(Submitted to “The Root” August 7, 2021)
I recently read an article from “The Root” where the black writer stated that every decision white people have made since the founding of this country has been wrong. That was my understanding at least.
It got me to wondering – just how many readers of “The Root” would agree? I understand how this statement is an appealing affirmation of black anger, bitterness, and resentment towards historical injustices endured by black people over the years, primarily at the hands of white people. But to what end? Where does such a statement lead, if not to further a sense of distrust and separation between people at a time when just the opposite is needed?
I wholeheartedly agree that white people have made a lot of wrong decisions over the years – some made with bad intentions, some made from ignorance, and some made out of arrogance. But this dismissive and condemning statement is intellectually lazy and entirely unfair to all of us white people who are trying to do the right thing.
The reality is that life in this country is better than in most others. Of course there are changes that could be made that would improve our lives – there always will be – but exaggerating and then blaming the country’s troubles on white people is not going to make things better for anyone.
I am fortunate to be able to say that I have not personally witnessed much of the racism, whether overt or subtle, that remains in this country, although I have seen some. Most people I know object to racism and all other forms of discrimination, at least that is what they say, but I know that this is not true for everyone. Hopefully at some point we will all believe that our differences are to be celebrated, not denigrated. In the meantime, each of us remains responsible for our own actions and treatment of others, and we all have the opportunity to lead by example if we so choose.
Vestiges of racism notwithstanding, our most pressing shared challenge is not one of race, it is one of economic and social class differences: the haves versus the have nots.
If this country were an airplane, many but not all of the seats in Economy Plus would be taken by white people, while most of the white people along with most of the people of color would be in the Economy seats further back, but none of us are going to be welcome in First Class, not even to use the bathroom. First Class is reserved for the elites, the people with power, wealth, and prestige.
That is the fundamental reality of living in this country.
We need to start working together if we are going to make things better. The ongoing Black Lives Matter/White Privilege/Critical Race Theory/Reparations movement is not helping to bring about the level of trust that we need to successfully bring about the societal changes that will bring about fairness, opportunity, and equity for us all.
What I am suggesting is that, instead of being so resentful of and focused on white people, you consider the following.
Appreciate How Far We Have Come as a Society
When I was born in 1957 segregation was still the law of the land in many states. I was too young to know, but if I had been older and travelling in certain parts of the country, I would have seen the segregated buses, water fountains, hotels, restaurants, bathrooms – the “No Colored Allowed” signs.
Then we all went through the Civil Rights movement in the 1960’s, including Martin Luther King, forced school busing, George Wallace, Rosa Parks, lynching and beating, anger and hatred.
Then we all lived through the well-intentioned but flawed public housing and welfare programs, the war on crime, redlining and fear and distrust.
Notice that I say “we” and not “you”. This is a shared experience, abet one with differing perspectives. This is not the black experience; this is our experience. The importance of this perspective cannot be overemphasized.
Now we are at a point where it is generally accepted that discrimination of any sort is wrong, to the point of us being painfully hyper-sensitive about it. By and large, we want to trust each other and be more inclusive, and to move past our past so that we can all be in a better place.
I am asking you to stop saying that white people are against you. We have our second black Supreme Court Justice, our first black Vice-President, a black ex-President, black mayors of many of our largest cities, black Congressmen, black millionaires and billionaires, black CEOs of major corporations, a black Secretary of Defense, and countless numbers of interracial couples to the point that it has become an advertising cliché.
To me this is a profound and positive change and is clear evidence of how far we have come as a society. Is this not worth celebrating?
Black History Is Our Country’s Shared History
The history of this country includes the story of a blending of many cultures and peoples that came from everywhere. The telling of our country’s history will be the richest and most accurate when it includes the experiences of all its people.
This country’s history cannot be properly told without including the experiences of the African people who came to this country as slaves instead of by their own free will.
The evolution of slavery in this country from being an accepted practice, to a practice that took a civil war to legally end it, through the struggle to extend the right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness to former slaves and their descendants – this is our shared history, not just the history of black people.
This history is made up of tragedy, cruelty, perseverance, denial, shame, defiance, hatred, and pain. It has taken a long time for this country to really begin to acknowledge the extent of the unjust treatment of our black people.
