By Cory L Young

Racism 101: Part II

It mystifies me how such a campus as the University of Louisville has the motto “Dare to be great,” but will not make the behavioral changes to facilitate this motto. It is very easy to say, “the university should do…” It’s more challenging to say, “I must do this so our university will become more accepting of others.” People make institutions- institutions do not exist in the abstract. RACISM IS WELL-ROOTED IN OUR SOCIETY. It is not just a black and white thing either; it includes gays, lesbians, Muslims, Arabs, and anyone else who is perceived as different from the majority. The black and white issue however, is a major subject in the United States. I understand that many people have “-isms,” whether it be sexism, ageism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, etc.; however, as a black man, I will speak authoritatively on my personal reality.

My reality is that I have been discriminated against, called to defend my position, and justify my very existence on this campus and in this country at large. I have been told that this is in fact NOT my reality, but merely a figment of my imagination. This view is an example of how ingrained, or “well-rooted,” racism and the denial of racism is. OK, what do I mean by “well-rooted?” Let me give you the gist of what I am speaking of. You do not have to take my word for it.

First, let’s talk about a few national historical figures whose rhetorics have shaped the collective mindset in this country. Let me say beforehand that this is not an attack on any of the persons named below; the purpose is just to reinforce the statement of “well-rooted.”

Ben Franklin: “Why increase the sons of Africa, by planting them in America, where we have so fair an opportunity, by excluding the Blacks and Tawneys, of increasing the lovely white and red.” (Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, 1753)

David Hume: “There never was a civilized nation of any complexion than white, nor even any individual eminent either in action or speculation. No ingenious manufacturer among them, no arts, no sciences. …Such a uniform and constant difference could not happen, in so many cultures and ages, if nature had not made an original distinction betwixt breeds of men.”

Andrew Jackson: “It is vain to deny that they [blacks] are inferior race- very far inferior to the European variety. They have learned in slavery all they need to know about civilization. When first bought from the country of their origin they were naked savages and where they have been left to their own devices or escaped the control of the white race they have lapsed to a greater degree or less degree into barbarism.” (Andrew Jackson, 1867)

Albert Switzer: “The Negro is a child and with children nothing can be done without the use of authority. We must therefore, so arrange the circumstances of our daily life that my authority can find expression. With regard to the Negroes then I have coined the formula: I am your brother, it is true but I am your elder brother.” (On the Edge of the Primeval Forrest, 1961)

So much for a quick history lesson!

This is our legacy in the United States, passed down by our so-called “forefathers” over 300 years of history. It has colored the lens of socialization and acculturation during the formative years of those of us who were born in this country. It is dishonest to say that this does not permeate every part of our society. If you stand by and let injustices or perceived injustices happen to disenfranchised people, then you are guilty of facilitating racism, period! You cannot tell disenfranchised people that they are perpetrating racism when they are able to not only point out the deficiencies existing in their own conditions, but also what causes them. What exactly is reverse racism, anyway?

However, what we are encountering on this campus is the phenomenon called “white privilege.” This, in universal language that everyone can understand, means whites have an advantage from birth, whether they realize it or not, and will fight subconsciously to maintain it regardless of the consequences. Author Paul Kivel calls this “entitlement” in his book Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work For Racial Justice. Kivel defines entitlement as “the feeling that one is entitled to certain goods or services more than others are, or that one is entitled to be served by others because of one’s class, race, and/or gender.” This is “a direct of an internalized sense of superiority of white people and white culture, which leads to racism and other forms of exploitation and discrimination…. as a result I have consciously or unconsciously told myself that I deserve this preference because:

-I am better educated

-I have more experience

-My time is more valuable

-I earn more money

-I worked hard to get to where I am

-I work harder than others

-They probably don’t need as much to live on

-They are used to getting by with less

-I don’t actually have direct contact with them so I am not responsible.”

Kivel, who is white, began to see the sense of entitlement that the above excuses mask “and the degree to which they are rationalizations for inequality.” He suggests that we begin to “challenge behavior based on a sense of entitlement in white people [and by doing so] we counter the negative impact such behavior has on people of color.”