.
Mow sad. hite people) lie athleen !arer) are sad that the president should
mention sin color. 0aura Ingraham liewise invoed ingUs mention of
Tcharacter)T to launch into her discussion of the crime rates assigned to groups
of people classiCed by their sin color. hite people hammer at this over andover) ingUs Tgreat dreamT of a color,blind $merica) a dream that is only being
thwarted now by the people who insist on taling about racial issues.
Mere is what ing actually said) in this one +uote of his that todayUs white people
tae as proof he was on their side#
? ha1e a dream that my our little childre! "ill o!e day li1e i! a !atio! "here
they "ill !ot +e udged +y the color o their s8i! +ut +y the co!te!t o their
character.
hen white people cite this passage) they tend to replace Tmy four little
childrenT with something genericKTpeople)T for instance. he speciCc facts of
1NW5) of a caste of children born in a society that intentionally e<cluded them
from opportunity) give way to an ahistoric (and therefore pointless- idealism.
$merica is about how everybody is treated the same. E+uality is replaced with
e+uivalence.
&o we arrive at a color,blind society) one in which if you did loo at the people
who are poorer) or less educated) or sicer) or more liely to be imprisoned) or
more liely to be turned aside from the polls under voting laws passed this very
year) you would see that they ust happen to be disproportionately nonwhite. 'utit is wrong to loo. Dr. ingKthe white peopleUs version of Dr. ingKtold us so.
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VVV
he genuine artin 0uther ing r.) 67 years ago) said this#
-he! the architects o our Re'u+lic "rote the mag!iFce!t "ords o the
<o!stitutio! a!d the Declaratio! o ?!de'e!de!ce, they "ere sig!i!g a 'romissory !ote to "hich e1ery merica! "as to all heir. his !ote "as a
'romise that all me!Eyes, +lac8 me! as "ell as "hite me!E"ould +e
guara!teed the u!alie!a+le rights o lie, li+erty a!d the 'ursuit o ha''i!ess. ?t
is o+1ious today that merica has deaulted o! this 'romissory !ote i!soar as
her citiGe!s o color are co!cer!ed. ?!stead o ho!ori!g this sacred o+ligatio!,
merica has gi1e! the @egro 'eo'le a +ad chec8, a chec8 "hich has come +ac8
mar8ed Ci!suHcie!t u!ds.C
But "e reuse to +elie1e that the +a!8 o ustice is +a!8ru't. -e reuse to
+elie1e that there are i!suHcie!t u!ds i! the great 1aults o o''ortu!ity o this!atio!. So "e>1e come to cash this chec8, a chec8 that "ill gi1e us u'o! dema!d
the riches o reedom a!d the security o ustice.
Mere is where white $mericans failed themselves and their country. hat image
of the promissory note was too much for white peopleUs greed and selCshness to
accept. hite people had deCned themselves) as a race) by having the things
that other people could not have. &o the vaults of opportunity would not be
opened) not without white people staging a run on the ban Crst. If the public
schools had to educate blac children and white children together) the white
people would get out of the schools) declare war on the whole idea of public
school. If blac people could participate in civic life) white people would clear outof the cities. hite people would revolt against paying ta<es) against poverty
relief) against food stamps) even.
$nd then) after decades of this) white people would loo bac at the things white
$merica had abandoned or refused to build) and they would blame blac people
for living in the ruins. heir character. heir culture. heir music. heir pants.
Get white people are still afraid# of young men in hoodies9 of being blamed for
their fear of young men in hoodies. =f reverse racism. =f armies of fae voters)
bent on electing white,hating militants. =f sharia law. =f mild ethnic putdowns.=f the Lew 'lac !anther !arty. =f one tiny and absurd thing after the ne<t.
he -hite Stude!t Sui!g to 1erthro" Hrmati1e ctio! -as oo Dum+ to Aet
?!to er <hose! <ollege he -hite Stude!t Sui!g to 1erthro" Hrmati1e
ctio! -as oo Dum+ to Aet ?!to er <hose! <ollege he -hite Stude!t Sui!g to
1erthro" Hrmati1e
0ife is tough for white people in $merica. $ few hundred years of presumed
superiority have left?Read more Read more
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-ill Iou -hite <rac8ers Please Sto' -hi!i!g or the o1e o Aod -ill Iou -hite
<rac8ers Please Sto' -hi!i!g or the o1e o Aod -ill Iou -hite <rac8ers Please
Sto' -hi!i!g or th
he tragic shooting death of rayvon artin continues to be one of $mericaUsrichest sources?Read more Read more
hat white people fear) at bottom) is retribution. his is why discussion of actualinustice is supposed to be o/,limits. Despite the glorious principles spelled out
67 years ago on the steps of the 0incoln emorial) they lac a functioning
concept of ustice. o admit the harms of the past is to invite paybac. hen
$ndrew 'reitbart raised a race panic over &hirley &herrod) the real issue was that
he and his followers were incapable of understanding &herrodUs story of
transcending racial resentment. hey were too trapped by rage and paranoia to
get the point.
ho wants to be part of this degraded and ignorant culture2 hiteness is a dead
end. ItUs trashing the apartment after receiving the eviction notice. hite peopleare so confused and terriCed by regular $merica and $merican values) they now
openly argue against letting more people vote. hey write incoherent passages
lie this) from the @atio!al Re1ie") reHecting on its original opposition to the
arch on ashington#
oo ma!y co!ser1ati1es a!d li+ertaria!s, i!cludi!g the editors o this magaGi!e,
missed all o this at the time. hey "orried a+out the eJects o the ci1il6rights
mo1eme!t o! ederalism a!d limited go1er!me!t. hose 'ri!ci'les "ere!t
"ro!g, e5actly# they "ere tragically misa''lied, gi1e! the moral a!d historical
co!te5t.
ho could put it better that that2 hite people werenUt wrong) e<actly) unless
you mean that they were wrong in the light of history and moralityKin which
case) yes) white people were wrong) and remain wrong) and seem bent on
staying that way.
hy do so many white people have to be lie this2 atch the video of ingUs
speech. Fifty years ago) white people were in the arch. 'ut the pathologies of
whiteness persisted.
hen you say this) if youUre white) white people lie to call it Twhite guilt.T heimplication is that there is something hypocritical and shameful about pointing
out the failings of white $merica) after having proCted from its advantages. I step
to the curb and raise my arm) and three ta<is pull over at once. &o I should share
in the anger of the white guy at the rest stop.
'ut the white guy at the rest stop is an asshole. his isnUt white guilt9 itUs white
blame. ItUs infuriating that he e<pects anyone to agree with him) in his willful
ignorance) his disingenuousness amped up to rage. $s a white person) I want
him to shut up.
@?mage +y %im <oo8e, source 'hotos 1ia Aetty/Shutterstoc8 A
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From hite Racial &hame to Empathy for !eople of %olor !art II
0eave a reply
Part II' The $irt!o!s Cycle of White Self2Compassion an" Empathy
for People of Color
In !art I we looed at the Sicious %ycle of hite Racial &hame and Disconnection
from !eople of %olor. http#**www.vanissar.com*blog*from,white,racial,shame,to,
empathy,for,people,of,color,part,i*
Mappily) white people can cultivate a virtuous cycle of compassion and empathy
instead.
What is Compassion#
%ompassion is all at once a practice) a state of being and a bodily e<perience. In
practice) compassion is an attempt to be intimately present with oneself or
others. %ompassion is also a spacious) non,udgmental state of awareness. =n a
body level) compassion can feel lie an e<pansive feeling of tenderness(sometimes emanating from the chest- that envelopes self and others in a
palpable sense of connection.
o* Does Self2compassion Lea" to Empathy#
he seeds of empathy are always within us9 given the right conditions) they will
root and grow. If shame is lie a drought9 compassion is lie sunlight) soil and
moisture. %ompassion supports empathy in several ways#
%ompassion melts shame) softens denial and reawaens our childlie +ualities of
trust) curiosity) and our sense of ustice and fairness. It allows our hearts to
remember our connection with all beings. Receiving compassion from others
helps us to forgive ourselves and start fresh. $s we steadily practice receiving
compassion from ourselves and others) our empathy for others grows robust)
giving us the courage to listen non,defensively to others and loo directly at
su/ering and inustice. his is a cycle we want to encourageP
Practices That S!pport the $irt!o!s Cycle
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his virtuous cycle that shifts white people;s disconnection into empathy for
people of color has some di:cult aspects. Re,awaening empathy means
thawing out from numbness about racism and white privilege. ust lie when your
foot has fallen asleep and the return of circulation feels lie >pins and needles)B
at times the empathy awaening process can be very uncomfortable. hite
people need all the help we can get.
Mere are Q practices that support the virtuous cycle of white self,compassion and
empathy for people of color#
V%reating supportive white racial ustice community
V%ompassion and forgiveness practices and reHections
Vindfulness practices
VReHecting on how socialization into the oppressor role is systemic and
involuntary
V'ody,based and e<pressive arts practices to release shame
VMealing trauma in your body (personal trauma) social trauma*oppression-
VRacial ustice action
VDeveloping a positive white identity
Creating S!pporti)e White Racial 8!stice Comm!nity
hen white people begin to thaw out from numbness about racism and white
privilege) it is uncomfortable) to say the leastP o thaw out and reclaim empathy
for people of color) white people need the ongoing support and encouragement
of community.
It is easier to heal the social emotion of shame in communityKa compassionate
community where white people can give voice to their personal or collective
shame) and to any underlying feelings of despair and powerlessness. &peaing
the unspeaable in a loving conte<t is redemptive) especially if everyone present
is >in the same boat.B
he best community for this purpose is a group of white people who are
committed to ending racism) and who are willing to welcome each other;s
wholeness) and all the comple< emotions of the thawing out ourney. &uch a
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community can lovingly hold members accountable) and support everyone to
eep engaging in racial ustice wor through mistaes and setbacs.
Compassion an" Forgi)eness Practices
he more you practice compassion and forgiveness) the easier it is to access
these states. $lso) as ames 'araz notes in $waening oy) when we meditate on
compassion) it stimulates our action,planning brain9 this compassion,action
connection sounds promising for anti,racist activism. Mere are two 'uddhist
practices that help us to cultivate compassion and forgiveness for ourselves and
others#
etta !ractice#
http#**info.med.yale.edu*psych*5s*metta.html
onglen (&ending and aing-#
http#**www.shambhala.org*teachers*pema*tonglen1.php
It is important to note that practicing compassion while staying insulated from
communities of color does not necessarily increase white people;s empathy for
people of color. hese practices need to be combined with e<posure to
information about systemic racism.
7in"f!lness Practices
editation enhances awareness of self and others) minimizes the amygdala;s
automatic Cght or Hight reactions) and opens up space for our mammal brains to
generate compassion and empathy. Mowever) white mindfulness practitioners
who are disconnected from communities of color are not liely to have much
empathy for people of color. indfulness practices need to be combined with
racial ustice education. hen mindfulness practices are combined with racial
awareness) white people become more present to the daily realities faced by
people of color.
Re9ecting on o* Sociali:ation into the (ppressor Role is
Systemic an" In)ol!ntary
Racism is a centuries,old) inherited) systemic worldview and way of life. $s
children) white people involuntarily absorb a racist worldview through social
conditioning) and passively beneCt from racist institutions. Remembering the
pervasive and involuntary socialization process can reduce individual blame and
shame and increase a white person;s compassion and forgiveness for all white
people) including themselves.
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3o"y2&ase" an" Expressi)e 6rts Practices to Release Shame
&hame cannot be healed by words or concepts alone9 it is lined up with the
amygdala;s Cght or Hight system) which speas the language of sensation. his
language can be accessed through &omatic healing modalities such as
Jenerative &omatics) &omatic E<periencing) &ensorimotor !sychotherapy) and
EDR) which provide strong containers for healing shame.
'odywor can also shift shame when the practitioner embodies compassion for
the client. E<pressive $rts practices that engage the senses can transform
shame into compassion. $uthentic ovement) dance) ournaling (with sensation
awareness-) maing or listening to music) drumming) storytelling) painting)
drawing) etc. can all be e/ective.
ealing Tra!ma in 5o!r 3o"y ;Personal Tra!ma an" (ppressionTra!ma<
&hame of any ind ampliCes all shame. If a white person does their wor to heal
and release shame related to trauma) abuse and oppression) they will be less
susceptible to shame in general) including racial shame. &ince the ourney of
healing from personal and ancestral shame unfolds in the body9 the modalities
mentioned above can facilitate this ourney.
!ersonal healing sometimes directly overlaps with racial shame healing. For
e<ample) when a white individual brings compassionate awareness to the racial
shame coping strategies passed inherited from their family members (see !art I-)
they can simultaneously wor with the personal hurts inHicted on them by these
coping strategies) and begin to forgive their ancestors for their collusion with
white supremacy. hen personal and racial shame are brought together into an
unHinching) ind light) both can melt and mae space for empathy.
Racial 8!stice 6ction
$nti,racist action can play a part in addressing racial shame for white people.&ome racial ustice thiners view anti,racist action as a way to as for
forgiveness or mae amends) thereby reducing the sense of powerlessness
associated with racial shame.
"sing anti,racist action to heal white racial shame should be approached with
caution) since action can be misused to cover over di:cult feelings such as guilt
and shame about racism. Intention is criticalif the action is motivated by an
unconscious desire for absolution from people of color) then it may cause more
harm than good. For this reason) it is critical to combine action with self,
compassion practices.
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De)eloping a Positi)e White I"entity
$ll people need to feel good about themselves. 0ac of self,esteem is not a
viable way for anyone to be in the world) and it profoundly undermines a white
person;s ability to challenge racism. Despite the many negative historical and
current associations with whiteness) white people can redeCne what being white
means for them in ways that support racial ustice.
his can be done by uncovering or re,connecting with one;s original ethnic and
cultural roots) and Cnding inspiration there. hat is wonderful about being
&cottish) Jree) or Russian2
hite individuals can also embrace the life a:rming practices of their families.
ost families have something to o/er# maybe your lineage creates beautiful
bluegrass music. aybe your grandparents were always ind to animals9 maybethe women in your family share homemade am with their neighbors.
hite people who do not now their parentage) who cannot Cnd anything
redeeming in their lineage) or whose cultural roots are long lost (one of racism;s
costs to people of European descent- can still reclaim a positive white identity.
any white anti,racist writers) activists and artists) both past and present are
waiting to be discovered.
If you are a white anti,racist lesbian) union organizer or musician) or an anti,
racist $shenazic ew) you are in good company. hy not adopt one or more ofthese proud lineages as your honorary ancestors2
In my case) I feel a personal connection to white anti,racist singer,songwriters.
Mere is a partial list of anti,racist songs sung by white singers#
$ni Difranco
y %ountry Xtis of hee9 IO9 and
Fuel# http#**www.youtube.com*watch2v366$YRDYs
&teve Earl
%ity of Immigrants ($lthough r. Earl forgets here that First !eoples are not
immigrants-# http#**www.youtube.com*watch2v3nnJcts8
Iris Deent
asteland of the Free# http#**www.youtube.com*watch2v3$WEWI08!8
&inead =;%onnor
'lac 'oys on opeds# http#**www.youtube.com*watch2v3z+Mv$%,mDOg
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Indigo Jirls
&hame =n Gou9 'ury y Meart at ounded nee (by 'u/y &t. arie-
'ruce %ocburn
Licaragua9 &tolen 0and9 and
hey %all It Democracy# http#**www.youtube.com*watch2v3WQzccrs=+O
he Q virtuous cycle practices described above are designed to heal white racial
shame and awaen compassion) clearing space for white people;s empathy to
bloom for self) other white people) and people of color.
Practical 6pplications of the $irt!o!s Cycle
If you are a racial ustice educator) organizer) writer or activist who wors with
white people) you might want to incorporate some of the above practices intoyour strategies) messages) and trainings. Mere are some speciCc applications of
the virtuous cycle to# anti,racist education) anti,racist worshop design) and
woring strategically with white people.
6nti2racist E"!cation
hen you want to educate a white audience about systemic racism) it is ideal to
integrate as many of these practices as possible into your communication.
!eople have di/erent learning styles) so the more of these practices that you can
include) the easier it will be for white people to >digestB the new learning and act
on it.
6nti2racist Workshop Design
Racial ustice worshops that include a mi< of people of color and white people
should ideally provide opportunities for these two groups to meet separately to
build compassionate community) and heal from internalized oppression and
dominance. eeting separately is especially important to ensure that everyone;s
learning and healing needs are addressed#
here are times when the needs of white trainees are in direct opposition to the
needs of trainees of color. Initially) white people need to acnowledge their racist
conditioning) behaviors and privilege in a compassionate) non,udgmental
conte<t. $t the same time) people of color need to Cnd their voices and e<press
their anger and hurt about racism while having their e<periences validate and
respected. his delicate process of healing from internalized racism re+uires a
sacred space set apart from the distraction of white people;s shame reactions.
It is often the case that ust when people of color need to stop caretaing whitepeople and focus on themselves) white people need to e<press racial shame and
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be met by forgiveness. $t such times these two groups; needs are completely
incompatible. For these reasons) I believe that some separate unlearning racism
wor is essential) especially in the early stages) to ensure that the learning and
healing needs of everyone involvedKpeople of color and white people are taen
care of.
Working Strategically *ith White People
Racial ustice educators and organizers may want to proactively add some of the
virtuous cycle practices to their toolits so that they can prevent and respond to
white racial shame.
In addition) articles) blog postings and worshops that are designed to reach
white people can minimize white racial shame by avoiding udgmental or
condescending statements) or activities that eep participants >in their heads.Bhite people do not need any e<tra help to default to shame and denialP
=n the other hand) e<pressing Cerceness and anger about racism to white
people can be cleansing and healing for everyone involved) as long as the
overarching atmosphere is Cercely compassionate.
Final Tho!ghts' Recogni:ing the Signs an" Symptoms of White
Racial Shame
Racial ustice educators and activists who can recognize the signs and symptoms
of racial shame will be able to tell when it;s time to cultivate the virtuous cycle.
In addition) they will also be able to wor more strategically with white people.
!eople of color who regularly interact with white people may wish to be able to
identify the signs and symptoms of white racial shame in action. =ne of my
colleagues of color Cnds it helpful to now when racial shame is motivating a
white person;s behavior) because) >nowing where their behavior is coming from
gives me a choice to not react to them9 I do not need to tae it on or try to tae
care of that person.B
Finally) given the hidden nature of racial shame) it is easy to overloo or reinforce
it. &o it is worthwhile to learn about the typical behaviors that mas white
people;s racial shame (and protect white people from feeling it-. Gou can Cnd a
list of typical white racial shame symptoms here#
http#**www.vanissar.com*blog*signs,and,symptoms,of,white,racial,shame,
otherwise,nown,as,shame,survival,strategies*
han you to all racial ustice activists) organizers) educators and artists
everywhere. Gou inspire me.
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Much gratitude to my sources: rmi!io, %. (200). &5'lori!g the !ature o race6
related guilt. %our!al o Multicultural <ou!seli!g a!d De1elo'me!t# BaraG, %., 9
le5a!der, S.# Butler, R. S. (Producer/Director). (2003). ight i! the shado"s# <.
<lar8, 9 %. Do!!ell (&ds.), Becomi!g a!d u!+ecomi!g -hite: "!i!g a!d
diso"!i!g a racial ide!tity# $eathersto!, %.&., 'erso!al commu!icatio!# o"ard,
A. R. (***). -hite ma! da!ci!g: story o 'erso!al tra!sormatio!# are!, R.
(**2, $e+ruary). Shame. tla!tic Mo!thly# ee, M. -. (Producer/Director).
(*3). he color o ear# Mci!!ey, . D. (2000). &1eryday "hite!ess: Discourse,
story a!d ide!tity# Brie!, &. (200). -hites co!ro!t racism: !tiracists a!d
their 'aths to actio!# Brie!, &. (2003). he 'olitical is 'erso!al: he i!4ue!ce
o -hite su'remacy o! -hite a!tiracists 'erso!al relatio!shi's# Pa5to!, D.
