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Racism in America: Values & Myths

As Americans, we cherish the values of equality and opportunity (which are enshrined directly and indirectly, respectively, in the U.S. Declaration of Independence ). Thus, we have a responsibility to create and maintain policies and culture which ensure equal opportunities and freedom for all who inhabit this great country.

However, based on consistently disparate outcomes, we have some problems with these values in practice. Some racial groups (e.g., Black Americans), when compared to White Americans, are disproportionately affected by: low graduation rates; high arrest/incarceration rates; low representation in senior leadership; high poverty; & low household wealth.

The explanation for these ongoing racial disparities can be found either in the idea that it’s something inherent to each racial group, such as culture or biology, or, in the idea that our policies and culture have created a system of disadvantages for some racial groups versus systematic advantages for other racial groups. These 2 potential explanations represent “racism” and “antiracism” respectively.

In this post, I summarize my experience with Whiteness and try to explain some fundamentals and common misunderstandings about racism. This is intended as an overview/introduction and not comprehensive. For a deeper dive, check out the references at the end of this post.

I grew up fairly ignorant of race, as a White person who moved in mostly White, segregated circles, including an all-White suburban neighborhood and all-White elementary school. I never experienced any disadvantage or exclusion due to my skin color, hair texture or any racial feature; I never felt I was judged as a group, but rather that my experiences and challenges were all “individual” and that opportunities afforded me were “universal.”

Since my childhood, I’ve come to understand more about real-world racial and ethnic differences in experiences, through increased exposure to Non-White students, colleagues and friends, as well as articles & other educational media. My biggest growth in understanding was due to frank & frequent discussions of race / racism with distant coworkers during the Covid-19 pandemic, where 95% of the workforce was working remotely. Our corporate leaders voiced strong support for Diversity & Inclusion, and encouraged discussion of race/racism, following the publicity of various racial incidents in May, 2020 (e.g., Christian Cooper, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor).

In summer of 2020, I joined (& helped facilitate) the “Standing Together Book Club” through work, which covered a variety of antiracist works. For our first book (White Fragility), I was taken aback by the introduction, “This book is intended for us, for white progressives who so often — despite our conscious intentions — make life so difficult for people of color. I believe that white progressives cause the most daily damage to people of color.” The author goes on to clarify, “I define white progressives as white people who think they are not racist, or are less racist, or in the ‘choir,’ or already ‘gets it.'”

I thought I was in the choir; I thought I got it before 2020, but in retrospect, it turns out there was a lot that I didn’t know, didn’t understand or only had a fuzzy outline of. Race, racism and white supremacy turned out to be far more complex (& deep rooted) than I’d realized.

Previously, I might have described racism as overt racial bigotry like saying racial slurs, but now, I would define “racism” as any belief, action or policy which intends, results in, or reinforces, a racial hierarchy. People who consider themselves race-neutral, colorblind or who support the idea of racial equality are not exempt from participating in racism.

Some common misunderstandings about racism (which I used to have):

  1. Racism is (only) expressed by being mean / malicious.
  2. Racist policies come from hate & prejudice.
  3. Disregarding race is 100% positive.
  1. Racism is not just expressed by people being mean; yes, that is one facet, but it’s much more complex and pervasive than that. Racism in practice is often unconscious, especially in a culture which trains our subconscious brains with mostly positive, substantial and varied representations of White people (in a flood of entertainment media, news and advertisements), versus a much more limited, often stereotypical or negative representation of Black and other Non-White individuals.

The misconception that racism is simple prejudice and “being mean” makes it hard to acknowledge or address incidents of racism. People who believe that “racism = being mean” also think of “racism” as a personal moral failure, which leads to an ego-protecting refusal to acknowledge that anything they’ve ever said, done or supported might have been racist (because they feel that would make them “a bad person”). Most people insist they are “not racist” due to this kind of limited understanding. But the truth is, despite good intentions, many (perhaps most of us), have done or said something racist, more than once in our lives.

I know I have done and said racist things. Even in 2021, I’ve made several racist comments which I had to apologize for. Our good intentions don’t account for much, when we’re all subject to cultural conditioning, which we then repeat/express, unconsciously.

Without acknowledging racist mistakes, we cannot address the problems they engender. Ibram X. Kendi says, “‘Racist’ is not… a pejorative. It is not the worst word in the English language; it is not the equivalent of a slur. It is descriptive, and the only way to undo racism is to constantly identify and describe it –and then dismantle it. The attempt to turn this usefully descriptive term into an almost unusable slur is, of course, designed to do the opposite: to freeze us into inaction.”

