The Conversation America Won't Have on Race

If we resided in a post-racial society then William Faulkner's words uttered in the 20th century would not ring true in this century-"The past isn't dead and buried. In fact, it isn't even past."

With the election of Barack Obama as this nation's first African-American president many of us had hope we could finally close the door on America's original sin -- slavery.

But the vestiges of that institution lingers not only in the backwaters of America, but they also linger in the hallow halls of Congress.

When South Carolina Republican House Rep. Joe Wilson belted out "You lie!" during Obama's televised joint session of Congress address, Wilson jolted us back to Faulkner's words.

If Wilson's act of incivility were merely about Joe the man, and not about a nation still haunted by and grappling with its shameful and unexamined legacy of racism, then the fodder and fuss that followed would not have ensued.

As a mater-of-fact, we could have viewed Joe's outburst as all about him, an impassioned man in opposition to Obama's current political discussions.

But when you see an onslaught of racist images of Obama by those in opposition to him, like placards that read "Afro-Communist," "Obama ribs 'n chicken ... plus a nice slice of watermelon for the darkie," and now the recent poster, flooding the Internet, showing Obama wearing a feather headdress and a bone through his nose as a witch doctor, there is unquestionably something deeper going on than merely opposing his policy.

And When you have a Birther Movement promulgating lies that Obama wasn't born in the U.S., Tea Party protests with guns at its rallies, and a vicious right-wing contingent blocking the President of the United States from delivering an innocuous back-to-school speech encouraging America's children to stay in school, we are seeing strong efforts at play to delegitimize Obama's authority.

And of course the specter of race surfaces. You must ask, how much does race play a key factor and not a backdrop to Obama's policy decisions?

And, like any unresolved conflict, the warts and boils bubble up, unseeingly, out of nowhere.

"Racism ... still exists and I think it has bubbled up to the surface because of a belief among many white people, not just in the south but around the country, that African-Americans are not qualified to lead this great country. It's an abominable circumstance and grieves me and concerns me very deeply," former President Jimmy Carter told NBC News.

Whereas Carter thinks race is indeed the underlying issue Obama thinks otherwise.

"Now there are some who are, setting aside the issue of race, actually I think are more passionate about the idea of whether government can do anything right," he told ABC News. "And I think that that's probably the biggest driver of some of the vitriol."

But Obama's Attorney General Eric Holder might perceive Obama's rejoinder as cowardice.

In February Holder received scathing criticism for his speech on race. His critics said the tone and tenor of the speech was confrontational and accusatory.

"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot," Holder said, "in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards."

Obama is part of a new generation of African- American male leaders who come after the '60s. They would argue that they don't flee from race issues, but rather they don't employ the black civil rights movement paradigm, often viewed as confrontational, to enter into mainstream politics. And they are heralded as American's post-racial leaders who successfully navigate through this country's lingering legacy of racism with the intent purpose of disarming whites of their guilt and fears.

Peter Boyer's article in the February 4, 2008 issue of The New Yorker titled "The Color of Politics: A Mayor of the Post-Racial Generation" wrote the following explaining this "post-racial" generation of African Americans that includes Barack Obama, Harold Ford, Cory Booker, and my governor, Deval Patrick:

"Their deeper kinship resides in their identities as breakthrough figures -- Africa American politicians whose appeal transcends race. Men reared in the post-Selma era and schooled at elite institutions, developed a political style of conciliation rather than confrontation, which complemented their natural gifts and, as it happens, nicely served their ambitions."

This political style these men employ Shelby Steele depicts it best in his recent book, A Bound Man. Steele states that, in the African American community, there are two types of people -- the "bargainer" and the "challenger."

What is a "bargainer" or a "challenger?"

According to Shelby Steele, a bargainer strikes a bargain with white America in which they say. "I will not rub America's ugly history of racism in our face if you will not hold my race against me."

A "challenger," on the other hand, does the opposite of a "bargainer." A "challenger" charges white people with inherent racism and then demands they prove themselves innocent by supporting black-friendly polices like affirmative action and diversity.

No matter what kind of shape-shifters or mask-wearers we are as African Americans leaders, even our post-racial leaders are finding out that the nagging issue of race is an unavoidable issue.

And our attempts to dodge the issue of race in American public discourse is itself a racial act. And the reason race bubbles up to the surface, unseeingly out of nowhere, is because it is the conversation America won't have.