(2003). $acilitati!g tra!sormatio! o -hite co!scious!ess amo!g &uro'ea!6
merica! 'eo'le: case study o a coo'erati1e i!7uiry# Pritchy Smith, A. (***).
? youre !ot sta!di!g i! this li!e, you are sta!di!g i! the "ro!g li!e# RodrigueG,
@. M. (2000). -hat does a 'edagogy o "hite!ess 'romise# Rose, . R. (**K).
-hite ide!tity a!d cou!seli!g -hite allies a+out racism# Segrest, M. (2002). Soul a!d -hite ol8s, i! Bor! to Belo!gi!g# S'a!ierma!, . B., 9 e''!er, M. %.
(200;). Psychosocial costs o racism to -hites scale ('cr"): <o!structio! a!d
i!itial 1alidatio!. %our!al o <ou!seli!g Psychology, = (2)# ha!de8a. (2000).
ear!i!g to +e -hite# hom'so!, B. (200). 'romise a!d a "ay o lie: -hite
a!tiracist acti1ism# -illey, S. R. (2003). &5'a!di!g racial co!scious!ess:
'artici'atory study e5'lori!g -hite college admi!istrators u!dersta!di!g o
"hite!ess a!d racism.
his entry was posted in Sanissar blog on uly 6) 4715 by Sanissar.
&igns and &ymptoms of hite Racial &hame (=therwise nown as &hame&urvival &trategies-
0eave a reply
=ver centuries) white people have developed and practiced collective coping
strategies to avoid feeling our shame about participating in and beneCting from
genocide) slavery) internment camps) economic e<ploitation of prison inmates)
and other historical and current forms of white supremacy and racism.
hese shame coping strategies tae the form of automatic individual andcollective practices# as we have resorted to these practices over and over again)
they have become default practices in the dominant white culture. hen we see
evidence of white racial shame) we are actually seeing these shame survival
practices in action#
= Denial' mental or emotional dissociation from the realities of racism and white
privilege-
E<ample# >Racism is in the past) we have a blac president now.B Emotional
denial can loo lie taling about racism in an abstract) heady or detached way.
=r silence. Fuzzy brain (dissociation-
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= Isolation' isolating ourselves) emotionally or physically from other white
people9 lacing and devaluing white anti,racist support. his can tae the form of
udgment (competition9 comparison9 shunning- and*or detachment
(disconnecting from white and*or white ethnic community and white identity9
having an individuality,based identity9 failing to reach out to white people.-
= 6nger,"efensi)eness
E<amples# getting angry at people of color when they point out racism9 getting
defensive9 not listening
= ()er2responsi&ility
E<amples# feeling responsible to correct everyone;s racism9 harsh responses to
white people;s racism9 over,wor*burnout9 accepting mistreatment from people
of color
= >n"er2responsi&ilitysimilar to denial# not being accountable for racism9
E<ample# >I didn;t cause this) it;s not my problemB
= Self a&sorption
E<ample# when in conversations about racism) changing the focus to themselves
and their feelings
= 6&sol!tion2seeking
E<amples# engaging in anti racist action so people will forgive us9 >confessingB
wrongdoings to people of color and e<pecting empathy and understanding
= Paralysis' free:ing !p
E<amples# getting frozen or stuc when it is time to respond9 unable to spea up
or respond to racism
= Image management' oring hard to present*prove self as >enlightenedB
white person9
E<amples# not being authentic around people of color9 being silent around people
of color9 terriCed to mae mistaes
his entry was posted in Sanissar blog on uly 1) 4715 by Sanissar.
Flashbac# y 477 Interview with "rusa Fahim) !h.D.) Diversity coordinator at
&pirit Roc editation %enter
0eave a reply
$rom ur!i!g -heel: he %our!al o Socially &!gaged Buddhism
S'ri!g 200L ?ssue: Buildi!g llia!ces to ddress Racism
stro!Urusa Fahim: ? met "ith Na!issar ara8ali "ho rece!tly com'leted her
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dissertatio! i! &ast -est Psychology at <??S. ? decided to ha1e a co!1ersatio!
"ith Na!issar a+out her "or8 as it is !ot o!ly timely +ut 1ery rele1a!t. ?! 2000,
Na!issar created a!d coacilitated O<om'assio!ate ra!sormatio!: a Buddhist
-ay to !lear! RacismQ (<), a =; hour course or "hite 'eo'le s'o!sored +y
the Buddhist Peace $ello"shi'. < i!cor'orated commu!ity +uildi!g, educatio!,
com'assio!, a!d s'iritual 'ractices. Na!issars doctoral dissertatio! is a case
study o < "hich loo8s at ho" to address three o+stacles to "hite a!tiracist
actio!: racial shame, de!ial a!d isolatio!./stro!
UF: ? am 1ery i!trigued +y your research o! !lear!i!g Racism usi!g Buddhism.
-hat +rought you to this "or8
VT: e" streams +rought me to the "or8:
? e5'erie!ced child se5ual a+use "he! ? "as a 8id. ?t "as a! e5'erie!ce oha1i!g my
o'tio!s a!d choices limited or a lo!g time +y someo!e "ith 'o"er o1er me.
&1er si!ce ?
ha1e hated i!ustice, 'articularly secret i!ustices a!d 'o"er diJere!ces that are
co1ered
o1er "hile 'eo'le 'rete!d that e1erythi!g is OF!e.Q 8ey 'iece to me is that ?
8!o" i!
my +ody "hat its li8e to +e o''ressed i! that s'eciFc "ay a!d ? do!t "a!t to
i!4ict
o''ressio! o! a!y grou' o 'eo'le. ?ts 1ery im'orta!t to me as a "hite 'erso!that ? do
"hate1er ? ca! to disma!tle racism +ecause ? do!t "a!t to +e a 'er'etrator o
o''ressio!
i! a!y "ay.
!other stream is that ?1e lost some sig!iFca!t relatio!shi's "ith 'eo'le o
color i! my
lie +ecause o my lac8 o a"are!ess o "hite 'ri1ilege. here "as a +ig gul o
u!dersta!di!g a+out "hat reality "as li8e +et"ee! me a!d some o my rie!ds
a!dlo1ers. heres a lot o loss there that ? regret. ? do!t "a!t ig!ora!ce o "hite
'ri1ilege
to co!trol "hether or !ot ? get to ha1e close relatio!shi's "ith 'eo'le o color.
Iet a!other stream o ho" ? came to this "or8 "as tryi!g to u!dersta!d racism
a!d to
u!dersta!d ho" a!d "hy ? 8ee' alli!g aslee' a+out racism, orgetti!g that
racism is all
arou!d me, +e!eFti!g me. ryi!g to u!dersta!d racism, ? e5'osed mysel to
co!ce'ts a!d 'olitical a!alysis a!d yet ? ou!d that my +eha1ior "as!t cha!gi!g 1ery much.
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So or
e5am'le, ? could +e sitti!g o! the BR trai! a!d may+e a! rica! merica!
ma!
"ould sit do"! +eside me a!d my +ody "ould su+tly 4i!ch a!d shri!8 a"ay. !d
this,
ater years o 8!o"i!g that ?1e +ee! trai!ed to thi!8 o +lac8 me! as me!aci!g
to me as
a "hite "oma!. ? 8!e" that, +ut my +ody "as still 4i!chi!g.
? also !oticed that ? "as!t doi!g much to cha!ge racism. ? elt 'aralyGed. ? did!t
8!o" "hat to do. ? did!t eel "orthy to do a!ythi!g.
UF: So "hat you are sayi!g is that ust 8!o"i!g theories a+out "hat 'er'etuates
racism is !ot e!ough a!d o!e must acti1ely do somethi!g a+out. ?s that the
u!dersta!di!g that led you to this to'ic
VT: ter ? +ecame a Buddhist ? started usi!g Buddhist 'ractices a!d meditatio!s
to hel'
me stay a"a8e a+out racism, a!d also to rela5 a!y guilt or shame ? might +e
eeli!g a+out
"hite 'ri1ilege. ? !oticed that the more ? ocused my Buddhist 'ractices o!
racism a!d
'ri1ilege, the more ? could stay a"a8e, a!d liste! to 'eo'le o color "ith less
dee!si1e!ess. ? could act more s'o!ta!eously. hat "as a +rea8through or me.
So those are some o the thi!gs that +rought me to my research. ? "a!ted to F!dout i a
grou' o "hite 'eo'le used Buddhist 'ractices to u!lear! racism i it "ould hel'
them the
same "ay it hel'ed me.
?! my research a+out "hat ? call the O'sychology o u!lear!i!g racism, ? loo8ed
at three
o+stacles: shame, de!ial a!d isolatio!. ? 'ic8ed these +ecause they "ere really
u' or me.
? loo8ed at racial shame more tha! at racial guilt. Auilt a!d shame are ote!
co!used.
Auilt is a+out actio!s, "hereas shame is a+out "ho o!e is. Racial guilt may come
u' i ?
realiGe ? said somethi!g racist. -ith guilt, ? ca! a'ologiGe a!d cha!ge my
+eha1ior. But
racial shame is more com'le5. Shame is eeli!g as i there is somethi!g
i!here!tly 4a"ed
a+out me that ? ca!!ot cha!ge. Racial shame ca! mea! that ? dee'ly +elie1e
that my
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'eo'le are, or that ? am, i!here!tly o''ressi1e a!d e5'loitati1e to 'eo'le o
color.
De!ial is the seco!d o+stacle. ? 8e't !otici!g ? "as alli!g aslee', a!d !ot
!otici!g ho"
'eo'le o color "ere treated. De!ial amo!g "hite 'eo'le is "ell docume!ted.
De!ial o racism o+1iously sto's "hite 'eo'le rom ac8!o"ledgi!g, ta8i!g
res'o!si+ility or
racism.
!d the! theres isolatio!. ? !oticed i! mysel a!d i! other 'eo'le this se!se o
!ot
"a!ti!g to ha1e a!ythi!g to do "ith "hite 'eo'le "ho are!t acti1ely Fghti!g
racism. ?
"a!ted to get a"ay rom them. !der!eath it all, ? "as really araid o my o"!
i!ertia.
UF: here are ma!y diJere!t theories a!d 'ractices out there a+out u!lear!i!g
racism. -hy did you choose Buddhism
VT: -ell, as ? said, Buddhism "or8s or me. !d 'ractice 1ersus arri1al is 1ery
Buddhist.
? see 'ractice as a 'lace "here Buddhism a!d u!lear!i!g racism i!tersect. ?
!eed to see u!lear!i!g racism as 'ractice so that ? ca! +e o8 "ith ma8i!g
mista8es. ? !eedto 'ractice stayi!g 8i!d to mysel "he! ? thi!8 a racist thought. o me its all
a+out
'ractice. Practici!g liste!i!g to 'eo'le o color. Practici!g tal8i!g a+out racism
a!d
i!terru'ti!g racism. ?ts a+out 'ractici!g these thi!gs so much that they +ecome
em+odied. he! ? ca! +eha1e i! a s'o!ta!eous "ay. ?ts also a+out the humility
o
8!o"i!g ?m !ot goi!g to Oarri1e.Q ? "ill al"ays carry 'ri1ilege, a!d ? !eed to
8ee' 'ractici!g.
!other co!!ectio! "ith Buddhism is i!terco!!ected!ess. ? ? 'ractice Buddhism,
a!d
come to a! e5'erie!tial u!dersta!di!g o i!terco!!ected!ess, ? realiGe ?m
getti!g harmed
"he! ? +e!eFt rom harmi!g 'eo'le o color +ei!g harmed. ut o that se!se o
i!terco!!ected!ess i ? see i!ustice ha''e!i!g i! the "orld that ? co!tri+ute to,
the! ?
realiGe that that 'erso! "ho is suJeri!gtheyre me. ? may !ot al"ays eel that
or
remem+er or u!dersta!d that, +ut theyre me.
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-ith "hite 'eo'le the ocus o! the i!di1idual ma8es it diHcult or us to see
i!stitutio!aliGed racism +ecause "e 8ee' loo8i!g at OmeQ "hat am ? doi!g
-hat am ?
!ot doi!g heres such a ocus o! the i!di1idual OmeQ that the a+ility to see the
larger
'icture o i!stitutio! a!d the collecti1e is im'aired. So its diHcult or "hite
'eo'le to
see the i!stitutio!al racism. Buddhism is a 'o"erul a!tidote to that tu!!el
1isio!.
UF: re there s'eciFc Buddhist 'ractices that relate more directly "ith your
"or8
VT: Ies.. "are!ess 'ractices are useul, +ei!g 'rese!t "ith yoursel. he more
"hite
'eo'le ca! +e ali1e a!d 'rese!t "ith their thoughts a!d their emotio!s a!d +ody
se!satio!s, the more "e ca! !otice "he! racist assum'tio!s i!orm our +eha1ior
a!d the
more ? ca! choose ho" ? "a!t to act. So a"are!ess 'ractices are really 8ey. t
the same
time ? thi!8 its really im'orta!t to i!use those a"are!ess 'ractices "ith
com'assio! a!d
8i!d!ess to"ards yoursel so that that ce!sor does!t come u'.
he idea is to +e co!scious o "hat 8i!d o racist stereoty'es a!d assum'tio!sam ?
o'erati!g rom. ? ? +ecome a"are o those stereoty'es a!d immediately chastise
mysel,
? "ill 'ro+a+ly stuJ do"! that a"are!ess +ecause ? "a!t to see mysel as a good
'erso!.
So the a"are!ess must +e a 8i!d a!d com'assio!ate a"are!ess so that ? ca!
say, Oh this
is "hats here, a!d ?m goi!g to treat mysel "ith 8i!d!ess a!d "ith ge!tle!ess.Q
he
more ? ca! i!cor'orate that 8i!d o com'assio!ate attitude to"ards mysel a!d
to"ards
other "hite 'eo'le the more ? ca! !otice racism i! me, a!d ? ca! 8ee'
7uestio!i!g those
assum'tio!s a!d +rea8i!g do"! those automatic racist +eha1iors.
UF: Directi!g the com'assio! out"ard is !ot e!ough, some o it has to +e
directed
i!"ard
VT: ? "ould say thats "here it has to start. ? also ? thi!8 it is esse!tial or "hite 'eo'le to
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'ractice s'ea8i!g u' a+out racism. heres !ot a lot o e!1iro!me!ts "here its
o8 or
"hite 'eo'le to tal8 a+out racism. So "e do!t get a lot o 'ractice tal8i!g a+out
it. So
you do!t ha1e the 1oca+ulary a!d its !ot a comorta+le thi!g to do. o" ca!
"hite
'eo'le educate each other a+out racism i "e ca!t tal8 a+out it So 'ractici!g
tal8i!g
a+out racism, !ami!g it, ma8i!g it 1isi+le, those are really im'orta!t, a!d thats
a
'ractice. ?t also 're'ares "hite 'eo'le to !ot rea8 out e1ery time a 'erso! o
color tal8s
a+out racism.
t Frst, this is a+out 'ractici!g +ei!g i! commu!ity "ith other "hite 'eo'le i!
the
ser1ice o tal8i!g a+out racism. commu!ity 'ractice o dialogui!g a!d tal8i!g
a+out it.
he sa!gha is really im'orta!t. So its !ot o!ly that each i!di1idual is 'ractici!g
8i!d
a"are!ess o "hats goi!g o! "ith them, +ut also e5te!di!g that 8i!d!ess to
each other.
So that you are !ot sitti!g i! udgme!t o each other +ecause thats goi!g to
shut each
other do"!. ?!stead, youre actually culti1ati!g this se!se o 8i!d a"are!ess or
"hate1ers comi!g u' so it ca! come u', it ca! air out. ? thi!8 its res'o!si+le to
create a
s'ace "here there is this mutual res'ect to tal8 a+out this. !d s'ace or 'eo'le
to ha1e
their mista8es. ?t does!t mea! !ot challe!gi!g 'eo'le, it mea!s doi!g it rom a
s'ace o
com'assio!.
-he! i!di1idual "hite 'eo'le start +ecomi!g more a"are o racism a!d "a!ti!g
to do
somethi!g a+out it, its really a commo! dualistic thi!g o O?m the good "hite
'erso!,
?m tryi!g to do somethi!g a+out racism, a!d you o1er there, youre the +ad
"hite
'erso!, you ust said somethi!g racist, a!d ? "a!t to get really ar a"ay rom
you.Q So its
im'orta!t to realiGe that all "hite 'eo'le ha1e +ee! co!ditio!ed together, a!d
"ere goi!g
to get out o this together. Because racism is a collecti1e o''ressi1e system a!d
its
goi!g to ta8e a lot o "hite 'eo'le together to o"! u' to it a!d disma!tle it.
? ? recog!iGe that all "hite 'eo'le ha1e this co!ditio!i!g i!side us, the! "ho am
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? to
udge other "hite 'eo'le
?solatio! is a! a!tiracist o+stacle. ?1e +ee! researchi!g a s'eciFc 8i!d o
isolatio! that ha''e!s "he! a "hite 'erso! "ho cares a+out racism eels
reected +y or a1oids other "hite 'eo'le. di1ide is created +et"ee! the
i!ormed a!d u!i!ormed "hite 'eo'le, a!d 'eo'le get com'etiti1e a+out "ho is
the most e!lighte!ed "hite 'erso!. !d its a 'roou!d o+stacle to comi!g
together as a collecti1e a!d teachi!g a!d heali!g each other, a!d "or8i!g
through all this i!accurate co!ditio!i!g. o" ca! "e get together a!d do that
"ith each other "he! "ere +usy sayi!g Oget a"ay rom, me ?m !ot li8e youQ
So ? ust thi!8 isolatio! is a 'roou!d o+stacle to "hite 'eo'le ta8i!g collecti1e
a!tiracist actio!.
he three o+stacles ? studied are isolatio!, de!ial, a!d shame. -hat ? ou!d i!
my research is that the thi!g that u!ites these three o+stacles to "hite a!tiracist
actio! is shame. Shame uels de!ial a!d shame uels isolatio!.
UF: o" "ould you deF!e racial shame
VT: Racial shame, or those o us "ho deal "ith it, is this se!se that ?m +ad
+ecause ?m
"hite, or my 'eo'le are +ad +ecause "e1e do!e these horri+le thi!gs li8e
ge!ocide,
sla1ery, i!ter!me!t cam's, etc. ? ca! say that my 'eo'le did that, ? come romthese
'eo'le, so ?m +ad, ?m e1il, "ere the o''ressors, a!d a lot o shame ca! come
u' "ith
that. !d that racial shame ca! reso!ate "ith a!d am'liy a!y other shame ?
might ha1e.
$or e5am'le, ? might ha1e shame rom a 'ast trauma. Shame is a !atural
reactio! to
trauma, so a!y trauma ? might ha1e i! my history, such as amily 1iole!ce,
lea1es aresidue o shame i! the +ody. So a!y "hite 'erso! "ho has e5'erie!ced trauma
'ro+a+ly
has some u!'rocessed shame. !d social trauma, li8e se5ism or a!tisemitism or
homo'ho+ia (or racismT), also causes shame.
here ca! +e ma!y streams o shame 'ercolati!g i!side us. Racial shame is yet
a!other
layer. ll these sources o shame +leed i!to each other. m'liy each other. ?
may
already ha1e i!ter!aliGed shame rom se5ism so i ? add a layer o racial shameo! to' o
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thatEmay+e ? !otice that some o my u!co!scious +eha1iors are o''ressi1e to
'eo'le o
color, or ? !otice that ? am +e!eFti!g rom "hite 'ri1ilege +ecause my a!cestors
had a
cha!ce to gather "ealth +y F!a!cially e5'loiti!g 'eo'le o color. !d ? eel !ot
ust guilt,
+ut shame. !d there is 'le!ty to uel that shame: as a "hite 'erso! ? +e!eFt
rom racism
e1eryday. ? ? ace that a!d ? already ha1e shame rom other sources, it ca! +e
o1er"helmi!g a!d 'aralyGi!g.
