Racism Panel

The prime time I attended in Duvall last night involved a discussion with thirty to forty Whitworth students and four Whitworth professors on the topic of racism. I was pleased to hear the practical application of what I have been learning—specifically in regards to the existence of racism in present-day America. Many of the themes presented mirrored the topics of racism that have been prevalent in the reading over the past few months.

In fact, one of the professors, used an exact reference to Abraham Lincoln that Loewen had used in Chapter 6 that Lincoln had once stated, “I’d keep slavery if it kept the nation together.” This professor explains that students never learn of remarks such as this in textbooks, simply because omitting them enforces the dominant narrative of American history—that it is a continual progression towards equality and certain heroes exemplify these ideals and are therefore not recognized for anything contradictory. I found it interesting that Loewen, in fact, uses this quote to say the opposite. He explains that textbooks today often overemphasize this quote in order to present Lincoln as someone “morally indifferent to slavery and certainly did not care about black people.” He believes that this quote was taken out of context in that the next line tells that he is writing out of official duty and that it is, of course, his personal wish that all men could be free everywhere. Lincoln is merely making an appeal to support the war in order to hold the nation together to someone who already wanted to see slavery abolished.

Yet, beyond the historical implications that the racism discussion, I found more consistency in what was said regarding racism today. I feel as though I have grown up with such a universal consensus that we should just “get over” race—that by dwelling in the past we are only reinforcing it more. For example, I remember having been told how unfair for black students to get better scholarships to Universities or for Native Americans to have certain tax exemptions. We should just forget about the past if we ever want to move forward. I was struck by one of the panel professor’s comment that generally speaking white American’s live in a comfort zone. It is easy for whites ignore racism when it is not a factor for them. “We have to make a choice to think about it,” he says. When there are micro-aggressions occurring all the time, and minority history excluded from our educational system it is not fair to simply ignore it or account it as lack of cultural values/intelligence/hard work.

In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I became frustrated with the social assumptions I had been brought up with. Demographics and statistics speak for themselves. In Chapter 7, Loewen states that “55% of Republicans blamed the poor for their poverty, while only 13% blamed the system; 68% of Democrats, on the other hand, blamed the system, while only 5% blamed the poor.” It is not just coincidence that the individuals that comprise the group who tends to blame the poor for the poverty tend to be older, wealthier and whiter—not affected by any of the social constraints mentioned.

Having just traveled to Ecuador and seen the poverty stricken neighborhoods, I just simply cannot stand back and say that these people have been afforded the same opportunities as me. I cannot look at the story of Malcolm X, and say that he had the ability to rise above poverty, instability, racial slurs and oppression. It just hit home so hard when one of the professors at the discussion explained that as whites in America, we are truly not being exposed to the reality of minorities. The only way—only way we could ever understand is to see things through their eyes.

All of this is not to say that minorities cannot overcome the odds; it’s just that the odds are against them. It’s not to say that we should build a social structure centered on welfare, nor give incentives toward enforcing any sort of behaviors stemmed from unequal opportunity. It is time that we start understanding that the racism in our society has been shaped by real historical realities, rather than blaming it on the victims. We need to seek out what we have not been exposed to, rather than falling for what we maybe have always believed. If we ever want to move forward toward real reconciliation, we need to stand for the victims.