The Tulsa massacre is just one example of such treatment. The massacre was borne of jealousy and hatred, and then hidden from history because of shame and denial. All but forgotten, as if it never happened, this is a story that must be told so that this part of our history can be acknowledged and understood by all.
There are many such stories from our past that could also be told. We need to learn from our history so that we do not repeat it. However, making such stories the focus of our history and assigning blame today for acts committed 50 or 100 or 200 years ago is counterproductive if what we want to achieve is an inclusive society.
Blacks Are Not the Only Group of Mistreated Americans
Based upon the ongoing dialog about the 1619 Project, Critical Race Theory, White Privilege, etc., one might conclude that blacks are the only group of mistreated Americans whose history and contributions to our society have been shortchanged.
Unfortunately, our country’s history includes mistreatment of several other groups of Americans as well. Blacks may have their own unique history of mistreatment, but so do Native Americans, Chinese laborers, U.S. citizens of Japanese descent, Mexican laborers, and even the Irish and the Italians.
As much as slavery was the historical basis for black people to become part of our society, consider the history of Native Americans. The native American people were displaced from their homeland, just like black slaves were displaced from theirs. The native American people were forced in many instances to endure a long and arduous journey to an unfamiliar country, similar in some ways to the journey black people made on slave ships from Africa.
In addition to the loss of their land, native American people died in the hundreds of thousands from foreign diseases inadvertently brought to this country by white settlers. Many native American people now live on reservations where they have limited employment opportunities, poor schools and healthcare, high levels of drug use and alcoholism, and no practical means to improve their lives. This should sound familiar.
Now consider the Chinese laborers brought over to this country to build the transcontinental railroad. Countless numbers of Chinese laborers died working on the railroad due to accident or illness, bodies hastily buried while work continued. When the transcontinental railroad was completed, the Chinese laborers were scorned and then forgotten, a thankless end to years of backbreaking labor.
Next, consider the U.S. citizens of Japanese descent, rounded up after our country went to war with Japan and forced to live for years in what were essentially prison camps because they were all considered to be potential spies. Once the war was over, the U.S. citizens of Japanese descent found that their property had been confiscated, their homes seized, and their businesses closed. Despite their loyalty and love for this country, the U.S. citizens of Japanese descent were essentially jailed for the duration of the war and lost everything, simply for having Japanese heritage.
And then there are the Mexican laborers, working in the agricultural fields and food processing plants, or working in the shadows as housekeepers, nannies, landscapers, day laborers, dishwashers, and busboys. Poorly paid, often cheated, working excessive hours in unsafe conditions, without legal protections, doing the jobs that U.S. citizens would never do, trying to be invisible so that they will not be deported. Needed for their labor, but unwanted as people and resented for their work ethic.
Finally, consider the Irish and the Italians, white people who immigrated from Europe to this country and were treated so poorly by the white people of English and German descent that many resorted to criminal activity to survive and take care of their families. Where was their white privilege?
The point is that black people have a lot of company when it comes to historical mistreatment in this country. In this regard, it is not all about you.
The Problem Is Economic Inequality Not Race
It is very tiring to hear over and over that white people have conspired to prevent black people from succeeding in life.
That there is a history of discrimination in this country is undeniable. However, over the past several decades there has been a concerted effort throughout our institutions to address discriminatory practices and to attempt to ensure equal opportunity for all Americans.
Black people are succeeding everywhere throughout our society, proving that it is possible to be a black person and to succeed. These successful black people should be role models for all of us, but this message is lost in the ongoing preoccupation with white privilege and white blame.
We all agree that law officers should not be shooting, choking, and killing unarmed people and then claiming that they were afraid for their lives or only following accepted practices. When this happens to a black man it is often headline news, accompanied by protests in the streets, a reminder of all the injustices that black people have endured over the years at the hands of law officers. When this happens to a white man, and according to the statistics it happens more often than to black men, no one pays any attention.
By the total numbers, more unarmed white men than black men are killed by law officers; by percentage of population more black men than white men are killed. Is this really such an important distinction? We should just agree that law officers should never kill an unarmed person.
Most people shot and killed by law enforcement are armed and are criminals. White or black, it is likely that in an overwhelming majority of instances these are justified shootings.