UF: o" do 'eo'le co'e "ith shame
VT: he i!teresti!g thi!g a+out racial shame or a!y 8i!d o shame is the thi!gs
"e do to
a1oid eeli!g it. Somethi!g ?1e lear!ed i! my research is that shame is
u!+eara+le# it is
diHcult to hold i! co!scious a"are!ess. Because o this, 'eo'le ha1e a lot o
strategies to
co'e "ith or a1oid shame, such as goi!g i!to de!ial, getti!g a!gry or dee!si1e,
+lami!g
others, sel6isolati!g, +ecomi!g sel a+sor+ed, or loo8i!g or a+solutio!. !d all
o these
co'i!g strategies get acti1ated +y racial shame. s ? said, shame uels de!ial
a!d
isolatio!. !d all three are 'roou!d o+stacles to "hite 'eo'le ta8i!g a!tiracist
actio!.
!other res'o!se to a1oid shame is dee!si1e!ess. So "he! a 'erso! o color
tells me
O"hat you ust said e5cludes meQ or Oerases my e5'erie!ceQ ? might +ecome
dee!si1e
a!d re+u8e them, Buddhist6styletell them they !eed to Otra!sce!dQ their
reactio!.
UF: ? F!d mysel +ei!g em+arrassed +y that shame a!d ote! try to ma8e it o8
or
the "hite 'erso!. ? 'ic8 u' o! it a!d e1e! though ? 8!o" its !ot my 'lace to
ma8e
thi!gs o8, ? F!d mysel tryi!g to do so.
VT: o" do you 'ic8 u' o! that, "hat do you 'ic8 u' o!
UF: ? thi!8 it comes rom li1i!g i! the margi!s a!d !ot i! the ce!ter. ? 'ay a lot o
atte!tio! to domi!a!t grou's so ? ca! adust mysel accordi!gly. ? 'ic8 u' o! theshame a!d the +lame that "ay a!d eel as i ? !eed to do somethi!g a+out it, as
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i it
is my res'o!si+ility.
VT: hat Fts right i!to a!other co'i!g strategy or "hite racial shame: see8i!g
a+solutio! rom 'eo'le o color. ? might go u' to a 'erso! o color a!d co!ess
somethi!g, a!d ho'e they "ill a+sol1e me. Iou ca! get a+sol1ed all you "a!t +ut
it does!t mea! you are!t "hite a!d are!t 'artici'ati!g i! racism. hat
Oa+sol1edQ "hite 'erso! is li1i!g i! a delusio!. !d si!ce racial o''ressio! is
somethi!g you a!d other 'eo'le o color ha1e to sur1i1e e1ery
day, "he! ? a''roach you a!d say, O? "a!t you to a+sol1e me,Q thats li8e
someo!e +atteri!g their 'art!er a!d eeli!g remorse later a!d sayi!g Oo!ey,
remem+er all the thi!gs you lo1e a+out meQ i!stead o ma8i!g ame!ds or
ta8i!g res'o!si+ility. o +atter someo!e a!d ma8e them orgi1e you is 1ery
o''ressi1e.
!other co'i!g mecha!ism o shame, or a "ay o a1oidi!g shame is sel
a+sor'tio!.
&1erythi!g leads +ac8 to Ome.Q he co!1ersatio! a+out racism gets tur!ed +ac8
to "hite
'eo'le: "hat a+out my 'ai!
UF: Rece!tly, ? heard someo!e sayi!g OPeo'le o color 8ee' tal8i!g a+out their
'ai!
+ut "hat a+out my 'ai! -hat a+out the a+use ?1e suJered @o o!e cares
a+out that.Q
VT: Ieah, that 8i!d o sel a+sor'tio! "ill co!ti!ue u!til shame is dealt "ith. !d
the
a''ro'riate co!te5t to do that is "ith other "hite 'eo'le.
UF: ?1e heard you a!d a e" other 'eo'le say that the "ay or "hite 'eo'le to
erase
racism is to "or8 "ith their o"! 8i!d. -hy is that
VT: -ell "here ? see this goi!g, my o"! 1isio! o it, is that i! order to +uild
allia!ces amo!g "hite 'eo'le a!d 'eo'le o colorits "hite 'eo'les
res'o!si+ility that racism e5ists, +ut it "ill ta8e a colla+oratio! +et"ee! "hite
'eo'le a!d 'eo'le o color to disma!tle it.
$or "hite 'eo'le to get to the 'lace to "or8 "ith 'eo'le o color authe!tically,
"e !eed to "or8 through that shame, to a dee' e5te!t. -or8 through the
shame, the de!ial. Part o "or8i!g through that a!d tal8i!g a+out it ho!estly
i!1ol1es "hite 'eo'le sayi!g a lot o stuJ that 'eo'le o color do!t "a!t to hear.
?t ca! +e 1ery "earyi!g or 'eo'le o color to sit i! a room liste!i!g to "hite
'eo'le share their misco!ce'tio!s a+out 'eo'le o color. But those thi!gs !eed
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to +e +rought to light i they are goi!g to +e addressed. heres stuJ that "hite
'eo'le !eed to say, +ut it could +e re6traumatiGi!g or 'eo'le o color to ha1e to
liste! to a!d hold s'ace or that.
? do thi!8 that has to ha''e! i! a! atmos'here that is com'assio!ate a!d
challe!gi!g. !d ? do!t
thi!8 its air or 'eo'le o color to ha1e to sustai! a eeli!g o com'assio! "hile
liste!i!g to "hite 'eo'le tal8 a+out stereoty'es a!d harmul thi!gs they1e said
or do!e.
hats as8i!g the 1ictim to ta8e care o the 'er'etrator. ? thi!8 its ote!
i!a''ro'riate or
'eo'le o color to +e i! the same room "hile "hite 'eo'le are doi!g that.
UF: -hats your ta8e o! "hite allies i! this "or8
VT: he ultimate goal is colla+oratio! +et"ee! 'eo'le o color a!d "hite 'eo'le.
But it
has to +e ge!ui!e a!d authe!tic colla+oratio!, !ot a 7uic8 O"ere all
i!terco!!ected,
e1erythi!gs F!e, lets colla+orate.Q -e are all co!!ected, +ut most "hite 'eo'le
are!t
ready to dialogue "ith 'eo'le o color.
he ultimate goal is multiracial colla+oratio! a!d allia!ce6+uildi!g to disma!tle
racism.
But the i!itial 'aths to that goal o colla+oratio! are diJere!t or "hite 'eo'le
a!d 'eo'le o color. $or 'eo'le o color, heali!g rom i!ter!aliGed o''ressio! is
critical. his is !ot my area o e5'ertise, +ut ? ha1e heard that it is rare or
'eo'le o color to eel sae e!ought to do dee' racial heali!g i! the 'rese!ce o
"hite 'eo'le. But ? see the 'rocess o 'eo'le o color heali!g rom i!ter!aliGed
o''ressio! as a 'arallel a!d com'leme!tary to the 'rocess that !eeds to ha''e!
"ith "hite 'eo'le.
!e o the thi!gs ? u!dersta!d a+out heali!g rom i!ter!aliGed o''ressio! is the
!eed to e5'ress a!ger a!d rage a!d tell it li8e it is "ithout ce!sori!g. Peo'le o
color !eed that to heal rom i!ter!aliGed racism. But i that e5'ressio! ha''e!s
i! the 'rese!ce o "hite 'eo'le "ho are ust starti!g to deal "ith their racial
shame, the "hite 'eo'le ta8e it 'erso!ally. hey get u'set, a!d "a!t to +e
soothed. hat does!t "or8 or a!y+ody.
? +elie1e it is im'orta!t to create com'assio!ate, all6"hite s'aces to get "hite
'eo'le to a
'oi!t "here they are healed e!ough that they are resilie!t, a!d ro+ust e!ough
that they ca! hear
'eo'le o colors a!ger. So i!stead o goi!g i!to de!ial or getti!g dee!si1e, they
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are
really o'e!, they are e5'a!si1e, they ca! liste! a!d dialog a!d ta8e actio!.
!d it is 'ossi+le# ? ha1e ou!d mysel i!creasi!gly a+le to stay 'rese!t "ith
"hate1er
'eo'le o color !eed to say to me a+out racism. ? am less a!d less dee!si1e,
a!d it is
directly related to "or8i!g through my o"! shame, racial a!d other"ise.
VT: My goal is that e1e!tually ma!y "hite 'eo'le "ill +e i! a 'lace to ta8e
res'o!si+ility or racism. -he! "e are collecti1ely healthy e!ough that 'eo'le o
color "ill !ot !eed to teach us a+out racism. Peo'le o color should!t ha1e to
"or8 so hard. -hite 'eo'le should +e doi!g their "or8 together to heal shame
a!d u!lear! racism so that "e ca! liste! to 'eo'le o color. -e ca! +e s'acious.
-hat i a lot o "hite 'eo'le, "hite Buddhists, "ere so s'acious a+out issues o
race a!d
racism a!d 'ri1ilege that "e could sim'ly say, Oo8, ? hear you.Q
? eel 'assio!ate a+out ma8i!g s'ace or "hite 'eo'le to do that "or8, +ut ? "a!t
to +e
1ery clear a+out "hat the e!d goal is. ?ts !ot a+out ma8i!g "hite 'eo'le eel
+etter or
letti!g them oJ the hoo8 a+out racism. ?ts a+out +uildi!g this ro+ust!ess to +e
a+le to
stay co!scious a!d res'o!si1e "he! 'eo'le o color 'oi!t out thi!gs that areracist. !d
to +e 'roacti1e "ithout ha1i!g to +e told.
UF: !d challe!gi!g each other
VT: Ies. !d to "elcome challe!ges rom 'eo'le o color. Ies. he last thi!g ?
"a!t to
say is that there are i!ter1e!tio!s or racial shame. Shame is a 8ey o+stacle to
"hite a!tiracist
actio!, a!d i you deal "ith that you are deali!g "ith a lot o the other o+stacles.
UF: o" do you i!ter1e!e "ith shame
VT: $irst, you !eed to res'ect that it is 'roou!d. !d "ell hidde!. ccessi!g
shame is
diHcult +ecause i you access it, it calls u' other dee'ly +uried emotio!s, such
as
'o"erless!ess or a+a!do!me!t or des'air. @ot u!. So to address racial shame,
you ha1e
to use so'histicated tools.
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Iou ca! tell 'eo'le that racism is !ot their ault. But thats ust tal8i!g. !d
shame is!t
o! the 1er+al le1el. ?t is dee'ly em+odied. ? someo!e has a 'erso!al trauma
goi!g o! i!
their curre!t lie or i! their history, its im'orta!t to get hel' "ith that. hera'y,
es'ecially somatic thera'y is good or that. !d doi!g that heali!g "or8 "ill hel'
you
+ecome resilie!t a!d elastic e!ough to ace racial shame. But you do!t "a!t to
o!ly do
your o"! 'erso!al heali!g "or8. Iou "a!t to loo8 at racism simulta!eously as a
system.
Iou !eed to "or8 "ith that, too.
UF: ?ts im'orta!t or "hite 'eo'le to do their o"! "or8 +ecause racism ha''e!s
o!
a systemic le1el# 'eo'le i! 'ri1ileged 'ositio!s sustai! racism so "he! they
+ecome
a"are they ca! disma!tle the system.
VT: +solutely. ther thi!gs that really hel' "ith racial shame are de1elo'i!g a
stro!g
"hite a!ti6racist commu!ity that holds you i! com'assio!, a!d holds you
accou!ta+le,
'ractici!g mi!dul com'assio! or yoursel, educati!g yoursel a+out ho" racism
is !ot
chose!, +ut co!ditio!ed. hat ma8es some room or orgi1e!ess. !d "or8i!g o!
racial
shame through the +ody, through e5'ressi1e arts a!d other em+odied 'ractices
hel's heal racial
shame. ear!i!g a!d ide!tiyi!g "ith some 'ositi1e as'ects o +ei!g "hite also
hel's,
such as lear!i!g 'ositi1e thi!gs a+out your eth!ic ide!tity or a+out your amily,
or i that
does!t "or8 or you, lear!i!g a+out a!ti6racist "hite 'eo'le i! history "ho you
admire,
a!d re6claimi!g them as your s'iritual a!cestors. $i!ally, e!gagi!g i! a!ti6racist
actio!
hel's u!do racial shame.
UF: -hat does it mea! to +e a! ally
VT: o me, +ei!g a! a!tiracist ally mea!s liste!i!g to 'eo'le o color, +elie1i!g
them,
res'ecti!g their e5'erie!ce. ?t mea!s educati!g mysel a+out i!stitutio!al,
i!di1idual,cultural racism a!d "hite 'ri1ilege. ?t mea!s +ei!g a+le to !otice "hite 'ri1ilege
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a!d
racism i! my daily lie, i! the "orld arou!d me, a!d to s'ea8 u' a+out racism
"he! ? see
it. Bei!g a! ally also mea!s su''orti!g the leadershi' o 'eo'le o color. ?! the
lo!g ru!,
+ei!g a "hite a!tiracist ally mea!s e!gagi!g i! "hite collecti1e a!tiracist
actio!, a!d 'artici'ati!g i! authe!tic, multiracial allia!ce +uildi!g a!d
colla+oratio!.
Much gratitude to Turning Wheel, to Urusa Fahim for her extraordinary
work in the world, and to Staci Haines for her rofound in!uence on my
ersecti"e on white racial shame and em#odiment in $%%&'
his e!try "as 'osted i! Na!issar +log o! %u!e 2*, 203 +y Na!issar .
The Retreat from Race an" Class
Monthly (e"iew4 -..?4 $ol!me @A4 Iss!e .0 ;8!ly26!g!st<
)y *a"id (oediger
$s the twentieth century started) indeed at almost e<actly the same moment
that . E. '. Du 'ois predicted that the >color lineB would be its great divide)
Eugene Sictor Debs announced that the socialist movement that he led in the
"nited &tates could and should o/er >nothing specialB to $frican $mericans. >he
class struggle)B Debs added) >is colorless.B $s the century unfolded) the white
ar<ist left) schooled by struggles for colonial freedom and by the self,activity of
people of color in the centers of empire) increasingly saw the wisdom of Du
'ois;s insight and tried hard to consider how nowledge of the color line could
illuminate) energize) and e<press class struggles. e would increasingly turn to
other passages from Debs) including one e<pressing a historical insight that hecould already articulate in the early twentieth century but that his colorblindness
ept him from acting upon# >hat the white heel is still on the blac nec is
simply proof that the world is not yet civilized. he history of the Legro in the
"nited &tates is a history of crime without a parallel.B
$s the twenty,Crst century starts) the idea of a colorless struggle for human
progress is unfortunately bac with a vengeance. &uch is of course the case on
the right in the "nited &tates) where what the legal scholar Leil Jotanda and
others have called >colorblind racismB has underpinned attacs on a:rmativeaction and even on the collection of the race,based statistics necessary to show
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patterns of discrimination. he high,sounding) ostensibly freedom,loving names
given to such well,funded campaignsK>civil rights initiativesB to undermine
a:rmative action and >racial privacy actsB to do in the amassing of basic
nowledge regarding the impact of raceKhave contributed mightily to attempts
to recapture the moral high ground by those contending that a society in whichwhite family wealth is about ten times that of blac family wealth is nonetheless
a colorblind one.
Lor are such instances conCned to the "nited &tates. ith the blood scarcely dry
from white $ustralian riots against $rab beachgoers) that country;s neoliberal
leader ohn Moward reacted to press headlines screaming >Race MateB and >Race
arB by loudly proclaiming that he heads a colorblind society. hen the French
interior minister Licolas &arozy) leader of the ruling party there and leading
candidate to replace ac+ues %hirac as president) recently su/ered criticism on
race issues) he +uicly planned a trip to artini+ue to emphasize how little raceallegedly matters in the French colonial world. &arozy stood out as especially
harsh in his response to the rebellions of Islamic youth in France against police
violence. Me failed to oin the president and prime minister in belatedly
distancing themselves from a recently passed law re+uiring that French
te<tboos >recognize in particular the positive role of the French presence
overseas) notably in Lorth $frica.B 'ut an escape to colorblindness still seemed
possible.
Get) &arozy was so thoroughly not welcomed by artini+ue;s great politician)poet) and theorist of liberation) $imZ %Zsaire) and others that the publicity stunt
had to be canceled. Lonetheless) within France the pernicious role of long,
established >colorblindnessB operates so strongly that &arozy can remain a top
presidential contender. he legislative left did not originally raise any serious
protest against passage of the pro,colonialist te<tboo legislation) and the nation
adheres to the same basic no,counting,by,race policies that racial privacy acts
see to establish in the "nited &tates. Ironically) &arozy himself has recently
called for limited Odiscrimi!atio! 'ositi1e,Q (a:rmative action-) as a carrot
operating in tandem with deportations and immigration restriction to +uell
rebellions in France. 'ut to put any >positiveB measures into practice remains aproblem. $s he &co!omist recently put it) the French minister for e+uality
remains practically alone at the top of the government in advocating Cnding a
way even to >measure the presence of the children of immigrationB in political
structures) the bureaucracy) and the labor force.
6gainst Race 3!t %ot for Class' Raceless Li&eralism B Social
Theory
hat is distressingly new is the e<tent to which indictments of antiracism) and
even attacs on the use of race as a concept) come now from liberalism and fromthe left. Electorally) of course) one hallmar of e/orts by the Democratic
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0eadership %ouncil to move the Democratic !arty still further to the right has
been an attempt to distance the party from concrete appeals to) and
identiCcation with) people of color. hus the constituencies most aware of both
race and class ine+uities are marginalized in the name of appeals for >universalB
programs. eanwhile actually e<isting universal social programs) such as>welfare,as,we,now,it)B have been subected to withering (and anything but
colorblind- bipartisan attacs. he left was capable a decade ago of dissecting
such a shell game) most trenchantly in &tephen &teinberg;s 1NN8 @e" Politics
article on the >liberal retreat from race)B and in what will presumably be
%hristopher Mitchens;s last serious boo) his 1NNN dismantling of %lintonism) @o
!e et to ie o.
$t a time when no real political alternatives are o/ered by Democratic
candidates who conCne their tepid appeals for racial ustice to the ing holiday
and to tals in blac churches) the intellecutual left also seems to be abandoningrace. hus the brilliance of !aul Jilroy is turned to writing gai!st Race) and
$ntonia Darder oins Rodolfo D. orres in producing the triumphal ter Race.
=rlando !atterson holds forth under the title >Race =ver)B while 0o[c ac+uant
and the late activist*sociologist !ierre 'ourdieu brand analysis of race as an a<is
of ine+uality in 'razil as a pernicious e<port from a "nited &tates social science
establishment that is as >cunningB as it is >imperialist.B
hese wors are much more) and in some ways much less) than a return to
Debs;s >colorlessB ideas. hey lac the same focus on) and conCdence in)socialist transformation and are often in dialogue less with class struggle than
with cultural studies ideas about the importance of >hybridityB and the pitfalls of
>essentialism.B In the best nown cases they do not speciCcally try to recenter
class by removing a C<ation on race. hen they do mae such an attempt at
class analysis) as in the wor of $dolph Reed r.) they cannot yet deliver results.
=n the whole they reHect the ways that increases in immigration) intermarriage)
and cross,racial adoptions have destabilized discussions of race,as,usual.
Ironically the very success) largely under "nited Lations and nongovernmental
organization auspices) of organizing around race globally has also laid bare the
star di/erences in national patterns of racialized ine+uality and the blurredborders between racial) religious) language) and national oppressions.
'ut while retreats from race are at least understandable in part in view of the
di:cult and changing political tass that we face) they are in their most
sweeping forms no more an answer when they come from the left than when
they come from the right and center. he conte<t in which they emerge) the
stature of voices contributing to them) and the ways that they Ct into various
tempting electoral shortcuts informing left strategies) nonetheless demand that
they be taen seriously. o do so re+uires us to loo at the varieties of leftcriti+ues of race thining) with the goal being not so much to show their
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incompatibility with each other than to identify various changes and threats to
which they inade+uately respond. he most celebrated advocates of >race is
overB and >against raceB positionsKJilroy) !atterson) and 'ourdieu and
ac+uantKdo not directly raise the issues of race and class central to this
article) but their inHuence and arguments must be at least brieHy discussed if weare to situate and criti+ue the more e<plicitly class conscious writings of Darder)
orres and Reed.
