Race Continues to Divide

By Broadside Opinion Columnist Arthur Gailes

Slavery and genocide are the two ugliest chapters of American history.

But while the wound that genocide leaves is left to heal itself, the gash of slavery is one that is constantly rubbed by racism, reverse racism, affirmative action and the general clash of opposing cultures. This clash is inevitable because the oppressed remain obsessed with this ugliness that the oppressors want to forget.

So when the hopeless anger that is so ingrained in the black community meets with the apathy that is just as ingrained in their white counterparts, it breaks a piece off of that scab and the resentment from both sides flows over. We come to each other from opposite perspectives with opposite goals, which make it hard to come to a common middle ground of understanding. What makes it so much worse is that even the most extreme views on both sides are so well justified.

After all, slavery was over 140 years ago, before much of the immigration that would come to define this country. Why should white people, who hold no personal responsibility for slavery, be forced to pay for the mistakes of so long ago? This is especially relevant to the millions of white Americans whose families weren’t even in the country at the time. Black people have had long enough to overcome adversity, and hand-ups like affirmative action are just a lesser form of oppression.

Furthermore, they’re sick of all the complaining they hear from black people about these things. Yes, black people in America have gotten a rough hand historically. There are greater numbers of poor whites than poor blacks throughout the country, why should a middle class black person receive benefits for being disadvantaged throughout their life? Beyond that, why should they be threatened with the racist label every time they approach this subject?

Meanwhile, the black generation of our age is the bastard child of those who watched the civil rights movement disintegrate into drug wars. They’ve never been told to be black and proud; race is a thing of the past. And yet, their culture and music is blamed for the ills of society. The successful among them aren’t lawyers or doctors—they’re entertainers. Much of the time, they’re the same entertainers who are slammed by the media as being destructive.

So they grow up completely disillusioned from mainstream society. If their idols are what “sophisticated” society calls destructive, then destruction is the path to success. And if they try to discuss this with whites or even some older blacks, they’re often called paranoid or lazy. Television, music and movies all send the message that white people become successful through maximizing their education and black people become successful by skirting it.

And God forbid they call this racism around white people. That either makes everybody in the room tense or draws snickers from people who are very tired of the discussion. So they keep this bitterness within the community, in the barbershop, in the family and in the church—much the way bitter views about race are kept within the white community. So when this bitterness comes out from either side, it makes headlines because it reaffirms the suspicions of the other.

The fundamental bridge to understanding is across the meaning of the word and concept of “racism.” Both races become frustrated when it’s thrown around, because they both apply different meanings to it. To generalize, white people think of racism in specific terms: race-based hate or actions against people against people based on race. Since this type of overt racism has become so rare, it’s easy to say that racism isn’t a nearly the problem that blacks make it out to be. Meanwhile, the black view of racism is much more nuanced, including not just views against black people in general, but cultural stereotypes that come from a racial ignorance and the portrayal and treatment of black people in mainstream culture.

This misunderstanding is crucial in preventing meaningful dialogue from taking place. Instead, we throw mindless accusations of racism, reverse racism, and race baiting at each other. We have to acknowledge that while we have come a long way as a nation in regards to race, we still have a long way to go before things approach equal or unbiased. Racial prejudice may never be eliminated, but if we recognize its hold on us as individuals, we can lessen its impact on all of our lives.