 

 

Comments

[amoment]

"With the election of Barack Obama as this nation's first African-American president many of us had hope we could finally close the door on America's original sin -- slavery."

I don't know how any African American could have entertained the thought that the first African-American president could close the door on slavery. Matter of fact, I thought electing Barack Obama would blow racism wide open... and it has... and, unfortunately, there is more to come. Blacks are even being called racist and we know that is impossible as Blacks do not dominate the culture. It is those that dominate the culture that can and continue to make decisions based on skin color.

[1will]

Not everything is about race but screaming racism everytime a political opponent disagrees with you has been very useful in the past. Those days are coming to an end. We have had black business leaders, judges, law enforcement officers, government officials and now a Black President. Some of our largest cities are run almost entirely by blacks and some of the most powerful people in our government have been black (Rice, Powell, etc). Now the most powerful man in the world is black and people are sick of hearing the cries of racism everytime it rains harder on Harlem than Manhattan.
Keep crying racism everytime someone disagrees with Obama and I'll just continue my arguments as to why I dislike his policies. In the end a decent argument will win out over someone crying wolf on a daily basis.

[o4tuna]

"In the end a decent argument will win out over someone crying wolf on a daily basis."

Maybe you should demand that republicans and conservative personalities stop with the current line of propaganda and make a decent argument against Obama's proposals. So far, i haven't heard one.

[WorkingClass]

Obama reminds us that "I was actually black before the election". I think we can agree that white racism was not powerful enough to prevent Obama's election. But I agree with Jimmy Carter. White racism is alive and well as demonstrated by "I don't want no darky talking to my kids even if he is president".

I would prefer cooperation to conversation. I would like to see black and white workers stand together against the boss even if they continue to hate each other the rest of the time. Solidarity can begin as a marriage of convenience which, after shared battles and victories, matures into something more resembling brotherhood. If I am wrong what the heck. We will all be made more prosperous

[Tapas]

Bargainers (not only among AAs, but as a style of interacting with people) are often able to accomplish things that Challengers are not. Being a Challenger may take courage, self-sacrifice, etc., etc....Being a Bargainer may require the same things, but these are more likely to go unnoticed. If Obama were a Challenger, he would unlikely have won the Presidency? Unfair? How many things are fair? As President, because of his decision not to be a Challenger, he is in a position to do more than many Challengers ever would be. But enough with the overly simplistic division of people into two categories.

Strategically, yes, it make sense for Obama to distance himself from Carter's comments. A blog post had a good discussion of how important this is, from a marketing perspective.

Are there racist attacks against Obama? Definitely. Does focusing on them give them more legitimacy (not to be confused with seriousness) than they deserve? Yes. Does focusing on them distract from the other, huge debate which is ideological rather than racial in nature? Yes. 

Race will always be a factor. Gender will always be a factor. But there are many issues other than race that divide this country.

Racism isn't going away. Let's on Obama's identity as President and talk about his policies and positions without constantly talking about his color.

[sino53]

Whenever black activists talk about a "dialogue on race," they really mean a MONOLOGUE, in which white folks should sit on their hands and stay quiet while blacks rant and lecture them about America's past sins. Then the white folks are supposed to pony up and atone for those past sins (which they themselves didn't commit) with more affirmative action programs, more favors. And never, never, never hold any black person to account for anti-Semitism (Louis Farrakhan, Al Sharpton)--or for anything else.

In other words, it's extortion.

My definition of a post-racial society is simply this:

It's when ANYONE can be charged with not living up to his or her responsibilities as a citizen, without the accuser being accused of bias or bigotry as a means of deflecting the charge.

[Mike949]

I would hope that Ms. Monroe would describe in a future column what she means by a "Conversation on Race."

One need only read the comments on this site to know that any perspectives on racial issues that do not conform to accepted guidelines are met with accusations of racism.

The fact that she is comfortable with labeling any African American that is willing to enter into dialogue as a "bargainer" exemplifies why there is little likelihood that an meaning "Conversation on Race" will take place any time soon.

[been2there]

I can only honor Obama for refusing to allow the racism card to become dominant. It takes tremendous personal integrity to serve as a lightning rod and still put the country first. It is up to the rest of us, of all colors, to coninue the fight while our president focuses on, not race, but country.

[Jaywalkker]

All I can think of are the famous Kenneth and Mamie Clark white/black doll experiment and its modern treatment by Kiri Davis.