Jilroy;s gai!st Race begins with an e<traordinarily dense and challenging
discussion of the connections between the very idea of >raceB and what Jilroy
terms >raciology)B the ne<us of murderous practice) policy) and science born out
of seeing race. Race) Jilroy holds) is a >relatively recent and absolutely modern
inventionB and its scientiCc credentialing cannot be considered apart from its
bloody implication in >evil) brutality and terror.B In a new world ostensibly
beyond white supremacist science) and one in which blac bodies are maretedas desirable and even superhuman rather than only as degraded) Jilroy sees
both new dangers and the possibility for a >novel and ambitious abolitionist
proect)B this time doing away with race itself. >Renouncing Xrace;B becomes not
only the ey to >bring@ingA political culture bac to lifeB but also the only proper
>ethicalB response for confronting the wrongs done under the banners of
raciology. $cnowledging that for >many racialized populations) Xrace; and the
hard,won) oppositional identities it supports are not to be lightly or prematurely
given up)B Jilroy proposes a long campaign designed to show that >action
against racial hierarchies can proceed more e/ectively when it has been purgedof any lingering respect for the idea of Xrace.;B In the boo;s early stages) a
criti+ue of racist science and a recognition of the need to add up the costs of
ignoring gender and class divisions by some blac nationalist movements seem
to have Jilroy reecting race but endorsing a more mature antiracism.
'ut by the boo;s end) despite asides suggesting that he will not too harshly
udge those who hesitate to abandon the politics of antiracist solidarity in favor
of a >heterocultural) postanthropological) and cosmopolitan yet,to,come)B Jilroy
has undercut much of the grounds of antiracism. Declaring the very >moodB of
proects attacing white supremacy to be hopelessly passZ as we leave Du 'ois;s>century of the color line behind)B he also strongly dissents from any Crm
connection of racism to power or to white supremacy. gai!st Race poses the
choice in approaches as one between an outmoded concern for >$frica;s
anti+uityB and an appropriate commitment to >our planet;s future.B Jilroy writes)
>o be against racism) against white supremacism) was once to be bonded to the
future. his no longer seems to be the case.B he monumental but incomplete
and fragile achievements of blac internationalism) so searchingly e<plored in
their contradictions in Jerald Morne;s recent Race -ar ) are reduced to scattered
instances of precocious appreciation for the >planetary.B he utopian dimensionsthat Robin D. J. elley shows to be essential to struggles against white
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supremacy and capitalism become for Jilroy moments to be captured by reading
history against the grain) and through a lens that can reduce Frantz Fanon to
>that prototypical blac,EuropeanB noteworthy in large measure for his
>indiscreetly anti,ar<ist spirit.B
0ie Jilroy) the sometimes,on,the,left Marvard sociologist =rlando !atterson
e<plicitly pronounces Du 'ois;s remars on the color line to be well past their
sell,by date. >Race =ver)B was the headline for !atterson;s proections in he
@e" Re'u+lic in 4777. he article begins from the premise that Du 'ois may
have been >half,rightB regarding the color line in the twentieth century) but
!atterson insists that any attempt to continue to apply Du 'ois;s formulation
would be >altogether wrong.B For !atterson the problems with twenty,Crst,
century race thining are less political and ethical than they are simply
demographic) a view scarcely di/erent from the endless accounts in the
mainstream press predicting that the "nited &tates will become a white,minoritynation in the not,too,distant future. 'y 4767) the "nited &tates >will have
problems aplenty @butA no racial problem whatsoever)B !atterson tells his
readers. 'y then) >the social virus of race will have gone the way of smallpo<.B
his retreat from race will allegedly fall into regional patterns) the details of
which call the predictions of racelessness somewhat into +uestion. =n the est
%oast) >cultural and somatic mi<ingB will produce a population mainly >Eurasian
but with a growing 0atin element.B In the Lortheast and idwest)
deindustrialized zones of misery will contain the white) $frican $merican) and
0atino poor) bound together by >social resentmentB and a >lumpen,proletarianhip,hop culture)B and isolated from the gated communities of the prosperous. In
the &outheast) the >=ld %onfederacyB race divisions will continueK>race overB
does not in fact apply thereKbut somehow this will mae no di/erence in the
national picture.
$t almost every turn the raceless predictions coe<ist for !atterson with appeals
to old,style raciology. >urderous racial gang CghtsB remain a fact of 4767 life)
and new technologies to change race are deployed. 'ut an even more glaring
contradiction obtrudes when !atterson adds other set of prognostications in a
@e" Ior8 imes article) now distancing himself from the view of demographersthat whites will become a minority in the "nited &tates in the twenty,Crst
century. $rguing that >nearly half of the Mispanic population is white in every
social sense)B !atterson forecasts that >the non,Mispanic white population will?
possibly even grow as a portion of the population.B !atterson may be right that
children of marriages between a non,Mispanic white and a Mispanic will identify
as (and be identiCed as- >white)B but the arring contrast between the two
articles suggests ust how slapdash the race,is,over position remains. Race
disappears and whiteness reigns.
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ac+uant and 'ourdieu;s >=n the %unning of Imperialist Reason)B published in
heory, <ulture a!d Society in 1NNN) best shows how appreciation for the ways in
which racial oppression di/ers across national boundaries can fuel an argument
for ettisoning) or at least +uarantining) the use of race in social theory and
political strategy. he article foregrounds with surprising stridency arl ar<;sargument that the ruling ideas of an age are produced by those who dominate.
Mowever) the authors put ar<;s insight into the service of an attac on the
discussions of racial ine+uality that have recently led to adoption of forms of
a:rmative action in 'razil. hey argue that new attention to race in that country
is a result of elite ideas shipped south from the "nited &tates. ac+uant and
'ourdieu pinpoint the >cultural imperialismB of ".&. scholars as the source of
attempts to Hatten varied regimes of race and class oppression) Hattening they
see as producing a misreading both of history and of current political
possibilities. Focusing on the case of 'razil) 'ourdieu and ac+uant contend that
".&.,inspired) ".&.,funded) and ".&.,produced research wors to impose a >rigid
blac*white social division)B o/ering the rest of the world a >poisonousB e<port.
&uch imperialism insinuates itself) in 'ourdieu and ac+uant;s view) despite the
fact that its arguments are >contrary to the image 'razilians have of their own
nation.B It does so by trading on a perverse and unspeciCed combination of
antiracist rhetoric and neoliberal Cnancing for scholarship.
Mowever) a number of acute responses) especially from the 'razilianists ichael
Manchard and ohn French) have criticized 'ourdieu and ac+uant;s contention
that race is somehow a peculiarly ".&. concept) one that would have to bee<ported because it could not be home,grown in 'razil. he critical responses
show that in neither the "nited &tates nor 'razil is race regularly deployed) as
'ourdieu and ac+uant charge) for purposes of accusation rather than analysis)
and that what they call the >neutralization of historical conte<tB is a charge that
might be turned bac on their own reductive understanding of 'razil. ost
importantly) the critics show that the scholars accused of spreading >imperialist
reasonB and rigid caricatures of the 'razilian social system actually continue a
long line of argument "ithi! BraGil which recognizes that the historical conte<t of
displacement of indigenous people) empires) slave,trading) and slavery produced
very di/erent) but not incomparable) racial systems in 'razil and in the "nited
&tates. hen Manchard draws on the wor of cultural theorists Robert &tam and
Ella &hohat to show that the analysis produced by ac+uant and 'ourdieu is not
without its own universalistic views of race (and presumed colorblindness-)
founded in French imperialism) the argument that we need a fuller and more
comple< discussion of race and empire rather than an end to debate is s+uarely
put on the table.
Does 7o)ing 6*ay from Race 7o)e >s To*ar" Class#
he very Crst words in Darder and orres;s ter Race attempt to improve on Du'ois;s >dictumB regarding the color line# >e echo his statement but with a
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radical twist. he problem of the twenty,Crst century is the problem of Xrace;Kan
ideology that has served well to obscure and disguise class interests behind the
smoescreens of multiculturalism) diversity) di/erence) and more recently)
whiteness.B ter Race centrally holds that race is a biological myth at long last
invalidated by science) but now dangerously recreated because scholars persistin using the term. &uch scholars thereby decisively aid the rise of culturally,
based neoracisms and even the recrudescence of biological racism. =n this view)
the >idea of raceB itself) not capitalism) is somehow the >lynchpin of racism.B
0ie the early sections of Jilroy;s gai!st Race) the wor of Darder and orres
holds out the hope that retreating from the invocation of race will actually
empower a more e/ective struggle against racialized hierarchies. Indeed they
approve of 'arbara Fields;s uncharitable contention that >liberal) leftist) or
progressiveB writers dwell on the >homier and more tractable notionB of race to
avoid being >unsettledB by taling about racism. Mowever) as in Jilroy;s case)the emphasis on racism is not sustained) and neither race nor racism function as
what he calls >categories of analysisBKthat is) they cannot be the reasons for
people acting as they do) but must themselves be e<plained.
Insofar as Fields) Darder) orres) and others contend that inattention to class
distorts in+uiry into all ine+ualities in the "nited &tates) they are e<actly right.
Mowever) the strategy of baning on the retreat from race to solve that problem
is a highly dubious one. It leads to an e<tremely embattled tone and to ignoring
the most e<citing wor building on materialist insights. From %heryl Marris;sbrilliant studies of whiteness as property) to Eduardo 'onilla,&ilva;s research on
racial systems) to somewhat older &outh $frican scholarship on racial capitalism)
to 0isa 0owe;s important observations on race) universality) and labor at the start
of ?mmigra!t cts) much wor sees to revive the class +uestion by bringing
racism and class together more systematically. 'ut you would not now it from
ter Race.
Indeed at critical unctures) the boo is so eager to be against race that it
departs dramatically from historical materialism and thus cannot be e/ective for
understanding class. Darder and orres praise the liberal sociologist illiam uliusilson) for e<ample) for supposedly demonstrating that >the signiCcance of class
has increased and is now far more salient than Xrace; in determining the life
chances of $frican $mericans.B his either*or) class,not,race) position leads ter
Race to ignore the devastating counterarguments that elvin =liver) homas
&hapiro) and others have made to ilson;s wor and to subordinate to an
endnote their own appreciation of the fact that ilson;s wor is about as distant
from ar<ism as is possible. hat endnote promises a di/erent approach)
focusing >with speciCcity @onA the dialectic between the means of production and
the process of racialization)B but so far Darder and orres have not producedanything lie such an analysis. Indeed ter Race emphasizes theological
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matters) not slavery) settler colonialism) and the primitive accumulation of
capital) in accounting for the origins of racialized groups. &uch a view is very
much consonant with the boo;s emphasis on plural >racismsBKincluding the
tendency to >inferiorizeB whitesKand its marginalization of any systematic
discussion of white supremacy.
his same inattention to white supremacy maes it almost impossible for ter
Race to contribute to pressing discussions of how to build 0atino,blac woring,
class unity. he boo;s puzzling titleKclearly race was no more >realB in 1W7
than in 4778Kmaes sense in terms of the boo;s structure) one that culminates
in chapters on $sian $merican and 0atino e<periences and emphasizes that the
>browning of $mericaB will shae old certainties regarding racism. he danger
here lies in maing the possibility of abandoning race contingent on the fact that
the 0atino population has e<ceeded that of $frican $mericans. his would leave
us passing out of a period of a relatively unproductive period of politicalmobilization based on race) during which blacs predominated) and into a
promising raceless one in which 0atinos do. 'ut there is then no sustained
analysis of $frican $mericans) of $frican $merican studies) or of the tradition of
blac ar<ism) as would seem to be necessary to calibrate such an argument.
oreover) that $frican $mericans can practice >racismB is a consistent refrain of
the study) which persistently lays all manner of mischief at the door of the civil
rights and the 'lac !ower movements. he former movement) we learn)
emphasized a >liberal) rights,centered political agenda @thatA undermined the
development of a coherent woring class movement in the "nited &tates.B Merethe reHe<ive move away from seeing racism as having critical e<planatory
weight lets white supremacist trade unionism o/ the hoo and leads to the
missing of the centrality of obs) union organizing) welfare rights) poor people;s
campaigns) and point,of,production organizingKof classKto the civil rights and
'lac !ower movements. issing class) it becomes possible to charge that 'lac
!ower narrowly >seiz@edA the moment in the name of antiracism and Xblac
autonomy);B and that it somehow shut o/ debate over the conse+uences of
using >the language of Xrace; to do battle with racism.B $t its worst this line of
argument allows Darder and orres to loosely lin a 'lac !ower movement
animated by anticolonialism and anticapitalism to the Lation of Islam;s
e<travagant pronouncements on >white devils.B
hile Darder and orres allow that >racismB is still a problem worth addressing)
the recent writings of the radical political scientist $dolph Reed r. are done even
with that. &ounding more lie the >colorlessB Debs than any maor left
commentator on race and class in recent memory) he argues) >E<posing racism
@isA the political e+uivalent of an appendi<# a useless vestige of an earlier
evolutionary moment that;s usually innocuous but can Hare up and become
harmful.B Reed;s two late,4776 articles) >%lass,ifying the MurricaneB and >heReal Divide)B are the signature pieces of the left retreat from race. hey appear
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in relatively popular left*liberal venues) he @atio! and he Progressi1e
respectively) and represent attempts by a prominent activist in the movement to
build a labor party in the "nited &tates to spea broadly and franly. oreover)
Reed;s scholarship had o/ered signiCcant opposition to liberalism;s retreat from
race during the %linton era) especially in his collection -ithout %ustice or ll.
>%lass,ifying the MurricaneB appeared while the horriCc impact of atrina in
Reed;s former hometown of Lew =rleans was fresh in readers; minds) ust after
many had noted the racist reporting that contrasted blac >lootersB with white
survivors shown doing precisely the same foraging. It noted >manifest racial
disparities in vulnerability) treatment) and outcomeB of the e<perience of natural
disaster. $nd then it turned on a dime to e<coriate the >abstract) moralizing
patter about how and whether race matters.B Even so) in this Crst of his two
paired essays Reed;s retreat from race could be read as simply a strategic one.
>For roughly a generation it seemed responsible to e<pect that deCningine+ualities in racial terms would provide some remedial response from the
federal government)B he wrote. >'ut for some time race;s force in national
politics has been as a vehicle for reassuring whites that that Xpublic; e+uals some
combination of Xblac); Xpoor); and Xloser.;B atrina lay bare both race and class
inustices) but in part because of the gro"i!g strength of racism) an e/ective
response to it would have to be strictly >class,iCed)B according to Reed.
>he Real DivideB repeated) e<panded) and made more bitter the arguments in
he @atio! article. Reed did continue to mention) in a labored construction) thathe was >not claiming that systemic ine+ualities in the "nited &tates are not
signiCcantly racialized.B Indeed >any sane or honest personB would have to
acnowledge the overwhelming evidence of >racial disparities @thatA largely
emerge from a history of discrimination and racial inustice.B Lonetheless) Reed
followed up these generalizations by categorically declaring that >as a political
strategy e<posing racism is wrongheaded and at best an utter waste of time.B
he focus on racism is for Reed a dodge designed to mae >upper status liberalsB
feel morally superior as they vote for the deeply compromised Democratic !arty
and ignore the >real divideB of class. In one of the few bits of the article o/ering
ostensible) if incredibly narrow and misguided) class analysis) e<posing racism issaid to serve >the material interests of those who would be race relations
technicians.B $s in >%lassi,fying the MurricaneB the arguments are partly that
racism) being >too impreciseB and too abstract) lacs power as an analytical tool.
Mowever) the point Reed develops more is that among whites the very
>discussion of raceB reinforces >the idea that cutting public spending is ustiCably
aimed at weaning a lazy blac underclass o/ the dole.B he >racism charge)B on
this view) is easily defeated by Republican appeals to >scurrilous racial
stereotypesB and therefore should be ettisoned.
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Jilroy;s gai!st Race at least acnowledges that a call for giving up on race,
based traditions of struggle ass a lot of social movements rooted in
communities of color. In law) for e<ample) e<posing racism is often the sole
strategy available to protect) after a fashion) the rights of many of the poorest
worers in the "nited &tates. Reed;s view that elite liberalism is the source ofmovements to e<pose and combat racismKa view much facilitated by his
outspoen dismissal of the reparations movementKforestalls consideration of
the dynamics of concrete struggles around race and class) leaving the call for a
retreat from race itself as something of an abstraction.
Fortunately there is no reason to decide whether to organize and to analyze
around either racism or class oppression) one to the e<clusion of the other. he
case of Lew =rleans) which moved Reed to present us with such a choice) o/ers
good e<amples of why we should reect it. %ompare) for e<ample) Reed;s thumbs
up*thumbs down approach to race and class with the left activist and writer ieDavis;s accounts of post,atrina Lew =rleans. Davis raised a series of +uestions
three months into the rebuilding process in Lew =rleans and perfectly captured
the continuing color line and more#
-hy is there so much high6le1el tal8 a+out a+a!do!i!g the @i!th -ard as
u!i!ha+ita+le "he! !o o!e is 'ro'osi!g to tur! e7ually i!u!dated a8e1ie" +ac8
i!to a s"am' ?s it +ecause a8e1ie" is a "ealthy "hite commu!ity !d/or is it
+ecause the 30,000 relia+ly Democratic Blac8 1otes i! the @i!th -ard hold the
+ala!ce o 'o"er i! ouisia!a 'olitics
o what e<tent) Davis wondered) did >ethnic cleansingB and rebuilding coincide2
Davis;s accounts have also been especially acute on the ways in which elites)
including the blac political elite in Lew =rleans) have played on) and indeed
created) blac,0atino tensions during the rebuilding process. Mow are we to
conceptualize these tensions) and to struggle to overcome them) without
discussing both race and class) as well as white supremacy2
In recent antiwar demonstrations the most fascinating sign has read# >Lo Ira+ihas ever left me to die on a roof.B Its words recall haunting post,atrina images
and also bring to mind the celebrated antiwar dictum attributed to uhammad
$li# >Lo Sietnamese ever called me Xnigger.;B he latter line was perhaps the
+uintessential late twentieth,century e<ample of Du 'ois;s insight) ignored by
".&.,centered readings of his words in he Souls o Blac8 $ol8 ) regarding how the
color line in the "nited &tates e<isted in systems of racialized global ine+uality.
e should allow that the twenty,Crst,century >Lo Ira+iB sign;s variant of the
earlier slogan is considerably more comple< and e<pansive. !oor whites) and
indeed the large numbers of Sietnamese resettled in the gulf region and
abandoned in atrina;s considerable wae) could conceivably march under the
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>Lo Ira+iB sign. In that sense the sign) and the reality of Lew =rleans) spea
powerfully to the most profound insight in Reed;s recent wor) namely that poor)
mostly blac) Lew =rleanians su/er from a plight that is >a more e<treme
version of the precarious position of millions of $mericans today) as more and
more lose health care) banruptcy protection) secure employment) a/ordablehousing) civil liberties) and access to education.B o combat such misery will
re+uire race and class analysis) as well as antiracist and anticapitalist
organization.
$s Reed;s articles appeared) the @e" Ior8 imes ran an article titled >For 'lacs)
$ Dream in Decline.B It revealed that after a 1NQ7s pea in which one blac
worer in four was a union member) the Cgure today approaches one is seven. In
the last year) $frican $merican worers accounted for a whopping 66 percent of
the drop in union membership by 578)777 nationally) although they represent
ust one unionized worer in si<. he imes article +uoted illiam ulius ilsonhimself as urgently calling on the unions to address the issue. >hey haven;t
done so yet)B he lamented. "nion leaders) according to the article) >resist
viewing what is happening in racial terms.B =ne prominent labor leader +uoted
on the decline of blac membership sounded for all of the world lie Eugene S.
Debs# >e see it as a class issue rather than a race issue.B It is both) and the
retreat from race and class will get us closer to addressing neither.
White skin pri)ilege
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!e" arri1al (painting by Jiuilo Rosati , source-. he privilege of white sin ?