2. Racist policies and laws, while they can be implemented by prejudiced individuals, are much more likely to be about creation or retention of power or money. Slavery and other forms of racist labor exploitation were extremely profitable to, for example, cotton- and sugar-producing (White) plantation owners, even if they didn’t particularly believe in any sort of racial hierarchy. Sometimes racist policies are implemented for the purpose of dividing opposition, so that existing exploitative power structures can remain in place. I recommend reading Ibram X. Kendi’s, “How to be an Antiracist” or other recommended books (at end of this post) for more detail on racist policies.

3. Disregarding race in the sense of “I don’t see color” (or metaphorical “colorblindness”) sounds good in theory; why, even the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. extolled the value of colorblindness, didn’t he? Who doesn’t like the idea of treating everyone equally, regardless of skin color? Well, this idea has a fatal flaw. When we live in the legacy of a racist society with long-term, unresolved systematic disadvantages for Non-White individuals, then claiming “I don’t see color” is a shield to avoid noticing (or more importantly, talking about or addressing) those racial disparities. And for those who are sighted, colorblindness is a ridiculous concept; learning to notice color differences is one of the first things children learn about; we absolutely do see skin colors – “colorblindness” is just a game of pretend.

I’ve learned that racism can take many forms, in addition to the expected forms (violence, verbal aggression, racist symbology), such as racial exclusion, absence from leadership/representation, supposedly “colorblind” policies which are applied in discriminatory ways, as well as support for status quo or opposition to antiracist changes. I now believe that racism is more closely tied to power, than it is to hatred or prejudice; while both hatred & prejudice are part of any racist strategy, they are more in service of creating and retaining power (including special or customary privileges reserved for Whites).

Some related topics which I hope to go into detail on in future posts: Systemic Racism (& Critical Race Theory), Unconscious Bias, Microaggressions, Privilege and Meritocracy, Affirmative Action, Cultural Appropriation, Race in Technology, Colorism, Covering, Imposter Syndrome.

What can be done about racism? White people & allies should self-educate (e.g., topics in previous paragraph), and we need to actively oppose racism in all its forms; in other words, we need to be antiracist.

Key points from “How To Be An Antiracist”:
“The opposite of racist isn’t “not racist”. It is “anti-racist”. What’s the difference? One endorses either the idea of a racial hierarchy as a racist, or racial equality as an anti-racist.
One either believes problems are rooted in groups of people, as a racist or locates the roots of problems in power and policies, as an anti-racist.
One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an anti-racist.
There is no in-between safe space of “not racist”.
What’s the problem with being “not racist”? It is a claim that signifies neutrality: “I am not a racist, but neither am I aggressively against racism.”
There is no neutrality in the racism struggle. The opposite of “racist” isn’t “not racist.” It is “antiracist”.
The claim of “not racist” neutrality is a mask for racism.
The good news is that racist and antiracist are not fixed identities. We can be a racist one minute and an antiracist the next. What we say about race, what we do about race, in each moment, determines what — not who — we are.”

Key quote from “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents”:
“With our current ruptures, it is not enough to not be racist or sexist. Our times call for being pro-African-American, pro-woman, pro-Latino, pro-Asian, pro-indigenous, pro-humanity in all its manifestations. In our era, it is not enough to be tolerant. You tolerate mosquitoes in the summer, a rattle in an engine, the gray slush that collects at the crosswalk in winter. You tolerate what you would rather not have to deal with and wish would go away. It is no honor to be tolerated. Every spiritual tradition says love your neighbor as yourself, not tolerate them.”

Disclaimer: I am a White person trying to be a good antiracist, but I am imperfect and, as mentioned previously, this is not comprehensive; please review the following references (especially the books) for more information and perspectives. It’s also helpful to listen to the perspectives of regular people from your life (e.g., friends, neighbors, coworkers) who have been impacted by racism. Please keep in mind that the perspective of one representative of a racial group (e.g., your one black friend) is not authoritative.

References on American Racism / Antiracism:

Books:

  • “Caste: The Origins of our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson (2020)
  • “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race” by Beverly Daniel Tatum, PhD (1997/2017 – 20th anniversary edition recommended).
  • “How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi (2019)
  • The New Jim Crow: Colorblindness in the Age of Mass Incarceration” by Michelle Alexander (2010/2020 – 10th anniversary edition recommended)
  • “Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code” by Ruja Benjamin (2019)
  • “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism” by Robin Diangelo (2018)
  • “So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo (2018)
  • “America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States” by Erica Lee (2019)
  • “Uncomfortable Conversations With A Black Man” (book) by Emmanuel Acho (2020)
  • “Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America” by Michael Eric Dyson (2017)

Other Media (articles, podcasts, film):

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