Attorney General Eric Holder's speech to Justice Department employees urging the country to suck it up and have those hard conversations about race generated the predictable accusations from the pundit crowd, both conservative and liberal. Why is he still trying to make white people feel guilty?! We just elected his boss! The media reaction largely proves Holder's point. Rather than actually talking about the causes and consequences of our racial divide, the story has been that this speech has created the latest "controversy" for the Obama administration, starting with the AP article highlighting the "nation of cowards" quote. Apparently, there's only room for one black man at the highest levels of government taking the nation to task on race, and that man can do it once a year at most.
Smartly, Holder noted that our goal should not be to move beyond our racial past, and for the press to turn a blind eye to racial realities is the wrong way to go. He focused instead on raising the question of whether the nation's attitude toward its diversity will give us strength or take us down. I especially loved his note about how we manage to get along in the workplaces, but as soon as we can, we retreat to our racial corners on the weekends. That's because the diverse people of this country hold unequal power, which often dictates where and how we live.
The word 'coward' is a strong one, but the reality is that because we have such wildly different perspectives on why racial disparities exist, and because they continue to exist long after explicit racism has been outlawed, discussion of racial issues requires a high degree of tolerance for conflict, both intellectual and emotional. In my work reporting on the lives of everyday people and the institutions that shape their lives, I can see how our current rules and structures continue to produce disparities, even when no one intends that outcome. Understanding how the structures work - which has little to do with whether individuals intend to be racist - helps to lower the heat level significantly when these conversations do take place.
The flipside of cowardice is courage - something we all could use a little more of if we truly want to deal with our past and present racism, while we create a future that works for all of us.
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For those who are still tripping over Holder's use of the word "coward," I urge you to listen to his full remarks. During Black History Month, instead of focusing solely on history -- as important as that is -- Holder urges us to also enage in cross-racial dialogue and to "confront that which we have become expert at avoiding." He says, "to get to the heart of this country, we must examine it's racist soul." I don't interpret this to be a personal attack on anyone. Rather, he is challenging us to examine our collective failures so that we can take collective responsibility in building a truly inclusive nation. He calls upon us to become "more positively race conscious."
The past cannot be changed, but it sure could be a new day if we took up Holder's challenge to squarely deal with the racial inequality that continues to plague our country. The choice is clear: we can turn a blind eye with continued cowardice or we can consciously and courageously create a unifying path forward.
I do agree with Holders comments however but not for the same reasons as he thinks. I believe that the main stream media have been the cowards in their coverage or should I say lack of coverage in an honest portrayal of the issue of race.
Lets be honest with ourselves as Mr. Holder says. I would start by having him look in the mirror. Look at the Black leadership in this country. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton Rev. Wright etc. These are well respected mentors of many in the Black community. Their divisive remarks continue to influence Blacks in an antisocial way and continue to keep the races divided. Why are Jesse and Al always part of the problem, and never part of the solution? Lets discuss the Black theology that the majority of Blacks seem to embrace. As a white Christian I was shocked, insulted and saddened to find out what really goes on in a Black church.
If America had a problem with race, would where would he and Obama be today? Yes Mr. Holder lets talk.
This whole episode reminds me of why I was so inspired by Obama's speech on race last year, and I think everyone should go back and read it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/18/obama-race-speech-read-th_n_92077.html
He talked about what black Americans and what white Americans need to do to "perfect our union", and about other races/ethnicities, too. We ALL need a lot more humility and yes courage to reach out to each other and to reach our nation's true potential. Yup, looking in the mirror is a good start.
But even if you believe our country is already "perfect", express yourself, andbe open to listening to WHY others feel differently. Maybe they'll be more open to listening to you, too. "Discussion of racial issues requires a high degree of tolerance for conflict".
I completely understand why, as a "white Christian," you were "shocked, insulted, and saddened" to hear those excerpts of Wright played in the media. But look into your heart. Are you ready to conclude that was the sum total of "what really goes on" at THAT church, let alone all black churches?
Why not take your pastor and a few families from your church to a "Black church" service?
So who calls the shots for you? Falwell? David Duke? Gingrich? Cantor? Haggard? What White Citizen's Council are you a member of? Explain why white people consistently vote against their own interests, supporting politicians who preside over the mass exodus of American jobs to other countries? And who would want to stand in solidarity with such stupidity?