Earlier this year) fashion model %ameron Russell condemned the unbearable
whiteness of her industry#
@?A I won a genetic lottery) and I am a recipient of a legacy. For the past few
centuries) we have deCned beauty not ust as health and youth and symmetry
that we;re biologically programmed to admire) but also as tall) slender Cgures
with femininity and white sin. his is a legacy that was built for me) and that
I;ve been cashing in on. (Russell) 4715-
Ges) s. Russell did win a genetic lottery) being certainly more attractive than
average. 'ut she also mentioned a second unearned windfall# a beauty privilege
due to the >legacyB of the past few centuries) when Europeans lorded over the
world. ithout that legacy) she would presumably be a very ordinary woman)
perhaps even ugly.
his presumption can be tested. here was a time) not so long ago) when
Europeans were wealings on the world scene) when large parts of their
continent were ruled by other peoples) and when the center of geopolitical power
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lay in the iddle East. In such a conte<t) women lie %ameron Russell would
have had much less beauty privilege to cash in on.
In reality) they had plenty) and not ust in Europe. Xhite slavery; today meansthe international tra:cing of women for prostitution. 'ac then) it meant the
provisioning of the uslim world with European concubines) who were valued for
their white sin (0ewis) 1NN7) pp. 11,15) 6W) 4-. his trade was considerable in
uslim &pain#
he same convoys of booty also included women) these Franish women who
were all the more sought after in %ordova because they were blond and fair,
sinned. It was among them) as among the captive women from Jascony) that
the "mayyad princes chose their most pampered concubines and who) once theybecame mothers) were themselves raised to the ran of veritable princesses) of
proven sultanesses (umm "alad- who were inHuential and +uic to enter) with
the assistance of &lav eunuchs) into secret and complicated palace intrigues. 'ut
the Franish women did not populate only the caliphUs harems9 the dignitaries of
the 8hassa and the rich burghers of the cities also procured them at lavish
prices) lie) in the modern period) the %ircassian women who have so curiously
tinted the upper classes of oriental uslim society. (0Zvi,!roven\al) 1N65) p. 1N-
&uch women came from places that were poorer and less advanced than theuslim world. Leither they nor their future masters new what white sin would
signify over a half,millennium later. Indeed) no one foresaw the rise of Europe to
geopolitical preeminence) certainly not this 11th,century uslim author#
For those who live furthest to the north between the last of the seven climates
and the limits of the inhabited world) the e<cessive distance of the sun in relation
to the zenith line maes the air cold and the atmosphere thic. heir
temperaments are therefore frigid) their humors raw) their bellies gross) their
color pale) their hair long and lan. hus they lac eenness of understanding
and clarity of intelligence) and are overcome by ignorance and dullness) lac of
discernment) and stupidity. &uch are the &lavs) the 'ulgars) and their neighbors.
(0ewis) 1NN7) p. 8-
Lonetheless) their women were considered striingly attractive) even to the point
of being simply called Xbeautiful girls.; $n Qth,century $rab musician wrote#
>hey used not to train beautiful slave girls to sing) but they used only to train
yellow and blac girls. he Crst to teach valuable girls to sing was my fatherB(0ewis) 1NN7) p. 6W-.
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hat gave rise to this desire for light,sinned foreign women2 It seems that fair
sin has long been ey to $rab notions of female beauty#
!raise of a girlUs loos is traditionally couched in such terms as# Mer face is lie
the full moon) her mouth is an almond) her nose a cardamon) she is plump) and
dimpled etc. @...A he highest praise is perhaps that she is as white as snow K
strange praise indeed to come from a people very few of whom had ever seen
snow. (Maim 1NQ) p. QQ-
@he moonA is the most common image used to represent female beauty. hen
attempting to draw the attention of a beautiful girl on the street) a young man
may call out) >;Es ya +amar2B (roughly) >hat;s happening) = moon2B-. wo
important components of the image) brightness (fairness of sin- and roundness
(of face-) convey the popular conception of beauty in !alestinian and $rab
culture. (uhawi and anaana 1NQN) p. W7) cf. also 144) 1Q1-
%ot !st in 6ra& societies
In general) traditional human societies share a belief that women should befairer,sinned than men (van den 'erghe and Frost) 1NQW-. his cultural norm
runs parallel to a physical norm) i.e.) in all human populations) women are less
pigmented than men from puberty onward. 'oth melanin and cutaneous blood
are involved) with the result that women loo paler and men browner and
ruddier. omen also display a sharper contrast between facial sin color and
eye*lip color. hese visual cues are subconsciously used by the human mind to
determine whether an individual is a man or a women (Dupuis,Roy et al.) 477N9
Frost) 47119 Russell) 47179 Russell) 47759 Russell and &inha) 4779 arr et al.)
4771-.
In addition to aiding se< recognition) these visual cues may also trigger feelings
that in one way or another depend on the se< of the person being observed.
&ince lighter sin is speciCc not only to women but also to infants) some authors
view it as one of several features (smooth) pliable sin) high,pitched voice) small
nose and chin) etc.- that the adult female body has borrowed for the purpose of
calming aggressive impulses in the adult male and inducing feelings of care
(Frost) 4717) pp. 158,156-. &uch feelings may feed into male eroticism but are
not erotic 'er se. Desire for darer female sin is attested as an alternate)
though secondary mode of se<ual arousal) even in conte<ts where e<oticotherness seems to play no role) such as premodern European peasant societies)
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speciCcally within a conte<t of passionate but short,lived relationships (Frost)
4717) pp. N7,N1-. his alternate eroticism) previously repressed) has become
popular in the estern world since the 1N47s with the growing acceptance of
tanned sin as a female fashion accessory (Frost) 4717) pp. N1,175-.
en thus seem to be innately oriented toward paler female sin) if only as part of
a mechanism for se< recognition. his orientation can) but does not always)
translate into erotic attraction and mate choice. =ne notable e<ception is the
modern estern world) where tanned female sin has become increasingly
popular. $nother seems to be the high,polygyny region of sub,&aharan $frica and
!apua,Lew Juinea) where attitudes toward female sin color tend to be
ambivalent (Frost) 4717) pp. Q5,N-. First) the relative scarcity of female mates
ensures that all available women have taers. &econd) due to the higher
polygyny rate) fathers invest less in their o/spring and mothers invest more.
Darer women may thus beneCt from a perception that they are better at hoe
farming and providing for their children. $rdener (1N68- maes this point with
regard to the Ibo of Ligeria#
In the choice of a wife) yellow,sinned girls are regarded as beauties) and) other
things being e+ual) they command higher bride prices. =n the other hand it is
generally held) especially by dar,comple<ioned persons) that yellow,sinned
people are not as strong as the dar and do not live as long. $ UblacU girl is said
to be a harder worer. @?A $ ission headmaster was of the opinion that thepreference for yellow girls was greater nowadays than in his youth. Me thought
that the reason for this was that people formerly looed for strength rather than
beauty and tended to marry blac girls.
Concl!sion
here is a widespread belief) particularly among proponents of whiteness
studies) that notions of beauty are determined by power relationships. he
strong and mighty are inevitably Xbeautiful.; his belief is so entrenched that
little concern is shown for counterfactual evidence) such as the medieval trade in
fair,sinned women for clients in Lorth $frica) the iddle East) and &outh $sia.
his trade e<isted for two reasons. =n the one hand) European states were too
wea to stop it. =n the other) European women were considered beautiful by
people in geopolitically stronger states to the south and east. $gain) this pattern
is inconsistent with the belief that power relationships determine notions ofbeauty.
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The White 7an’s Fears
0et;s be real here) fols. &ome people may thin that my blog page is anti,white)and most of them are those su/ering from the white racial mindset. Mowever) ina society that;s obsessed with telling people of color how to live according tohite $merican*European standards while criticizing and even criminalizing themat every turn) then it should be e<pected that some people of color reect them)tell them why and how they are wrong. Get) having white privilege can seem tosheltered a white person so much that anything trivial can cause dread)incl!"ing the tho!ght of harsh4 &!t nee"e"4 criticism. $s such I;ve learnedthat a lot of *hite folks ha)e a lot of fears.
hite people have an !n!s!al an" e)en )iolent fear of the !nkno*n4especially at rst sight. his phobia has been in e<istence for centuries)probably longer. =ne of the most notable that still e<ists is the fear of melanin(dar sin-. For years) many hite Europeans and $mericans have regardeddarer sin tones as a sign of some inferiority trait i.e. ugliness) savagery)impurity) etc. he opposite was made clear during their preudices and the mythof white supremacy was born.
his fear of Xthe dar; has been stagnant up to this very day and has beeninHuenced heavily and without permission to other groups including those ofdar,sinned members. his version of white supremacy continues to mae darsin tones into a curse so powerful that leads to self,destruction.
=ther nown fears of the unnown have been recorded. he fear of women beinge+ual or more powerful than men has been and still is evident. he fear ofreligions they do not understand is nown. $nd the fear of se<uality they deem isXunnatural and inhuman; has been in a number of conversations loaded withhatred and ignorance.
$nother fear many white people have is the tho!ght of extinction. Due to thecampaign of white superiority) white people fear of losing their culture) physicalfeatures and genetic mae,up. his fear is pronounced greatly with that of poorwhites. Mowever) the racial paranoia is across the socioeconomic spectrum. For
reasons based purely on racial supremacy) the white gene must be preservedand reproduced so that the race must live on.
his probably e<plains why history) the media) politics and even religion havebeen whitened. he obective is that white sin and European features must notonly survive) but shine at all costs.
White people are scare" of losing their po*er an" pri)ileges+ It must benown that some whites) especially lower,class whites) do not believe they haveany privileges due to the (often- mistaen notion that white privilege is the sameas wealth privilege. I digress.
Even though history shows that the "nited &tates; origins of Cnancial power istied with &lavery and almost all of the wealth was distributed to whites) most
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white people did not) nor would their future generations) ever consider(ed-paying bac $frican $mericans for their role in involuntarily building the nationunder brutal and violent conditions. hey fear they would lose their dominionover other groups) and nations in particular. &o) their course of action is tocon+uer and control.
0astly) and most prominent is the fear many whites in this nation have) the fearof pay&ack .
Mow many times have we heard the worlds Xblac,on,white; in the samesentence as Xcrime; and Xviolence;2 Mow many Clms have we seen of Lative$mericans attacing white settlers only to be illed by white cowboys who turnout to be heroes2 Mow many war Clms have you seen where $merican soldiersCght $sian soldiers2 here are more +uestions to be ased) but they all seem topoint to the paranoia of a racial baclash against white people by people of color.
hy does such a fear e<ist you might as2 $ll fears previously mentioned serve
as components to this phobia. he fears of di/erences in mindset andappearance) e<tinction and lost of privileges is what galvanizes the white racialmindset. It is this fear that shelters many whites from the rest of the world andprovoes them to scapegoat others. It is the shacles that hold them bac fromrealizing their humanity) the humanity they traded in for becoming >whiteB.
ey4 Sm!g White People' 5o! ;5es4 5o!< 6re a
Racist4 Too
Do!t imagi!e that +ei!g a racist is somethi!g that o!ly ha''e!s to other
'eo'le.
'y ali Molloway ] =riginally !ublished at lter@et. arch 4) 4716 ^ !hotographic
%redit9 Integration %risis9 'lac and white children at a party to introduce mi<ed
schools during the civil rights movement) Sirginia) 1N6Q ] Eve $rnold) the
$merican photographer
If there;s anything our fraught national dialogue on race has taught us) it;s that
there are no racists in this country. (In fact) not only do multiple studies conCrm
that most white $mericans generally believe racism is over K ust 1W percent say
there;s a lot of racial discrimination K it turns out that many actually believe
white people e<perience more discrimination than blac people.- It;s a silly idea)
of course) but it;s easy to delude ourselves into thining that ine+uality is a result
of cultural failures) racial pathology and a convoluted narrative involving blac,
on,blac crime) hoodies) rap music and people wearing their pants too low. o
admit that racism is fundamental to who we are) that it imbues our thining in
ways we wouldn;t and couldn;t believe without the application of the scientiCc
method) is inCnitely harder. $nd yet) there;s endless evidence to prove it.
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For those who recognize racism is real and pervasive) it;s also comforting to
believe that discrimination is something perpetuated by other people)
overlooing the ways we are personally complicit in its perpetuation. 'ut fruitful
conversations about race re+uire acnowledging that racism sits at the very core
of our thining. 'y something ain to osmosis) culturally held notions around
race mold and shape the preudices of everyone within the dominant culture.
!eople of color unwittingly internalize these notions as well) despite the fact that
doing so contributes to our own marginalization. ost of us now the destructive
outcomes systemic racism produces (higher rates of poverty) incarceration)
infant mortality) etc.-. $ccepting that implicit bias is happening at every level
maes it awful hard to chal those issues up to blac and brown failure.
Mere;s a loo at ust some of the ways our internalized biases add up to
devastating conse+uences for lives) communities and society.
1. %ollege professors) across race*ethnicity and gender) are more liely to
respond to +ueries from students they believe are white males.
Despite universities fre+uently being described as bastions of progressivism and
liberal indoctrination centers) a recent study found that faculty of colleges and
universities are more liely to ignore re+uests for mentorship from minority
and*or female students. Researchers sent more than W)677 professors at 46N
schools in QN disciplines identical letters that di/ered only in the name and
implied race*gender of the Cctitious student sender (e.g.) >ei %henB as an $sian
female9 >eisha homasB as a blac female9 >'rad $ndersonB as a white male-. he study found that regardless of discipline (with the sole e<ception of Cne
arts-) faculty more consistently responded to perceived white males. wo notable
additional Cndings# 1- professors at public institutions were signiCcantly more
liely than their private institution counterparts to respond to students of color)
and 4- the students most discriminated against were perceived East $sian
women) followed by &outh $sian men. Gou can loo at the numbers up close
here.
4. hite people) including white children) are less moved by the pain of people of
color) including children of color) than by the pain of fellow whites.
hree distinct studies support this Cnding. he Crst found that around age )
white children began to believe blac children are less susceptible to pain than
white children. $nother study found that emergency room personnel are less
liely to give $frican $merican and 0atino*Mispanic children pain medication)
even when they are e<periencing severe abdominal pain. he same study also
found that even when the same tests are ordered) blac and Mispanic children
face signiCcantly longer emergency room stays. $ third study found that white
people feel less empathy toward blac people in pain than they do for whites
e<periencing pain.
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5. hite people are more liely to have done illegal drugs than blacs or 0atinos)
but are far less liely to go to ail for it.
$ 4711 study from the &ubstance $buse and ental Mealth Data $rchive found
white people were more liely to use illegal and prescription opiates (heroin)o<ycontin-) hallucinogens) and cocaine than blacs and Mispanics by signiCcant
margins. 'lac people ust edged out white people on mariuana and crac use
(which incurred disproportionate sentences for decades-. Get) a 477N Muman
Rights atch study found that each year from 1NQ7 to 477) blacs were
arrested on drug charges at rates 4.Q to 6.6 times higher than whites.
8. 'lac men are sentenced to far lengthier prison sentences than white men for
the same crimes.
$ 4714 study by the "nited &tates &entencing %ommission found blac menwere sentenced to prison terms nearly 47 percent longer than white men for
similar crimes. o brea those numbers down further) from anuary 4776 to
December 477) sentences for blac males were 16.4 percent longer than those
of their white counterparts. From December 477 to &eptember 4711) that
number actually increased) with di/erences in sentencing growing to 1N.6
percent.
6. hite people) including police) see blac children as older and less innocent
than white children.
$ "%0$ psychological study surveyed mostly white) male police o:cers to
determine >preudice and unconscious dehumanization of blac people.B
Researchers found a correlation between o:cers who unconsciously
dehumanized blacs and those who had used force against blac children in
custody. he study also found that white female college students saw blac and
white children as e+ually innocent until age N) after which they perceived blac
boys as signiCcantly older K by about four and half years K and less innocent
than their white peers. "%0$ researcher !hillip $tiba Jo/ wrote) >=ur research
found that blac boys can be seen as responsible for their actions at an age
when white boys still beneCt from the assumption that children are essentiallyinnocent.B hich leads right to our ne<t stats.
W. 'lac children are more liely to be tried as adults and are given harsher
sentences than white children.
$ &tanford "niversity study uncovered this sobering information# >@&Aimply
bringing to mind a blac (vs. white- uvenile o/ender led @white studyA
participants to view uveniles in general as signiCcantly more similar to adults in
their inherent culpability and to e<press more support for severe sentencing.B
hat is) when white respondents thought the child on trial was blac) they weremore lie to endorse >sentencing all uveniles to life without parole when they
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have committed serious violent crimes.B hat might e<plain why) of the roughly
4)677 uveniles in the ".&. who have been sentenced to life without parole)
nearly all (N percent- were male and (W7 percent- blac. Interesting study note#
for blac ids) illing a white person was a good way to end up behind bars for
their entire adult life. For white ids) illing a blac person actually helped their
chances of ensuring their prison stay would be temporary. From the report#
>@Ahe proportion of $frican $merican @uveniles sentenced to life without paroleA
for the illing of a white person (85.8 percent- is nearly twice the rate at which
$frican $merican uveniles overall have taen a white person;s life (45.4
percent-. hat;s more) we Cnd that the odds of a @uvenile life without probationA
sentence for a white o/ender who illed a blac victim are only about half as
liely (5.W percent- as the proportion of white uveniles arrested for illing blacs
(W.8 percent-.B
. hite people are more liely to support the criminal ustice system) including
the death penalty) when they thin it;s disproportionately punitive toward blac
people.
hat;s right# white people agree with criminal ustice outcomes more when they
thin race disproportionately targets blac people for incarceration. $ccording to
a 4714 &tanford study conducted in >liberalB &an Francisco and Lew Gor %ity)
when white people were told that blac people were unfairly impacted by
punitive criminal ustice policies lie three,stries laws and stop,and,fris) they
were less liely to advocate for criminal ustice reform. In a similar vein)
researchers found in 477 that telling whites about racist sentencing laws madethem favor harsher sentences. hat is) racism made them lie those sentences
more. he study authors write# >@=Aur most startling Cnding is that many whites
actually become more supportive of the death penalty upon learning that it
discriminates against blacs.B
Q. he more >stereotypically blacB a defendant loos in a murder case) the
higher the lielihood he will be sentenced to death.
his is perhaps one of the most horrifying Cndings in a list of horrifying Cndings.
o +uote the study) >the degree to which the defendant is perceived to have astereotypically blac appearance (e.g.) broad nose) thic lips) dar sin-B could
mean the di/erence between a sentence of life or death) particularly if his victim
was white. Read the whole study9 it;s fascinating.
N. %onversely) white people falsely recall blac men they perceive as being
>smartB as being lighter,sinned.
Mere;s another incredible) though not entirely surprising study Cnding. hen
white people encounter the faces of $frican $merican men they are primed to
believe are >educated)B they later recall those individuals as being lighter,sinned than they actually were. he researchers developed a name for this
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phenomenon# >sin tone memory bias.B his compulsion was chaled up to
stereotypical beliefs about dar sin and its correlation with negative traits. o
recon with the cognitive dissonance created by perceiving a blac man as
>educated)B white participants unconsciously realigned that intelligence with sin
that more closely appro<imated whiteness.
17. $ number of studies Cnd white people view lighter,sinned $frican $mericans
(and 0atinos- as more intelligent) competent) trustworthy and reliable than their
darer,sinned peers.
$ 477W study found that dar,sinned blac men with '$s were less liely to be
hired than lighter,sinned blac men who only possessed bachelor;s degrees. $
4717 study in Lorth %arolina found that light,sinned blac women received
shorter prison terms than darer,sinned blac women. $nd a 4714 Sillanova
"niversity study found that) >$frican $merican and 0atino respondents with thelightest sin are several times more liely to be seen by whites as intelligent
compared with those with the darest sin.B
he implications of these Cndings are hugely signiCcant) and lend credence to
the often e<pressed feeling of toenization by blac people who are deemed
smart) successful or intelligent by whites. hat is) the feeling that white people
perceive certain $frican $mericans as e<ceptional or >not lie the others.B It also
adds an important layer to the conversation around colorism) which privileges
light sin above darer sin both within and outside of communities of color. ($nd
has helped sin lightening products become a booming global industry in places
lie India) the !hilippines and some parts of $frica.-
"nfortunately) I could go on and on. $bout how) for e<ample) blac students K
even preschoolers K are far more liely to be suspended from school than white
students. (hat fact is even truer for dar,sinned blac students.- he same
products) when displayed by blac hands on the Internet) are less liely to sell
than when they are held by white hands. =ne study even found that white
people basically thin blac people are paranormal entities) an idea so ludicrous
it begs that you read an e<planation) here.
