A Black Perspective on Racism

There's not a day that passes without racism being discussed somewhere in this country. And I don't mean casually. Racism, even the appearance of racism can end someones' career, or even destroy them.

Racism makes us all very uncomfortable. That's why people search for the politically correct words during any conversation with someone of a different race.When you really think about this; it's a little silly. The silliness of it all is the wholesale denials and overt attempts to overcompensate for being in denial.

For many whites, and younger blacks, racism happened in the past. While many blacks, and some whites, believe it still exists today, they believe it's not as bad as it was in the past. Perhaps this is true, but how do you measure something that has evolved over time and morphed into acceptability in the social fabric of this country?

Some people don't believe it's racism when white police officers brutally beat, or kill unarmed black men. Neither do some others believe it's racism when ninety percent of blacks vote for a black candidate for president primarily because he is black.

There are not enough Barack Obamas in this country to engage us in a truly effective cleansing of our racial beliefs. While we might continue to have some half-hearted public discussions on the subject, we still parse our words to ensure we say all the things that make us racially correct.

Similarly, we feel racially impotent and frightened to freely express our views about racism around members of a different racial group. This visceral feeling makes you cringe that someone might discover that you have "politically incorrect" racial views.

Nevertheless, most Americans continue to see and judge others according to their skin color. For example, we describe unknown people to others as: "Oh, he's a black guy," or "He's a white boy." We even use our brogues to identify us racially. We say, "she sounds like a white girl," or "he sounds like a black person."

The more someone looks like us, the closer kinship we feel with him or her. For some people, this is not racism, but being comfortable with someone who is like you. We practice racism without ever knowing that we're doing it. This is the prism through which we see the world.

The unfiltered racist view manifests itself in many different ways. For whites, it might be "white guilt," or "racial superiority." For blacks it might be "victim," or "denial." Regardless of the rationale, this type of thinking keeps us tied to victim beliefs.

Generally, we think of victims in this country as belonging to one of the minority groups, or those who live at the whims and desires of a dominating racial group. This fuels the beliefs that whites are not victims of racism -- except in those instances where affirmative action issues are involved -- because they have greater freedoms and benefits than the rest of the races. Unfortunately, that's not true.

Whites are victims of racism because it keeps them tied to beliefs that they are different from others. And it prevents them from perceiving others without skin color labels. While many whites and blacks extol color-blind virtues, they are usually baseless chants of the inner turmoil raging within them.

There's no amount of praying, meditating, chanting, or preaching that can overcome racism. Racism can only be overcome by changing the way you think of yourself and others. If you pray, and still think of yourself as a white or black person, then what good did it do you to pray? What did you learn about racism?

I believe we have an opportunity to change our individual views about racism. We do this by becoming awake and attentive to what's going on in our lives. When we become awake, we are alert to the falsehoods about our status in the world. When we become attentive, we know that it is important to express how we truly feel so that we can begin to accept personal responsibility for these feelings.

Nevertheless, whether we like it or not, the first step in overcoming any problem is to accept personal responsibility for creating the problem in your life. In this case, accept personal responsibility for being a victim of racism.

Wow! That's really hard to do, isn't it? It sure is if you're unwilling to cleanse your mind of the racial beliefs you have about yourself and others. Otherwise, it's as easy as changing the way you think and live.


Please remember: "Racism is what you think about yourself and those around you."(MK)

"Seeds from the Ashes" is coming soon!