Here we go again. Some people raise the issue of race (this time about the ways some other people are talking about or treating the first black president of the United States) and the media goes crazy. "What racism?" many of the pundits cry, "Didn't we just elect this black guy president?" (Implying: "Doesn't that prove that racism is over in America?").
So let's all just take a breath here -- as we always need to do when talking about race in America.
A few simple points:
First, on November 4, 2008, the United States did what only one other country that I know of ever has ever done -- elect a president from a minority race in a country with a different majority race. (Peru is the only other country I can think of to have done that, electing as their president Alberto Fujimori, of Asian ethnicity, in a predominantly Spanish country.) That a still predominantly white U.S. would elect a black man as head of state was stunning to many -- and, I must admit, to me. Frankly, it made me think that the country was better than I thought it was. That historic accomplishment is a sign of great progress and a hope of better things to come for racial equality and justice in the United States.
Second, the majority of Americans, and even of white Americans -- whether they voted for Obama or not -- seemed to feel proud and positive that the nation had finally reached this amazing milestone. Inaugurating Barack Obama on that January 20th Inauguration Day made most Americans feel good about themselves and about their country. The new president's approval rating climbed up to 70 percent in the week after the Inauguration, which obviously meant that even some of those who voted against him were impressed by how he was handling his job at the outset.
Third, there are many people, most of whom voted against Obama, who have basic disagreements with the president on substantive political issues. And to disagree with a black president on policy questions does not mean that you are racist. The people who initially approved of the president's job performance, but now disapprove, did not suddenly turn into racists. And my conservative friends who admire Obama personally but disagree with him politically can hardly be called racists.
But fourth -- and importantly -- there was, and is still, a hard core of racially-motivated white people in this nation who did vote against Obama because he is black, and who virulently oppose him as president because he is black. And that racist core of angry white Americans resides on the extreme political right of U.S. politics. The far-right wing in America has never supported racial equality. Their political representatives voted against both the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965, and most have never repented of it. And, let's be honest, the loudest voices of right-wing talk radio and cable television appeal directly to that core with subtle and not-so-subtle racial messages, as has the right-wing of the Republican Party for many years.
If you were paying attention, you could see signs of that underlying racism at the most heated town meetings this summer. Of course, not everybody who attended, or even was mad about health care or the government at those meetings, is a racist -- most of those people weren't; but some of them clearly are. There were blatant signs of racism at some of the town meetings and, indeed, many signs that carried overtly racial messages.
I see those racial sub-texts in the intensity of the attacks on Obama -- not in the disagreements per se, but in the viciousness of the rhetoric. Racism is often about disrespect, and many African-American citizens are now feeling that the black president in the White House is being disrespected. I also see it in the supporters of the new "birthers" movement, who stir up doubts about Obama's citizenship. I see it in the furor over the president of the United States speaking to the nation's school children about studying and working hard. And, agree with me or not, I saw it in the disrespect shown toward a black president by a white Congressman from the South, whose less than enthusiastic apologies have now turned him into a fund-raising martyr, cheered on by a defiant rebel yell against the man (or is it "boy"?) in the White House.
We have all witnessed or experienced situations where someone has "played the race card" in inappropriate or unfair ways. And racism is not the cause or explanation of every social problem. Nor are legitimately different points of view obvious signs of racism. And President Barack Obama has not played the race card, expecting only to be treated as a man -- not a "black man"-- and to be judged as a president and not as an "African-American president."
But let's be honest. We all know that racism still exists in America today. We know that there is a hard core of our white fellow citizens who simply will not accept their black or brown brothers and sisters -- especially one in the White House. So while we should not call every disagreement an issue of racism, it is time call out the racism that indeed does still exist -- that wounds our soul as a nation, and that obstructs the promise of the United States.
Jim Wallis is the author of The Great Awakening
Follow Jim Wallis on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jimwallis
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There is all kind of "racism" if you include prejudice too.
Has been going on since beginning of time.
Maybe it is sometimes a person's own insecurity that makes them think everything is attributed to race.
A lot of the time it is because they break the rules and it is easier to blame it on something than admit it is their own fault.
Ever since Pres. Obama has been elected (by black and white), the news media does its share of bringing up the subject of race.
There seems to be 3 classes of blacks and whites.
There are the well educated...middle class (what is left of them) and those that fall into a (dare I say) welfare class. This is for all races.
Each group tends to be prejudiced against the other.
Some are angry because some people lay around and collect gov't money and some are angry because they blame another class for what they can't achieve.
So we need to deal with it before something erupts in this country and it won't be a volcano....just emotions waiting to explode.
You state "Of course, not everybody who attended, or even was mad about health care or the government at those meetings, is a racist -- most of those people weren't; but some of them clearly are."
>20 years ago I attended a workshop where I was advised that, because I am white and grew up in a racist culture, I am racist.
At the start of the workshop I dug in my heels and replied "No. Not me."