Racism is comfortable and easy9 it helps us mae +uic) baseless decisionswithout the ta<ing act of thining. he ne<t time you catch yourself having a
racist thought or feeling) try not brushing it o/. $s yourself where it came from)
what it means and how you can unpac it. 'ecause if the evidence above
suggests anything) it;s that critical self,e<amination is our only hope of moving
the needle at all on this thing. &top imagining that being racist is something that
only other people do) and start looing closely at your own beliefs.
Especially the ones you;ve never admitted to yourselves that you hold.
ali ollo"ay is the ssociate &ditor o Media a!d <ulture at lter@et.
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his piece was reprinted by EmpathyEducates with permission or license. e
than the $uthor) ali Molloway for her indness) observations) research and
what we believe is a vital reHection. e are also grateful to $lterLet for its
vibrant discussions.
Dealing *ith Dic!lt Emotions
7any *hite people experience "ic!lt an" !psetting emotions as *e
confront the historical an" contemporary impact of racism an" face the
personal meaning of acco!nta&ility for *hite pri)ilege an" instit!tional
racism+
embers of $RL have almost all e<perienced one or more of the following#
sadness) remorse) guilt) shame) grief) despair) an<iety) fear) anger) resentment
and depression. $t times such emotions can be so strong and powerful that they
become overwhelming or paralyzing in intensity. $ common response is
withdrawal) isolation) and avoidance. he di:culty of dealing with these
emotions turns many away from this wor.
oving through such emotions in a way that leads away from to<icity to
engagement and community re+uires patience) self,compassion) and support
from mentors and others who are also on the same ourney.
Some s!ggestions a&o!t creati)ely an" co!rageo!sly *orking *ith
emotions'
• Remember your deeper motivation for engaging in racial e+uity wor Kremind yourself of the rewards of engagement. he sense of reward varieswith di/erent individuals but often includes an e<perience of greater integrityand deep satisfaction in woring to right a terrible wrong.
• $ccept that such feelings are a normal part of the process of movingtoward accountability for white privilege. ae time to tae care of yourself.
• 0et yourself feel. $s uncomfortable as emotions such as guilt and grief canbe) allowing the emotions to spea to you may lead to healing and courage.
• 'e intentional about building a support community of other white peopleto help you when you need it. 'e compassionate toward other white peoplehaving an emotionally hard time with this wor.
• hites may unconsciously loo to people of color to help tae care of
them as they process these di:cult emotions) leading to awward and
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inappropriate situations that promote mistrust instead of healing. Don;t putpeople of color in a care,taing role.
• &imilarly) some may e<perience a powerful need for forgiveness ore<oneration. Don;t loo for this from people of color9 rather) Cnd meaning and
redemption in your wor) your action and your support community.
• &elf,identity may be threatened as one taes ownership of the role of theoppressor. Remember to be compassionate with yourself and focus on taingsmall steps to recreate a more holistic sense of self.
• Remember that we did not choose to be oppressors) but rather inherited asystem of oppression that we may now choose to support) intentionally orunintentionally) or wor to dismantle.
• rust that educating yourself about the history of oppression in the ".&. is
ultimately liberating# in addition to oppression) our history is full of anti,oppression activists.
• Remember if feeling overwhelmed by the pervasiveness and magnitude of racism and inade+uate to mae a di/erence) that small steps over time canlead to larger changes) and that taing action with others increases yourimpact.
"nderstanding the Racial Empathy Jap# he !ower of Larratives (!art 1-
arch 17) 4716 udy u Dominic
Today’s post is Part 1 of a 5-part series exploring the black-white racial empathy gap in the
United States.
Narratives – the specific ways that stories are told, retold, and infused with unique beliefs and
perspectives – are invisible, yet their effects are not. They exert a powerful influence over our
understanding and interpretation of our selves and the world around us. They shape our
allegiances, sympathies, values, sensibilities, convictions, and passions, and therefore, theunspoken social contracts that we maintain with one another. But as we know, there are
competing narratives. ome are predominant, some strie for predominance, and others
clamor for basic acknowledgement.
The trouble with competing narratives isn!t that they exist" it!s what we do with them and the
people associated with them. Throughout human history, our most common response to
people groups we don!t understand or agree with has been to dismiss, invalidate, or suppress
their narratives, often through a combination of rhetorical and physical violence. #ne of the
most obvious examples of this phenomenon in the $nited tates is the vitriol that is passed
back and forth between blacks and whites whenever there is a racially charged incident that
makes it onto the national stage% the killing of Trayvon &artin in '()* by a neighborhood
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watchman who may or may not have profiled him, the shooting death of &ichael Brown by a
white +erguson - police officer in '(), the video that surfaced a couple of days ago of
/0 pledges1members at #$ happily singing a song using the n2word and making references
to lynching. The inability of people in one ethnic group to understand the feelings of, identify
with the perspective of, or to perceive the pain of people in the other ethnic group becomes a prominent characteristic in much of the public discourse. Blacks feel invalidated, hurt,
misunderstood, and dismissed. 3hites feel hurt, misinterpreted, un4ustly accused, and 4udged.
5!m painting with a broad brush here, of course. Both groups are far from monolithic. till,
there is without a doubt a serious racial empathy gap between blacks and whites in our
country. 6)2*7
5t!s not that either of these groups inherently lacks empathy. Both blacks and whites have
tremendous capacity for empathy and compassion. They are, after all, human. 3hat creates a
problem between them is that for each group, as with every group that has a distinct ethnic
and1or cultural identity, the empathy is highly contextuali8ed to the framework that its uniquenarratives create. 5n other words, people are conditioned to feel empathy in certain contexts
and under certain conditions but not others. Take a look at the following illustration, which
consists of ' images, each one associated with a specific narrative. Try to assess how each
one affects you differently.
Narrative #1%
This is !arc"s. #e’s $% years old. &eca"se he is black' he is more likely to be perceied as
dangero"s' to be arrested' to be conicted of a crime' to receie a harsh sentence if
conicted' and to be killed by a police officer than his white co"nterparts' een after
factoring in ma(or ariables. )*-+, #e knows that if he eer has to interact with a police
officer' he needs to keep his hands in plain iew' make no s"dden moements' be polite and
cordial' neer arg"e' neer fight back' neer r"n' and neer answer "estions if the answers
are potentially self-incriminating. nd it goes beyond haing respect for a"thority/ it’s abo"t
increasing his chances of s"rial. )5, &eca"se he is black' he can also expect to hae a
harder time finding employment and to be paid less than his white co"nterparts who do the same types of (obs' een after taking key ariables into consideration. )0,
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#k, now sniff the coffee beans, take a moment9 and go9
Narrative #2%
!arc"s attimore' beloed former r"nning back for the Uniersity of So"th 2arolina' is pict"red here being helped off the field after s"staining a deastating right knee in("ry on
3ctober $4' $1$. #e had ("st managed to recoer from a serio"s left knee in("ry s"stained
one year prior. The writer who reported on the $1$ in("ry in 6its 7ews wrote' 89hile a
catastrophic in("ry like this is terrible no matter who s"ffers it' attimore’s in("ry seems
especially "nfair gien what a class act he’s been eer since arriing on camp"s three years
ago. Thro"gho"t his record-breaking career at US2 attimore has been a soft-spoken leader
on the field and a h"mble' straight-laced st"dent off of it.: )11, #e has been described as
both a cons"mmate team player and a h"mble role model. )1$, #e rehabilitated s"fficiently
in time to enter the $1% 76 draft and was drafted by the San 6rancisco *0ers in 3ctober
$1%. Unfort"nately' the physical demands of the 76 proed to be too m"ch for his
damaged right knee. This past 7oember' he anno"nced his retirement from the 76' as well
as plans to ret"rn to US2 to finish his degree.
-id you feel a difference in your empathy meter between narratives: 3hat do you think is
going on:
The first narrative is a societal2level narrative constructed from psychological and social
science research. The second narrative is an individual2level narrative constructed from
portions of &arcus!s life story. The two narratives do not represent two different people. Theysimply describe the same person in two different ways and through two different lenses. The
difference is that while the second narrative probably evokes empathy in blacks and whites
alike, the first is considerably less likely to evoke empathy among whites. 5n fact, it may
actually have the opposite effect in some, triggering irritation and even anger. 3hy is that:
This is where competing narratives come into play.
5n general, whites have no problem feeling compassion for an individual of any ethnicity or
class if they are given a story to which they can personally relate. That!s why so many of
them love and follow Brandon tanton!s #"mans of 7ew ;ork photography blog. But whenthey are asked or required to redirect their empathy from a single individual to an entire
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demographic group, namely young black men, several challenges arise. #ne of them is that
doing so goes against a deeply held cultural belief that all merit, even empathy, is meant to be
deserved and delivered at the level of the individual. &ost ;not all< whites genuinely believe
that the $nited tates operates as a meritocracy, which means that if you do the right things
;work hard, make good choices<, you will be rewarded" and if you do the wrong things ;slackoff, make poor choices<, you will experience negative consequences. ince a significant
portion of their personal experiences support this belief, they have little vision for the
existence of factors beyond individual actions that may disprove it.
This partly explains why there is so much emphasis on personal responsibility from whites in
discussions about police shootings of black men. 3ithin this paradigm, police officers only
shoot people who deserve to be shot, and it has nothing to do with ethnicity. /ny attempt to
link a police officer!s use of deadly force to the race of the deceased or in4ured is labeled
=race baiting> because in their minds, the only plausible explanation for it is that the person
who was shot did something to provoke it. The personal responsibility narrative is held up asthe standard and is used to render the racial bias narrative invalid, even before the racial bias
narrative, which is layered and complex and requires time to unpack, has been fully explored
or given a proper hearing.
?et!s go back to the &arcus ?attimore illustration now and walk through how these
competing narratives might continue to play out there. Those who re4ect the first narrative
will likely attempt to use the second narrative as a means to refute, qualify, or explain away
the realities that the first one is attempting to address. #e’s a great g"y. #e’s soft-spoken and
has great character. #e wo"ldn’t hae a problem with the police' and the police wo"ldn’thae a problem with him. The problem with that reasoning is that even though &arcus is
indeed a likable and respectable guy, both the /frican2/merican experience and a large body
of systematically collected data tell us that who he is as an individual makes very little
difference for him when he is driving around town or walking down the street without his
football 4ersey on, without his teammates around him, and without a holographic image of his
0N bio floating over his head ;i.e., when he is unrecogni8ed and is only seen as a black
man<. The second narrative does not displace the first one. They coexist. / great example of
this is that many black N@- officers have reported experiencing racial profiling by fellow
N@- officers when off duty and out of uniform, resulting in unpleasant experiences like
getting pulled over for no reason, having their heads slammed against their cars, getting
stopped and frisked while shopping, getting thrown into prison vans, getting forced to the
ground and handcuffed, and having guns brandished in their faces. 6)(7
5 hope some of you are at least wondering now, if you haven!t wondered before and even if
you!re still feeling skeptical, that if the disparities in police treatment, in the criminal 4ustice
system, employment, and wages that black men are experiencing can!t be explained solely by
individual actions, character, or criminality, then what!s really going on: The answer to that
question, as it turns out, is very complex and requires a walk down /merica!s memory lane.
5t also calls for a close examination of the fate of a several2hundred2year2old narrative aboutinherent black inferiority and criminality – one that was once used to 4ustify ownership of and
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brutality toward black people in this country, even as late as the )A(s. 5 will address these
things in art '.
References:
6)7 Trawalter, ?eslie" Coffman, Delly &." 3ayt8, /dam. =Eacial bias in perception of others!
pain.> Plos, November ), '()'. /ccessed at http%114ournals.plos.org1plosone1article:
idF)(.)*G)14ournal.pone.((HI on &arch I, '()I.
6'7 ilverstein, Jason. =5 -on!t +eel @our ain% / failure of empathy perpetuates racial
disparities.> Slate, June '()*. /ccessed
at http%11www.slate.com1articles1healthKandKscience1science1'()*1(1
racialKempathyKgapKpeopleKdonKtKperceiveKpainKinKotherKraces.).html on &arch I, '()I.
6*7 #beidallah, -ean. =#ur lack of racial empathy is appalling.> LNN.com, July ), '()*./ccessed at http%11www.cnn.com1'()*1(G1)1opinion1obeidallah2racial2sympathy1 on &arch
I, '()I.
67 &cDay, Tom. =#ne Troubling tatistic hows Just Cow Eacist /merica!s olice Brutality
roblem 5s.> !ic' /ugust )H, '(). /ccessed at http%11mic.com1articles1AI'1one2troubling2
statistic2shows24ust2how2racist2america2s2police2brutality2problem2is on &arch ', '()I.
6I7 &artine8, &ichael" 0lam, tephanie" Cenry, 0rica. =3ithin black families, hard truths
told to sons amid +erguson unrest.> LNN.com, /ugust '), '(). /ccessed at
http%11www.cnn.com1'()1(H1)I1living1parenting2black2sons2ferguson2missouri1 on &arch *,
'()I.
67 /merican sychological /ssociation. =Black Boys Miewed as #lder, ?ess 5nnocent than
3hites, Eesearch +inds.> &arch '(). /ccessed
at http%11www.apa.org1news1press1releases1'()1(*1black2boys2older.aspx on &arch *, '()I.
6G7 Blake, John. =The New Threat% Eacism without Eacists.> LNN.com, November 'G,
'(). /ccessed at http%11www.cnn.com1'()1))1'1us1ferguson2racism2or2racial2bias1 on
&arch *, '()I.
6H7 &ooney, Lhris. =The cience of 3hy Lops hoot @oung Black &en. /nd how to reform
our bigoted brains.> !other <ones, -ecember ), '(). /ccessed
at http%11www.mother4ones.com1politics1'()1))1science2of2racism2pre4udice on &arch *,
'()I.
6A7 Borowc8yk2&artins, -aniel" Bradley, Jake" Tarasonis, ?inas. =Eacial -iscrimination in
the $.. ?abor &arket% 0mployment and 3age -ifferentials by kill.> /ix2&arseille chool
of 0conomics, 3orking apers, /pril '(). /ccessed at http%11www.amse2
aixmarseille.fr1sites1default1files1Kdt1'()'1wpK'()K2KnrK)*.pdfOoverlay2
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contextFfr1recherche1documents2de2travail1racial2discrimination2us2labor2market2
employment2and2wage on &arch , '()I.
6)(7 Lonlin, &ichelle. =#ff duty, black cops in New @ork feel threat from fellow police.>
Eeuters, -ecember '*, '(). /ccessed at http%11www.reuters.com1article1'()1)'1'*1us2usa2
police2nypd2race2insight2id$DBN(D))0M'())''* on &arch *, '()I.
6))7 =&arcus ?attimore uffers Pruesome Dnee 5n4ury.> +itsNews.com. #ctober 'G, '()'.
/ccessed at http%11www.fitsnews.com1'()'1)(1'G1marcus2lattimore2suffers2gruesome2knee2
in4ury1 on &arch ', '()I.
6)'7 =&arcus ?attimore #ut for eason.> +itsNews.com. #ctober ), '()). /ccessed at
http%11www.fitsnews.com1'())1)(1)1marcus2lattimore2out2for2season1 on &arch ', '()I.
"nderstanding the Racial Empathy Jap# he !ower of Larratives (!art 4-
arch 1) 4716 udy u Dominic
This is Part $ of a 5-part series exploring the black-white racial empathy gap in the United
States. =t contin"es looking at the role of narraties. =f yo" haen’t read Part 1 yet' yo"’ll
want to do that first here.
&y previous segment ended with the question, =f the disparities in police treatment' the
criminal ("stice system' employment' and wages that black men >and women' really? are
experiencing can’t be explained solely by indiid"al actions' character' or criminality' then
what’s really going on@ 5t also alluded to the need to examine the fate of a centuries2old
narrative about inherent black inferiority and criminality. ?et!s take a focused tour through
some parts of our nation!s history that will hopefully help provide some answers.
History and Evolution of the Black Inferiority Narrative
Slaery
The myth1narrative of black inferiority was systematically created in the )Hth century in order
to assuage consciences over and 4ustify the already well2established systems of inequality. 5t
argued that Pod had made /fricans particularly suitable for slavery. 5ts architects developed
belief systems about their natural inferiority based on their unique physical traits. Through
such belief systems, the social construct of race was born. 3ritten descriptions of /fricans as
mean, vile, and untamed savages were widely circulated, creating fear and loathing toward
them. 5n such a climate, slaves were sub4ected to a comprehensive system of control% harsh
labor, cruel discipline, division of their families, and creation of disunity among them by
separation into field slaves and more favored house slaves, often through skin tone and facial
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feature differentiation. 6),'7 By the mid2)Ath century, the idea that there were species2level
differences between blacks and whites was firmly ingrained in the public consciousness. /nd
although slavery was legally abolished in )HI, the ideology of difference persisted and was
codified into law in the )HA(s with the passage of the Jim Lrow laws, which officially
segregated black people from the white population.
The Ara of Bacial Terrorism
The period from the end of the post2Livil 3ar Eeconstruction until the end of the Jim Lrow
era, )HGG2)AI, can be described as one characteri8ed by racial terror. 3hite people across
the country, particularly in the outh1former slave states, violently lynched, or publicly
tortured and mutilated, nearly ((( /frican /merican men, women, and children without any
legal repercussions. ?ynchings were not limited acts committed by extremist groups like the
DDD, but were often public spectacle events attended by huge crowds that included elected
officials and pillars of the community, even clergy and law enforcement officers, and were 4oyfully celebrated, picnic2like community social events ;see photo, below<. They functioned
almost as a separate criminal 4ustice system for blacks, even though extensive and fastidious
research has revealed that in most cases, no actual crime had been committed and people
were lynched for minor social transgressions like knocking on the door of a white woman!s
house, referring to a white police officer without the title =mister,> or resisting abusive
treatment. To make things more terrifying, white mobs would often round up entire black
communities and force them to watch the lynchings that they performed, often in strategically
chosen prominent places inside /frican2/merican residential districts, and threaten them all
with the same fate. 6*7
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The lynching of teenager Jesse 3ashington in 3aco, Texas on &ay )I, )A), attended by
)(,((( spectators, including city officials and police. ?ynchers castrated him, cut off his
fingers, hung him over a bonfire, and repeatedly raised and lowered him for ' hours. hotos
of the event were printed and sold as postcards. Cis charred remains were dragged through
town and parts of his body were sold as souvenirs.
3hat made such atrocities so easy for entire communities to commit openly, fearlessly, and
even gleefully: 5t was the dehumani8ing narrative portraying black people as biologically
criminal and violent beasts that had an uncontrollable urge to do things like rape white
women – beasts that had to be controlled with force and fear in order to protect the sanctity
and safety of =civil society.> This narrative firmly affixed a presumption not only of
inferiority, but also of guilt and criminality, to =blackness.>
The 2iil Bights !oement and the 2hanging Athos
Lonsider the fact that well into the )A(s, the country!s formal posture toward racism as a
social institution was one of militant 4ustification, with only isolated pockets of people calling
for change on the margins. Eacism had not only been legal but had been legally mandated
since the )HA(s under Jim Lrow in the outh and similar laws in the North and 3est ;in
Lalifornia, they were referred to as James Lrow<. +rom )HA(2)AI, if white people did
anything to promote equality of the races or were caught violating the strict standards of
segregation, they could be fined or thrown in prison for up to months. The society itself was
structured around obligatory racism. That is the context in which the Livil Eights &ovement
arose. /nd if we think in terms of narratives, then we reali8e that one of its most ama8ing
accomplishments, achieved primarily through its commitment to nonviolent forms of protest
in the face of violent opposition, was that it disrupted the centuries2old myth1narrative of
biological black inferiority and criminality enough such that the /merican ethos toward
institutional racism began to shift from unconditional and legally mandated embrace toward
social and legally mandated re4ection.