The real issue is black men killing black men and innocent victims with illegal handguns. It has been reported that this is the number one cause of death for black men up to the age of 45. This is a tragedy that has nothing to do with law enforcement or race. This is a societal problem occurring within predominantly black neighborhoods, encouraged by our powerful gun lobby that protects our domestic arms dealers.
What can be done to address this? What concrete steps should our society be taking? What do black communities want to see done? These are your friends and your families, your businesses and your future. Our leaders and policymakers may not be asking you these questions, but they should be. You know your needs and your reality better than anyone else.
Questionable policing practices, violence within black neighborhoods – these are important issues to be addressed. However, they are also symptoms of the underlying problem within our society, which is not one of race.
The real problem is a lack of economic opportunity, particularly but not exclusively for undereducated black men. If everyone were able to have a job that paid a living wage, there would be dramatically less crime and violence. It all starts with income inequality and a crushingly low minimum wage, along with inadequate skills training and employment opportunities in black neighborhoods. This same issue affects the undereducated of all races, both men and women, but black men appear to be suffering the most.
Class privilege, not white privilege, is the real problem. The longer black leaders insist on focusing on the concept of white privilege, the worse the problem is going to become because we are not addressing the real issue.
This country has spent 40 years letting the rich get richer. A rising tide lifts all boats, the rich still like to say as they sip champagne on their yachts while they swamp our dinghies. The theory of trickle-down economics promised that the rich would invest their wealth to create more wealth, some of which was to eventually trickle down to the workers. However, the evidence over the past 40 years is very conclusive: the haves refuse to share with the have nots.
There is real inequity in our system to be sure, but not every white person is a millionaire. There are a great many white people who have worked their entire lives and have nothing to show for it. Being white no more assures economic success any more than being black assures economic failure.
The Biggest Racists Are Black Elitists and White Apologists
There is big money to be made from oppression and assigning blame.
It is no coincidence that so many self-proclaimed black spokespeople are financially well off and unaffected by the oppression they speak about. What a luxury it must be to have made millions of dollars as an athlete, an actor, a musician, a preacher, or a business CEO, and then be able to use your success as a platform from which to proclaim that the system that gave you the opportunity to succeed is racist and prevents people of color from succeeding.
How many of these outspoken leaders who talk the talk also walk the walk and actively help the less fortunate members of your communities improve their lives?
Many black spokespeople that come from academic backgrounds bear impressive credentials that justify their speaking with a sense of authority as they promote social theories condemning the white European-based social/economic/political order, the same system that educated them and gave them the luxury and freedom to express their anger and resentment, a lucrative platform that leads to speaking engagements, tenure, research grants, foundations, book sales, and other opportunities.
Again, how many of these outspoken leaders who talk the talk also walk the walk and actively help the less fortunate members of your communities improve their lives?
These black elitists see nothing racist in their demonization of white people, but is this not the very definition of racism?
Moreover, what is even more depressing to me as a white man is to listen to these white apologists who have taken it upon themselves to accept, on behalf of all white people, the historical responsibility for all the injustice, all the mistreatment, all the lack of opportunity, all the segregation, all the cultural appropriation, etc. that we white people are being blamed for. As if this were not bad enough, they then express their shame at being white – how pathetic.
This is self-directed racism of a very strange and different sort, based in part on appeasement and in part on a sense of politically correct guilt, a sort of masochistic balance to the thinly veiled racist condemnation offered by black elitists.
An Unsatisfying Conclusion
It would be wonderful if my words resulted in some moderation of this anti-white rhetoric. We all need to be working together to make this society better, but how can we work together when so much is being said that is angry, resentful, and divisive?
Unfortunately, my expectation is that my words will be unwelcome, will be received with anger, and will make no difference to the readers of “The Root.” You will continue in your insular black intellectual community thinking that you are victims, at the same time believing in your righteousness and superiority.
I expect that you will continue to ignore all the black rioters, the black shoplifters, the black men and women who punch out Asian people, the young black men who shoot other young black men and unfortunate black innocents, the black fathers who abandon their children, the rampant drug use in black communities, etc., etc., etc., and will instead continue to focus on the illusion that it is all the fault of white people.
You are making it harder on the rest of us to move on from the past and work towards a truly equitable future. Your passion and commitment are admirable but try leading and inspiring without all the blaming and shaming. We are all God’s children, after all.