Fortunately I stayed and listened. At the end of it I found that I do indeed engage in racist behaviors. I count my change when a cashier of African decent gives it to me without counting it for me, I find myself at a higher level of alertness when I am outdoors at night in the vicinity of a man of African decent. These things are considered "microinsults." I am more mindful of them now. But, unfortunately I acknowledge that I still engage in these barely conscious behaviors.
Most people of African decent are law abiding citizens who just want to make a living and raise their kids and get on about their days like everybody else.
Sadly, this is still a racist culture. The question is not "Am I a racist?" The question is "To what degree am I a racist?" "To what degree am I aware of my racism?"
i continued my education as an adult, majoring in anthropology (where one really must divorce oneself of prejudgment in order to succeed) and minored in spanish and california studies. i'm grateful for that experience, it gave me the knowledge, strength and courage to speak out (obviously).
I have also witnessed fellow Hispanics say disparaging remarks about whites. Again this is never acknowledged. Yes, there is racism is America albeit it is decreasing significantly, the election of Obama being the best proof of that. We as a society should identify these pockets of racism wherever they are and open them up to the light and ridicule they so deserve.
racism towards blacks has been institutionalized in this nation before it's inception; this is what we are confronting right now because it undermines our president and must be stopped.
the difference between pregudice and racism is a question of power (a conglomeration of wealth and influence).
i will agree with you that we must confront this ugliness whenever the opportunity presents itself and i too think ridicule is a perfect tool for doing just that.
Numbers is obvious. White people are the majority in the US. If we assume that a similar percentage of minorities and white people are bigots, say 1%, you're still looking at a much larger number of white bigots. Sensationalism is pretty simple. White racism allows the media to run clips of old Klan rallies, "Birth Of A Nation" and so on. Minority bigots have rarely been numerous enough and powerful enough for there to be similar clips that can be played to cover those stories.
My question and maybe you can also write a piece on it is: Why is the Republican party allowing the far right wing to dictate its agenda and branding?
To some of us silence means consent and it's getting very very very hard to distinguish between Republicans and the far right wing.
Racism is "obviously" in play when a protest about a "national" issue is planned, executed & attended solely by people with "white" skin.
When last was a "national" issue in America protested "only" by white or "only" by black people? If you find one, it too "must" have been racially motivated. This is a principle that universally holds... without exception.
For the most part, people do not use slurs in public, but you can see the same contempt when they stare at you up and down ("How dare an Asian woman be well dressed?! They should be MAIDS!") Or when they try to cut in front of you--and look surprised when you take them down for it. (And these are folks over 45--old enough to know better.) Or when they pretend they don't see you. Etc.
Unfortunately, and I've said it many times on this board, there are some who are willing to throw the R word out like they were saying their name. There is truly ugly racism in our nation and this generalizing tends to take away from those times when the term is warranted.
I wonder what your opinion is on this article.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090918/ap_on_re_us/us_crying_racism
Thanks for your thoughts.
Shameful.
Get your head out of your ass. I know plenty of college who'd LOVE to give the President of the United States an honorary degree.
But the difference between the left and the right, is that the r@cists on the left do not present an image of being the whole party, as the r@cists on the right do. This image also plays into the narrative of the South, in that it's become obvious that the Republican Party has become the party of the South. So when you put the two together, you essentially end up with a party of southern r@cists - or at least that's the perception, and perception is 99% reality.
And what party did Lincoln belong to? Who in our history has done more for individual rights than he? And this other argument Civil Rights Act, did you ever think it was written wrong? Because if it were right we wouldn't be writing this now. There are good reasons not to vote for somthing even when it is a good cause.
than heavens that a man with carter's wisdom and background had the ability to speak up about what was so obviously occurring in today's hate filled political divide. yes, it's an ugly can of worms, but open it we must. turning a blind eye is never an option.
Would anyone seriously argue that this is not true? Are these folks therefore racist? Obama got more blacks than ever before to turn out and vote. He also captured more than 95% of the black vote. Were some of these votes racially motivated? My guess is a fair amount were.
Is anyone therefore willing to say out loud and MEAN it that "Anyone who votes or supports a person based on the color of his/her skin is a racist?" If so, I'm thinking there are a lot of folks out there on BOTH sides of the racist argument.
What about the 95% of blacks who did NOT vote for Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton or Alan Keyes when these black men ran for President, and voted instead for the white candidate? Were these votes, or non-votes, also racially motivated?
How often in the past did large segments of the black community vote against a candidate solely because he was white, as did large segments of the white community who voted against President Obama solely because he's black?
Many African Americans did not initially support President Obama, and were persuaded - just as their white counterparts were - only after realizing unequivocally that he was the better candidate. Had he been anything less, the color of his skin alone would not have guaranteed him the African American vote.
Your argument does not hold up ...
up until this election, my lily white behind voted for white candidates. does that make me a racist? obviously not. to conclude that blacks who voted for obama are racists is juvenile.