TodayC Achoes of the Past
The narrative has not gone away, however. 3hen lynchings fell out of widespread favor in
the )A*(s due to activism against it, court2ordered executions through the formal criminal 4ustice system increased dramatically as a means to assuage angry white mobs. Two2thirds of
those executed in the )A*(s were black. /nd although the population of /frican /mericans
fell to ''Q in the outh between )A)( and )AI( due to the Preat &igration of blacks to the
North and 3est, they constituted GIQ of outhern state executions during that period. 5n
)AGI, after studying statistical data, the upreme Lourt formally acknowledged that racial
bias in sentencing was an inevitable part of the criminal 4ustice system ; !cDleskey s.
Demp?. 6*7 /ll these years later, ethnicity continues to be a ma4or factor in capital sentencing.
Lapital punishment is in many respects a direct descendant of lynching. The statistics tell us
that there has been no significant transition in the 4ustice system from the period of openly
racially motivated executions to the present. Not only that, but actual lynchings still occur,
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only now they are done in secret and in ways that leave people to question whether victims
committed suicide.6,I7
The old narrative about blacks! being savages that need to be controlled is ultimately one of
blatant and unapologetic dehumani8ation. #nce we reali8e this, we then have a framework
for recogni8ing the ways in which it is still alive and well today, even if the language around
it has changed. +or example, many who re4ect the notion of biological inferiority as a means
of 4ustification for slavery and racial terrorism would have no problem saying, =Ce was 4ust a
thug,> as a casual 4ustification for an unarmed black man being shot to death by a police
officer or a neighborhood watchman. /nd that!s because if we could put words to the non2
verbali8ed sentiment behind =Ce was a thug,> the sentence would finish with either, =and
therefore his life had no inherent value,> or =so he deserved to die.> 5t is an echo of the past,
only expressed in different language.
imilarly, we might not argue like our forefathers did that the physical features of blacks –their dark skin, broad noses, kinky hair, and full lips – are biological signs that identify them
as an inferior species with a propensity for raping and committing violent acts" but we 8ero in
on the expressions of black culture and being that we least relate to, that best represent a
quality of =otherness> to us – like hip2hop and rap, certain attire ;baggy pants, backward
baseball caps, hoodies<, dreadlocks, the way some of them articulate their words, and the way
they express pain and anger – and we adopt them as dehumani8ing stereotypes, attaching
inferiority and a presumption of guilt to them. The subconscious narrative is still, T#T is
what it means to be black' and T#T deseres to be p"t down. /gain, they are echoes of a
not2so2distant past, dressed in different verbiage. This explains why police officers who mightgo to great lengths to spare the life of an armed white male might not hesitate shooting a )'2
year2old black child ;like Tamir Eice<, playing with a toy gun, within seconds of arriving on
the scene, having immediately perceived him to be older and highly dangerous. 6,G7
No doubt that a line of questioning is arising in some of you right now% 9hat abo"t when
reality reinforces stereotypes@ ren’t there a lot of black men in prison for committing iolent
crimes@ 9hat abo"t the iolent' anti-establishmentarian lyrics in a lot of pop"lar rap
m"sic@ 5 will address these things in my next installment. +or now, 5 will say that crime
statistics and social pathologies must be properly handled and understood in their full
sociological, historical, and even geographical context. Lonsidering them any other way will
lead to overly simplistic and mistaken conclusions. +urthermore, they must be separated from
the deceptive, pervasive, and false narrative, or myth, of biological inferiority and criminality.
Shame: !ou"leEdged S$ord
3hat are some of the emotions you!re feeling right now after reading the above: 5 ask this
question because 5 think it!s absolutely essential for us to be fully present to any toxic
emotions around this sub4ect and to tackle them head2on. -o you feel anger, grief, confusion,
surprise, irritation, defensiveness, frustration9 shame: 5 actually see a lot of shame surface
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in discussions about the /frican /merican experience, so 5!d like to spend some time
exploring the dynamics of shame and how it has affected our narratives.
Now 5 don!t know about you, but my personal record of dealing with shame has been a mixed
bag. 5n moments when my shame has been successfully offset by the unconditional love and
acceptance of key people in my life, 5!ve been empowered to face it and to allow it to nudge
me in the direction of positive change and growth. But in moments when shame has made me
feel vulnerable, exposed, or defective, or has isolated me from those who normally help me
feel grounded and loved, 5 have fashioned all kinds of fig leaves to cover it up. ome of those
fig leaves include doubling down on my defenses, attacking the person;s< causing my shame,
and blaming someone 5!ve hurt for being too sensitive ;because if they’re the problem, then 5
most certainly am not <. 5n the same way, collective shame about a brutally racist history has
produced mixed results over the last I(2( years.
#ne of the things the Livil Eights &ovement managed to do was in4ect a keen sense ofshame into white /merica!s collective conscience over its institutionali8ed abuse of /frican
/mericans. 5t marked a significant turning point in the nation!s history. 5n the beginning,
when shame produced an appropriate acknowledgement of in4ustice and a desire to make
things right, it led to cultural shifts and new legislation that effectively released /frican
/mericans from the stranglehold of the Jim Lrow era.
The tricky thing about shame, though, is that it!s a toxic, identity2 and value2threatening
emotion. and when it!s not processed in a thoroughly redemptive way, it can actually lead to a
recycling of our sins instead of a healthy and restorative repentance that moves us toward
wholeness, healing, and transformation.
Beginning with the generation that grew up on the heels of the Livil Eights &ovement, a new
ethos of anti2racism began to replace the expiring ethos of racism. 3hile this shift was a good
one, it was accompanied by a nagging sense of shame that threatened to indict white
/mericans as historically bad, immoral people. eople were freshly facing the horror that
their beloved country, which supposedly stood for freedom and democracy, had used ethnic
differences to 4ustify and endorse terrible acts of violence and oppression against an entire
people group for hundreds of years. 5t made them want to rewrite history. o a new shame2
based, reactive narrative set in% 6orget the past. 9e are not racists. 9e are anti-racists. ndwe are colorblind. This new narrative unwittingly undermined progress even as progress was
being made. +irst, it imposed a willful forgetfulness on one of the nation!s most traumatic and
formative experiences – one which desperately required thoughtful, collective, and public
debriefing, not consignment to cold storage. econd, it in4ected taboo2like sensibilities into
both the very act of dialoguing about race and ethnicity, as well as into race consciousness
itself, which, instead of being helpful, has proven to be very damaging for blacks and other
non2whites who wish to have their distinctives recogni8ed, validated, and celebrated
alongside those of whites, rather than denied and left unacknowledged.
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3illful forgetfulness of this magnitude is harmful because it fractures the psyche of a nation,
4ust as it would an individual. 5magine three brothers% the first is a I2year2old who is beaten to
death, the second is a G2year2old who witnesses his brother!s beating death, and the third is
the offending teenaged brother who has killed the youngest brother. Now imagine the
surviving brothers – one a deeply traumati8ed witness and the other a guilt2ridden,traumati8ed killer of his brother – trying to become happier, healthier, and more whole by
insisting that the terrible event was behind them, that it never had to be revisited, and that it
had no bearing on the present. #nly an incompetent therapist would let that slide. @et that is
in essence what has been done in trying to dismiss all that racial history as irrelevant to
current events. -enial and compartmentali8ation don!t heal. 5nsisting that we have moved
beyond racism without meaningfully wrestling with the actual legacy of our racist history
means that it!s 4ust one big fig leaf trying to be sufficient enough to cover the shame of the
past. 5t!s not a real solution, and it doesn!t provide us with the tools that we need in order to
heal and move forward. Colocaust survivor 0li 3iesel said, =3ithout memory, our existence
would be barren and opaque, like a prison cell into which no light penetrates" like a tomb
which re4ects the living9>
%oving Beyond &hite 'uilt( &hite Blame( and &hite Shame
3hat we really need is the ability to identify and effectively deal with the racist narratives we
all inherited, which still exert a powerful, often underestimated influence on the state of
things. 5 say =we,> even though 5 am Taiwanese2/merican and my parents didn!t arrive in the
$nited tates until the late )A(s, because 5 am a part of the fabric of this country, and
because of that, 5 have been influenced by the racist narratives here as much as anyone else. Narratives about inherent black inferiority and criminality, the narratives that were once used
to 4ustify systems of slavery, racial segregation, and racial violence, are still among us. Just
because we now publicly denounce racism, it doesn!t mean that the old narratives have
disappeared or that they no longer have profound influence. They have simply evolved, or
gone subterranean, and they now exert a subversive influence rather than an overt one.
The goal is not and cannot be for white people to take on the shame of yesterday, as if the
past could be undone or anything constructive could be accomplished through psychological
penance. 5t is actually far more noble that that. The goal is for whites to take up the co"rage
necessary to face down the shame of yesterday, in order to become a redemptive and truly
reconciling force for the future, alongside their black brothers and sisters. ?ikewise, the
ultimate desire is not even for white people to accept blame for the things that white people
of yesterday did, but for them to be willing to acknowledge their place along the continuum
of history, to see that their =whiteness> is historically connected to the =whiteness> of people
who did commit racial atrocities. Because only with appropriate historical memory will they
be empowered to write new narratives and respond appropriately in ways that will build a
more 4ust society.
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5n part *, 5 will discuss further the lingering social pathologies that the nation!s long history
of racism has produced, how they reinforce the racial empathy gap, and what may be done
about it.
References:
6)7 Rinn, Coward. =Lhapter '% -rawing the Lolor ?ine.> People’s #istory of the United
States.
6'7 medley, /udrey. =Building the &yth of Black 5nferiority.> 0ncyclopedia Britannica.
/ugust )H, '(). /ccessed at
http%11www.britannica.com10Bchecked1topic1HH(*(1race1'*H1Building2the2myth2of2
black2inferiority on &arch , '()I
6*7 0qual Justice 5nitiatives. =?ynching in /merica% Lonfronting the ?egacy of Eacial
Terror.> +ebruary )(, '()I. ummary accessed at http%11www.e4i.org1files10J5Q'(?ynchingQ'(inQ'(/mericaQ'($&&/[email protected] on &arch A, '()I
67 =/frican /merican &an +ound Canging from a Tree in &ississippi, +B5 5nvestigating.>
The Times2icayune, Preater New #rleans, &arch )A,
'()I. http%11www.nola.com1crime1index.ssf1'()I1(*1mississippiKhanging.html
6I7 0versley, &elanie. =+B5 to probe death of black N.L. teen found hanged.>
$/Today.com, -ecember )', '().
http%11www.usatoday.com1story1news1nation1'()1)'1)'1bladenboro2teen2handing2
death1'(***'G)1
67 ?eon, Carmon. =H 3hite eople 3ho ointed Puns at olice #fficers and &anaged Not
to Pet Dilled.> /lternet.com. January )', '()I. /ccessed at http%11www.alternet.org1civil2
liberties1H2white2people2who2pointed2guns2police2officers2and2managed2not2get2killed on
&arch )G, '()I.
6G7 /merican sychological /ssociation. =Black Boys Miewed as #lder, ?ess 5nnocent than
3hites, Eesearch +inds.> &arch '().
http%11www.apa.org1news1press1releases1'()1(*1black2boys2older.aspx
Peorge Rimmerman followed Trayvon &artin because he perceived him as dangerous. The
defense argues he was, the prosecution argues he wasn!t. No one, of course, argues that
Rimmerman approached &artin with kindness, or stopped to consider the boy as anything other
than suspicious, an outsider. $ltimately Rimmerman shot and killed &artin. / lack of empathy
can produce national tragedies. But it also drives quieter, more routine forms of discrimination.
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?et!s do a quick experiment. @ou watch a needle pierce someone!s skin. -o you feel this person!s
pain: -oes it matter if the person!s skin is white or black:
+or many people, race does matter, even if they don!t know it. They feel more empathy when
they see white skin pierced than black. This is known as the racial empathy gap. To study it,
researchers at the $niversity of &ilano2Bicocca showed participants ;all of whom were white<
video clips of a needle or an eraser touching someone!s skin. They measured participants!
reactions through skin conductance testsSbasically whether their hands got sweatySwhich
reflect activity in the pain matrix of the brain. 5f we see someone in pain, it triggers the same
network in our brains that!s activated when we are hurt. But people do not respond to the pain of
others equally. 5n this experiment, when viewers saw white people receiving a painful stimulus,
they responded more dramatically than they did for black people.
The racial empathy gap helps explain disparities in everything from pain management to the
criminal 4ustice system. But the problem isn!t 4ust that people disregard the pain of black people.
5t!s somehow even worse. The problem is that the pain isn!t even felt.
$dvertisement
/ recent study shows that people, including medical personnel, assume black people feel less
pain than white people. The researchers asked participants to rate how much pain they would feel
in )H common scenarios. The participants rated experiences such as stubbing a toe or getting
shampoo in their eyes on a four2point scale ;where ) is =not painful> and is =extremely
painful><. Then they rated how another person ;a randomly assigned photo of an experimental
=target>< would feel in the same situations. ometimes the target was white, sometimes black. 5n
each experiment, the researchers found that white participants, black participants, and nurses and
nursing students assumed that blacks felt less pain than whites.
But the researchers did not believe racial pre4udice was entirely to blame. /fter all, black
participants also displayed an empathy gap toward other blacks. 3hat could possibly be the
explanation for why black people!s pain is underestimated:
5t turns out assumptions about what it means to be blackSin terms of social status and hardship
Smay be behind the bias. 5n additional experiments, the researchers studied participants!
assumptions about adversity and privilege. The more privilege assumed of the target, the more
pain the participants perceived. Lonversely, the more hardship assumed, the less pain perceived.
The researchers concluded that =the present work finds that people assume that, relative to
whites, blacks feel less pain because they have faced more hardship.>
This gives us some insight into how racial disparities are createdSand how they are sustained.
+irst, there is an underlying belief that there is a single black experience of the world. Because
this belief assumes blacks are already hardened by racism, people believe black people are less
sensitive to pain. Because they are believed to be less sensitive to pain, black people are forced to
endure more pain.
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Lonsider disparities in treatment for pain. 3e!ve known for at least two decades that minorities,
primarily blacks and Cispanics, receive inadequate pain medication. #ften this failure comes
when people need help the most. +or example, an early study of this disparity revealed that
minorities with recurrent or metastatic cancer were less likely to have adequate analgesia. Eacial
disparities in pain management have been recorded in the treatment of migraines and back pain,
cancer care in the elderly, and children with orthopedic fractures. / '((H review of )* years of
national survey data on emergency room visits found that for a pain2related visit, an opioid
prescription was more likely for white patients ;*) percent< than black patients ;'* percent<.
ome of the problem is structural. 3e!ve also known for some time that pharmacies in nonwhite
communities fail to adequately stock opioids. 5n a '((I study, &ichigan pharmacies in white
communities were I' times more likely to sufficiently stock opioids than in nonwhite
communities. But this does not fully explain the problem. 3hen pain medicine is available,
minorities receive less of it. &edical personnel may care deeply about treating the pain of
minorities. 0ven so, they might recogni8e less of itSand this may explain why the pain is so
poorly treated.
The racial empathy gap is also a problem of our criminal 4ustice system. Lonsider research on the
impact of race on 4ury decisions. / '((' experiment showed the power of race, empathy, and
punishment. The researchers asked A( white students to act as 4urors and evaluate a larceny case.
The manipulation, as you might suspect, is whether the defendant was black or white. But before
4urors decided the defendant!s fate, they participated in an =empathy induction task.> ome 4urors
were assigned to a high2empathy condition and asked to imagine themselves in the defendant!s
position. #ther 4urors were assigned to a low2empathy condition and asked to simply remain
ob4ective. $ltimately, the 4urors gave black defendants harsher sentences ;.)G years< than whites;*.( years<Seven in the high2empathy condition ;*.' years versus '.'( years, respectively<S
and felt less empathy for black defendants.
This helps explain harsh sentencing in 4uvenile 4ustice. Nationwide, youth of color are treated
more harshly than their white peers. 3hat is a prank for a white student is often treated as a 8ero2
tolerance offense by a minority student. &inority students are more likely to receive an out2of2
school suspension, even if they have a disability, more likely to be referred by their schools to law
enforcement, more likely to be arrested, more likely to be tried in adult court, and more likely to
receive a harsh sentence. Eecall that participants assumed blacks felt less pain because of their
perceived hardened lives. tanford $niversity researchers found something similar in 4uvenilesentences. 5n tanford!s study, people perceived black children as more like adults, who deserve
severe adult punishment, and not innocent kids, who deserve our empathy and compassion.
5f we know part of the problem is a lack of empathy, is it possible to learn empathy and overcome
an implicit bias: 5n the study of 4urors, we saw empathy induction did not eliminate the empathy
gap. But it did produce somewhat more lenient sentences. erhaps this is a first step.
The perspective2taking approach seems to help. 5n a '()) study, researchers tested whether
empathy induction reduced pain treatment disparities. articipants assigned to the perspective2
taking group were instructed to =try to imagine how your patient feels about his or her pain andhow this pain is affecting his or her life.> /s other studies have found, many people exhibited an
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empathy bias that drives their bias in pain treatment. But this study gives us some hope. 5t shows
that the perspective2taking intervention reduced treatment biasSin this case by II percent.
But this approach misses something crucial. erspective2taking must account forSand eliminate
Sthe assumptions about what it means to be black or a minority in the $nited tates. /fter all,
imagining how pain affects a person!s life will not completely extinguish bias. art of the
problem is how we think about other people!s painSand how when we stereotype their lives, we
don!t.
Race: What whiteness isn’t
March 15 2015 at 06:59amBy Gillian Schutte Comment on this story
AP his ima!e release" #y $o% Searchli!ht shows
Chiwetel &'io(or) centre) in a scene (rom the (ilm) 12 *ears + Sla,e- he (ilm) which a""resses racism) was
nominate" (or a .irectors Guil" awar"- /icture: +/ /hoto$o% Searchli!ht) aa Buiten"i'3
Science shows there are no races, only humanity, while history shows that 500 years ago
explorers created the myth of white supremacy that allowed the exploitation of others,
writes Gillian Schutte.
ohannes#ur! 4 Many white (ol3 !et ,ery uset when rea"in! anti4racism writin! that re(ers to the
term whiteness- hey ta3e it ersonally an" thin3 it is a "irect attac3 on their white s3in- Butwhiteness "oes not re(er to s3in colour or white eole so much as it re(ers to a system o(
"iscrimination #ase" on an arti(icial i"eolo!y o( race ower an" ri,ile!e- 7t is the system itsel()
rather than the white in"i,i"ual) that is criti8ue" #y anti4racism acti,ists-
o re(er to whiteness cannot #e an attac3 on the white race #ecause) accor"in! to contemorary
scienti(ic e,i"ence) the white race "oes not e%ist- or "o any o( the other races cate!orise" in
relation to this mythical white race-
here is only humanity-
umanity em#races all eole o( all henotyes an" it has #een "emonstrate" scienti(ically that
"i,ersity in hysicality has nothin! to "o with #iolo!ical "i((erence in race) #ut is lar!ely to "o with
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en,ironmental (actors- he online "ictionary "escri#es a henotye as an in"i,i"ual’s o#ser,a#le
traits) such as hei!ht) eye colour) s3in tone an" #loo" tye-
;enan Mali3) in his #oo3 Stran!e $ruit <200=>) says that while the !enetics o( oulation
"i((erences are a #iolo!ical reality) the interretation o( these "i((erences is "eely shae" #y
olitics-
Race) then) is a social myth that was constructe" a#out 500 years a!o an" was intricately #oun"
u in the olitics o( the time-
But why) in a mo"ern worl") "o so many continue to hol" on to the concet o( "i((erent races
when it has #een "eeme" as mytholo!ical as the creationist (a#le o( +"am an" &,e? +n" why "o
mo"ern human #ein!s continue to ractise racism althou!h it has #een scienti(ically ro,e" that
race "oes not e%ist?