It would take too long to discuss why this is non-sense, but I thought it was awful the way Pat Buchanan, whom I thought had sort of evolved, went on in this manner.
I think Attorney General Holder said we are a nation of cowards when it comes to discussing race. That would make both sides cowards first of all and he never said white people are cowards, so that should be clarified.
On the substance, I'm afraid that Rinku Sen is correct. Watching Pat Buchanan and Michael Eric Dyson go at it this evening on MSNBC's Hardball was like watching the blatherer vs. the bigoted. Neither really said anything that in the end would reach anyone on any side of the racial fissures in our country. Not only is it a matter of Black and White, with Blacks either too angry or too conciliatory, and Whites too bigoted or too guilt-ridden. It's also about opening up real conversations between Blacks and Latinos, Asians and Whites, Blacks and Asians and Latinos and Whites, and so on.
The problem, I think, is that we as Americans take race issues as if every statement is meant to address us personally. That racial animosity is a deliberate activity, and that racism is equivalent to a Machiavellian conspiracy. The constant knee-jerk reactions to anything that refers at all to race is even more discouraging. Whites usually line up to be in denial, while Blacks are all too willing to tar and feather all offenders, real and imagined. Somewhere in between lies the truth, and the only way to get to that burgeoning middle is through honest dialogue about difficult issues, even working through stereotypes in the process. These conversations happen all the time on many a college campus. Perhaps town halls in public libraries is the next step.
If you are a good person and try hard then good things will come to you. If you continue to seperate yourself as different..then you will always be treated different. It doesn't matter what color you are, you just can't force everyone to see it your way.
You can't force people like you or treat you equal. They have to want to. You may send to people to classes and teach them to accept you...but just like a toddler who has to sit in time out.."I am sitting down on the outside, but I am standing on the inside". By forcing people your are being dictators. We are allowed to have our own opinions, aren't we? And just because I may not agree with you doesn't make either of us wrong. Just because you like steak and I like chicken doesn't mean you are right and I am wrong. Just different. And if we were all the same, wouldn't like be dull and boring.
So just get up and move on and enjoy your life, and forget about color!
So does this mean that the remaining racial disparities that we see in our society today (on incomes, educational attainment, poverty rates, criminal justice sentencing, health outcomes, health care access, treatment by immigration enforcement, access to fair treatment in banking, access to wealth passed down generations, etc.) are solely the result of individual character and work ethic?
Don't you think that there are institutional barriers (policies and practices in our courts, schools, health care system, financial system, etc.) that have had and continue to have a profound effect on individual and collective outcomes?
And why are "bad" people who do "bad things" too often treated differently in this country based on the color of the skin, or the sound of their accent, or their social class, or their sexual orientation?
We shouldn't be so eager to "get over" race and racism without analyzing our past, the status quo, and the distribution of future opportunities here and abroad. Let's all have the courage to listen to eachother's experiences and perspectives, to tackle these problems together.
I'm not into infantilizing bigots. People know better than to teach their children to hate, yet they do it anyway. They do it because they have a superiority complex or an inferiority complex and not because they really believe that there is something inherently wrong with minorities. Its just a way to have ill-gotten self-esteem and its weak.
The messages of both speeches and both men have been very similar -- that the election of a person of color to public office is only one step in righting the crippling racial inequities that plague this nation, and that the way forward is through mature and honest assessment and discussion. Trumka's speech met the usual nutbar accusations of 'race-baiting' among the commentariat, but the mainstream media verdict was that it was a brave, powerful speech. I don't think I saw the word 'controversial' in a single reputable headline.
With Holder, we see a pushback. As Dr. John Jackson of the Schott foundation said of the pushback to Obama's campaign-trail criticisms of America, this country is not yet ready for a person of color to critique a dominant frame. And in that vacuum, community organizations have to represent our vulnerable communities and hold our public servants to the very obligations that Holder named in his speech.
To: AskDOJ@usdoj.gov
Subject: Eric Holder, prosecute Bush and Cheney NOW. Don't call ME a coward!
I, a white person, contributed money to Obama, persuaded my family and friends to vote for him, and voted for Obama myself.
Now, you call me a coward?
Prove that YOU are not a coward by doing your job -- prosecute Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld for war crimes.
If you had read the newspapers for the last year, you would have seen hundreds of stories about race.
If you're not going to prosecute Bush, please resign. We don't need an ignorant, cowardly attorney general.
Talking about race in any other way, however sensible and unracist, carries way too many risks.