Ro#ert Wal" Sussman e%lores this toic in his #oo3 he Myth o( Race <201@>- e writes that
e,en thou!h #iolo!ical races "o not e%ist) the concet o( race o#,iously is still a reality) as is
racism- hese are re,alent an" ersistent elements o( our e,ery"ay li,es an" !enerally
accete" asects o( our culture- e ar!ues that race is "e(initely a art o( our culture as race
an" racism are "eely in!raine" in our history-
Race) it turns out) is nothin! more than a socially constructe" classi(ication that attaches
ower(ul meanin! to ercetions o( s3in colour- 7t is a 5004year4ol" construct "esi!ne" to
ri,ile!e white eole o,er others- &uroean male e%ansionists) e%lorers an" colonialists were
the eole who constructe" this system o( racial hierarchy an" lace" those o( &uroean ori!in
an" white s3in at the to o( the la""er A "eclarin! themsel,es the human race an" all others a
su#4secies- +n" so race was #orn) uon which a manu(acture" "iscourse o( white sueriority
was #uilt that !a,e rise to e%loitation #ase" uon "i((erence-
Whiteness writer Richar" .yer e%lains in his #oo3 White that &uroeans constructe" whitenessthrou!h the (ramewor3 o( Christianity) racial "iscourse) an" imerialism as an essence that is in
#ut not o( the #o"y- hus colonisation was constructe" as Go"’s wor3 an" the i"eolo!y o(
whiteness (rame" as metahysical an" !o"ly-
Christianity) the "ominant i"eolo!y in &uroe) mer!e" the mo"el o( #o"ily transcen"ence with the
suremacy o( whiteness itsel(- 7t ele,ate" whiteness to the status o( Go" o,er other cate!ories o(
race- his was the #asis o( the &uroean "iscourse on race "urin! the 1=th an" 19th centuries-
White eole were conse8uently constructe" as the moral race) contrary to amoral an" #o"y4
#oun") siritless non4whites) who were consi"ere" no more than their #o"ies- hose not white
were "eeme" #y whites to #e #ase) animalistic an" o(ten en"owe" with "emonic se%uality- hey
#ecame the ,ictims o( the collecti,e white ro'ection o( ictorian morality an" reresse" se%uality
that resulte" in the roli(eration o( many comle%) unsta#le) an" "an!erous se%ual "esires an"
a#uses o( the #lac3 #o"y- /er,asi,e white ne!ati,ity towar"s the #lac3 #o"y was manu(acture"
in this whiteness "iscourse an" this remains ersistent in contemorary society) as witnesse" in
the continuin! henomenon o( racism-
&mathy (or the #lac3 #o"y has intentionally #een #re" out o( whiteness as this ser,es to
maintain the status 8uo- Rather) whites are tau!ht that the #lac3 #o"y must #e (eare")
"isciline") re,ile" an" 3et at a sa(e "istance (rom ristine whiteness- his is what
un"erinne" the white accetance o( aarthei" in South +(rica-
$rant $anon) in his !roun"#rea3in! #oo3 Blac3 $aces) White Mas3s <1952> e%lains theer,asi,eness o( the "ero!atory ne!ro myth- &uroean ci,ilisation is characterise" #y the
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resence) at the heart o( what un! calls the collecti,e unconscious) o( an archetye: an
e%ression o( the #a" instincts) o( the "ar3ness inherent in e,ery e!o) o( the unci,ilise" sa,a!e)
the e!ro who slum#ers in e,ery white man-
e ar!ues that this #ecomes ne!roho#ia A an em#e""e" (ear in the &uroean collecti,e
ima!inary that lays out in a way that "e(ies all rational thin3in! an" en"ows the o#'ect with
e,il intentions an"D the attri#utes o( a male(ic ower-
$anon was o( the ,iew that whites "o not ro'ect on to the #lac3 man the se%uality that they
themsel,es woul" li3e to ha,e) #ut rather ro'ect on to others the (aults they (ear in themsel,es
an" there#y ur!e themsel,es o( those e,ils-
7n $anon’s wor"s: 7n the remotest "eth o( the &uroean unconscious an inor"inately #lac3
hollow has #een ma"e in which the most immoral imulses) the most shame(ul "esires lie
"ormant- +n" as e,ery man clim#s u towar" whiteness an" li!ht) the &uroean has trie" to
reu"iate this unci,ilise" sel() which has attemte" to "e(en" itsel(- When &uroean ci,ilisation
came into contact with the #lac3 worl") with those sa,a!e eoles) e,eryone a!ree": hose
e!roes were the rincile o( e,il-
7t was this constructe" anti4#lac3 #elie( system that !a,e white eole the suose" Go"4!i,en
ri!ht to ensla,e) #rutalise an" oress whole nations o( eole whom they "i" not see as e8ually
human- hey saw them instea" as in(erior an" animalistic A they nee"e" to #e tame" an" set to
wor3 as unishment (or not #ein! as !o"ly an" uritan as white (ol3- his) their i"eolo!y
asserte") was the natural or"er o( thin!s-
When "econstructe") whiteness is not white eole in themsel,es) #ut a#out an e%e"ient
suremacist an" e%loitati,e i"eolo!y that ser,e" the white aristocratic elite an" allowe" (or
economic e%ansion that relie" on a sla,e system an" later a chea la#our (orce- 7n all the !lo#al
colonial e%loits) in"i!enous eole were #rutalise") oresse" an" turne" into chattels to this
en"- Wor3in! class white eole were maniulate" to #uy into this i"eolo!y to #olster an" ensure
the lon!e,ity o( the elitists who relie" on this o#e"ience to enrich an" entrench themsel,es-
White wor3in! class (ol3 were itte" a!ainst #lac3s an" !i,en mar!inal socio4economic
ascen"ancy o,er them as a way to maintain this clea,a!e- 7n this way the wor3in! class was
(ra!mente" an" ose" less o( a threat to the suer rich-
7t was this history that entrenche" white economic suremacy an" !a,e rise to Western
"omination o( the worl" economy throu!h the system o( caitalism- 7n (act caitalism was lar!ely
#uilt uon the #loo") sweat an" tears) an" o(ten 3nowle"!e) o( eole with melanin (or the
#ene(it o( those who lac3 melanin-
Whiteness remains an occuyin! hierarchical economic system that mostly ele,ates those with
white s3in o,er those with colour- 7t has #ecome an entrenche" or!anism that continuously shi(ts
to (in" new ways to hol" on to a set o( normati,e ri,ile!es !rante" to white4s3inne" in"i,i"uals
an" !rous while maintainin! the suer4ower o( those (ew at the to o( the economic la""er-
Whiteness as an i"eolo!y is normalise" in its ro"uction an" maintaine" throu!h caitalism an"
its machinery) inclu"in! mainstream me"ia) the 'u"icial system) the e"ucation system) reli!ion
an" oular culture- his all culminates in the "ominant "iscourse that uhol"s a system o(
whiteness an" ensures its authority- 7t is throu!h these (unctions that white ri,ile!e #ecomes
in,isi#le to those who #ene(it (rom it an" #latantly ala#le to those who are oresse" an"
consistently "isa",anta!e" #y it-
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7n an anti4racism (ramewor3 it is sel"om that a white in"i,i"ual or !rou is #ein! attac3e"- Rather
it is the system o( whiteness that is "econstructe" to re,eal the historically s3ewe" ower
relations that continue to rein,ent new stran"s o( insi"ious "ominance in contemorary times- 7t
is this system that nee"s to #e "ismantle" to ma3e lace (or a ra"ical reima!inin! o( humanness
an" oneness) so that all eole are a#le to access their (ull otential an" li,e with the "i!nity that
is their human #irthri!ht-
E Schutte is an anti4racism e"ucator) acti,ist) social 'ustice (eminist an" (ilm4ma3er- She is co4
(oun"er o( Me"ia (or ustice) author o( the no,el +(ter ust ow an" a u#lishe" oet-
EE he ,iews e%resse" here are not necessarily those o( 7n"een"ent Me"ia-
$nti,racist =rganizing
$nti,war and $nti,racism
$udio
'iographies
'lac 0iberation
%hallenging Jender
Interviews
=n the Mome Front
=rganizing ools
=ther
Race and $narchism
Resisting %olonialism
Resisting Jlobalization
Resisting !atriarchy
Reviews
hite &upremacy =n y ind# 0earning o "ndermine Racism
by %hris %rass
Prowing up in Lalifornia and coming of political age in the A(!s, race has been a central
factor in my development as a person and as a radical. Lalifornia elections have been the
battle ground upon which fights over immigrant rights, bilingual education, affirmative
action, criminal 4ustice, labor rights and queer marriage have been fought. The explosion of
rage in ?os /ngeles after the Eodney Ding verdict clearing four white cops of all charges in
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the internationally witnessed beating of Ding was to have a profound impact on my way of
seeing the world. 5 rarely ever thought about what it meant to be white, 5 was 4ust a person.
The ability of whiteness to be so universali8ed, to be the norm, to be the standard and all
others 4ust that, others. 5 grew up in the post2Livil Eights era, where racism has operated in a
way that rarely even speaks directly about race.
5 remember as a small child listening to other children speak panish and 5 assumed that it
was because they were not smart enough to speak 0nglish or if they were bilingual, then 5
assumed that panish was some sort of silly gibberish. This would have been a childish
mistake or misunderstanding on my part, but as a white person, 5 assumed that my language
was TC0 language and that it was the true form of speech and this thinking was not childish,
it was the institutionali8ed logic of white supremacy, which was reinforced all around me.
5n )AH, Lalifornia voters passed a proposition that declared 0nglish as the official language
of Lalifornia. 5n )AAH, voters in Lalifornia passed a proposition that ended bilingualeducation in Lalifornia. rop ''G was known as the =0nglish #nly> measure. Lalifornia was
once part of &exico. /s white settlers moved westward, the idea of &anifest -estiny was
developed which simply stated that all of the land towards the 3est were for citi8ens of the
$nited tates – white people. The $ war of aggression against &exico resulted in a huge
land grab. Cowever, in the Treaty of Puadeloupe signed in )HH, the rights of &exicans
living inside the newly created $ border were to be respected and language was one of
them. The Treaty of )HH stated that the $nited tates must respect the culture and language
of the people formerly of &exico. The debate over language is truly about control, not
communication. 5n his ama8ing book, The 2oming 9hite !inorityC 2alifornia' !"ltic"lt"ralism and merica’s 6"t"re, -ale &aharidge writes, =The truth ignored in the
debate 6over bilingual education7 was this% only three out of ten of the ). million Lalifornia
students with limited 0nglish proficiency were enrolled in a bilingual education class. -ue to
a shortfall of '(,((( qualified teachers, G( percent of these students were already taking
0nglish only classes. The failure of many of them had nothing to do with bilingual
education.> &aharidge writes further that =rop ''G 60nglish #nly7 is 4ust one more way that
the third world work force will be kept in place, providing a pool of 4anitors and
dishwashers9> The struggle to make 0nglish the official language in Lalifornia is about
delegitimi8ing another people!s language and culture and reinforcing inferiority.
imultaneously, 0nglish and white! culture is reinscibed as superior. This is why many who
opposed 0nglish #nly used the slogan, =0nglish #nly means 3hite #nly>. &y thoughts as a
small child that panish was a dirty language where drawn from society and reinforced. 5 use
this example because it demonstrates how white supremacy operates. /s a small child 5
learned that my language!, my culture!, my history! was all central, all important. 5 didn!t
need someone to tell me that white people were better or superior, it was indoctrinated in my
surroundings in a way that it need not be spoken.
5t is important for white people to look at their experiences and deconstruct them, look into
events and find their meaning. #ne of the crucial ways that people of color resist whitesupremacy is by confronting internali8ed racism, by coming to terms with a society that has
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systematically devalued their humanity, covered up their history, brutali8ed their memory of
themselves as a people and then placed white standards as the mark by which they are 4udged
;in terms of beauty, in terms of culture, in terms of language, and in terms of intelligence<.
Black feminist theorist, bell hooks, writes, =oppressed people resist by identifying themselves
as sub4ects, by defining their reality, shaping their new identity, naming their history, tellingtheir story.> haping history and defining a new reality is a strategy that must be embraced by
white folks who desperately want to see the end of racism. Eacism will always exist so long
as whiteness exists, as white identity has been developed through the process of slavery,
genocide and cultural annihilation. 3hite identity was fused together as a way of dealing with
massive in4ustice – to be white is to be human and all others are subhuman, savages, beasts of
burden to be worked, raped, beaten and robbed – they deserve what they get and little else
can be expected of them anyway. 3hite identity has mutated and evolved over the years, but
its core belief in being better, of being above others is deeply intact. 3hen white people
complain that &exicans are taking their 4obs" when white people complain that /sian
/mericans are taking over their country" when white people complain that Blacks are ruining
their neighborhood – this concept of ownership, of entitlement, is all based on the notion that
this is a white society that is supposed to benefit white people.
3.0.B. -u Bois, one of the great intellectuals of /merican society, wrote that white people
are rewarded for their support of a system that largely does not benefit them – in terms of
how much power and wealth is concentrated into the hands of the few. Ce called this reward,
the =psychological wages of whiteness>. The ability of white people to think of themselves as
better than Black folks, regardless of how poor they are, how many hours they have to work,
how their labor makes someone else rich. =5 might be poor, but at least 5!m not a nigger> ishow white identity helps shape a horribly disfigured humanity of hierarchy and punishment
in the service of power and wealth. 5f white people are to work for an end to racial in4ustice
then we must come to understand how the psychological wages of whiteness have
;mis<shaped our identity and ;de<formed our consciousness. $ntil white people confront their
internali8ed superiority, the dynamics of racism will be reproduced unconsciously. Becoming
conscious of how race operates, one will still make many mistakes and reproduce racism, but
at least we can work to undo this and undermine this dynamic. +urthermore, when the
internali8ed impact of white supremacy – of ;un<consciously believing that white people are
simply better – is confronted by white people, then as bell hooks suggests, new identities can
be shaped and we can work to define our own reality.
/udre ?orde, Black lesbian feminist superstar, said =it is axiomatic that if we do not define
ourselves for ourselves, we will be defined by others – for their use and to our detriment.>
3hile whiteness does carry many privileges and benefits in a white supremacist system, it
also comes with a heavy price. James Baldwin, another superstar of radical thought,
compared whiteness to a factory and he encouraged white people to get out.
5n his essay, =#n Being 3hite and #ther ?ies>, James Baldwin writes about the price of
being white, =But this cowardice, this necessity of 4ustifying a totally false identity and of 4ustifying what must be called a genocidal history, has placed everyone now living into the
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hands of the most ignorant and powerful people the world has ever seen% and how did they
get that way: By deciding that they were white. By opting for safety instead of life. By
persuading themselves that a Black child!s life meant nothing compared with a white child!s
life. By abandoning their children to the things white men could buy. By informing their
children that Black women, Black men and Black children had no human integrity that thosewho call themselves white were bound to respect. /nd in this debasement and definition of
Black people, they debased and defamed themselves.>
Booker T. 3ashington once said, 3hen you hold me down in this ditch, you too remain in
the same ditch!. The ditch is a society based on race, class and gender hierarchies. / society
that devours the planet and threatens ecological disaster. / society so full of fear and hatred
that queer youth commit suicide. / society that demoni8es and punishes whole segments of
the population because they are poor, regardless of how the economy creates and needs
poverty. This is a society where rape and countless other forms of more subtle sexuali8ed
violence are regular occurrences. The list of damage is enormous, and so too is the dailyimpact of our humanity cut off because of all of this damage – this is how white people have
debased and defamed themselves, as Baldwin wrote.
Baldwin also wrote, =as long as you think you are white, there is no hope for you>. No hope
for you: No hope for what: 5 believe what Baldwin is saying, is that as long as you identify
with a system that is based on domination – regardless of what privileges, concessions or
wages of whiteness you receive – then your humanity will be horribly distorted and hope will
be lost. 5 also believe that the hope Baldwin speaks of is a hope for a new humanity that
works for equality and liberation. o what does this mean for us white folks – what do we doand how do we organi8e:
5n her book, &lack 6eminist Tho"ghtC Dnowledge' 2onscio"sness and the Politics of
Ampowerment , atricia Cill Lollins writes, =uppressing the knowledge produced by any
oppressed group makes it easier for dominant groups to rule because the seeming absence of
an independent consciousness in the oppressed can be taken to mean that subordinate groups
willingly collaborate in their own victimi8ation.> 3hite folks need to read and study the
knowledge produced by people of color. +urthermore, in fighting against a system of
domination – the works of queers, women, working class whites, labor organi8ers and
radicals of all colors must be read and we must learn and develop an analysis that connects all
of this to an understanding of how power operates in ways that both oppress and liberate.
Lollins quotes a student of hers, atricia ?. -ickenson, who writes, =it is a fundamental
contention of mine that in a social context which denies and deforms a persons capacity to
reali8e herself, the problem of self2consciousness is not simply a problem of thought, but also
a problem of practice9 the demand to end a deficient consciousness must be 4oined to a
demand to eliminate the conditions which caused it.> 3hile we are developing an analysis of
race, class, gender, age and sexual identity – we must also work to end inequalities based on
race, class and gender in the structures of our society. This means that we need to bring an
understanding of race, class and gender to the work that we do – around environmentalism,
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sweat shop labor, affordable housing, police brutality, child care, globali8ation, poverty and
militarism.
#ne way that we can do this is by shifting the center of our analysis. Cow does
environmentalism impact working class ?atino1as: The environmental 4ustice movement that
organi8es against toxic waste dumps in poor communities ;among many, many other things<
offers answers to this question. Cow does immigration impact /sian /merican women: The
group /sian 5mmigrant 3omen /dvocates have been doing ama8ing work around this, and
books like Eragon adiesC sian merican 6eminists &reathe 6ire and State of sian
mericaC actiism and resistance in the 100’s, edited by Darin /guilar2an Juan. Cow have
Black women organi8ed and developed forms of resistance to race, class and gender
oppression: Lheck out books like aula Piddings, 9hen and 9here = AnterC the =mpact of
&lack 9omen on Bace and Sex in merica. Eead 9ords of 6ireC an anthology of frican
merican 6eminist Tho"ght edited by Beverly Puy2heftall. Lheck out the book, 9omen in
the 2iil Bights !oement , that simply rocks as it contains essays on activism, resistance andcommunity building that offer so many important insights and lessons for our work today. 3e
need to read books like Bel"ctant Beformers by Eobert /llen on racism and social reform
movements in the $, to understand how white supremacy has lead white activists to
undermine the activism of people of color and how those dynamics continue to get played
out. /dditionally there are so many ama8ing activists and organi8ations out there that we can
learn from and work in solidarity with.
Lhicana lesbian feminist writer and activist, Ploria /n8aldua, wrote in her book,
&orderlandsC a 6rontera, =Nothing happens in the real! world unless it first happens in theimages in our heads.> This is why it is crucial that white people consciously, critically and
consistently work to undermine internali8ed white supremacy that prevents many of us from
seeing people of color as fully human. /dditionally, white activists need to know about the
resistance and organi8ing of people of color so that we can image new ways of resisting and
organi8ing in a way that works for collective liberation.
Cere are some more books that can help us develop the radical analysis that we need in order
to survive. -avid E. Eoediger!s &lack on 9hiteC &lack 9riters on 9hat it !eans to &e 9hite.
0li8abeth Betita! &artine8!s Ee 2olores !eans ll 3f UsC atina Fiews for a !"lti-2olored
2ent"ry. Bed EirtC Growing Up 3kie by Eoxanne -unbar2#rti8. &ichael #mi and Coward
3inant!s Bacial 6ormation in the United StatesC from the 10Hs to the 100s. Barbara
mith!s The Tr"th That 7eer #"rtsC 9ritings on Bace' Gender and 6reedom. 3illiam $pski
3imsatt!s 7o !ore Prisons. State of 7atie mericaC Genocide' 2oloniIation and
Besistance, edited by &. /nnette Jaimes. Lharles ayne!s =’e Got the ight of 6reedomC the
!ississippi 6reedom !oement and the 3rganiIing Tradition. There are many more
excellent books out there.
The analysis that we learn and the creative and thoughtful ways that we apply this analysis to
our work will lead to important developments in the struggle against white supremacy and theentire monster of domination, which white supremacy is part of.
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