Altering Our Perceptions

A few classes ago, we discussed the notion of “slavery” and “slaves” as conceptual. Professor McKinney said, “She is because we believe she is.” While slavery was an institution deeply entrenched in daily life and seemed to hold firm regardless of its inhumanity, the thought that it was really just a concept is truly frightening. We have invested ourselves (or perhaps our ancestors) in an institution based on a concept with no concrete evidence or justification. Africans were seen as and perceived to be inferior. As people, specifically white colonists, invested themselves further in their growing economy and trade, they also invested themselves in propagating the African race as childlike, incapable, and something to take advantage of for labor. The conversation continued to discuss the idea that people are valued based on the way people talk about their value, and we are all guilty of perpetuating this context we have created for ourselves. While this conversation was meant for our discussion on the absurd foundations for which racial slavery was based on, the idea that we perpetuate a context with a faulty foundation is still true today. In other words, we, as a society, still hold onto the concept of inferiority when it comes to African Americans.

By no means, am I suggesting that everyone thinks of African Americans as inferior, but there is truth in that systematically we place value on some and not others, but this all lies in our perceived value. Take public education for example. It is not uncommon that you find more black students in special education classes than white students. While this is a complicated subject matter, this is largely based on a perceived ability of achievement, or lack thereof, in educational settings. In this way, the system is still enforcing or allowing Thomas Jefferson’s harsh and untrue claims of black intelligence and capability. It seems that while we may have abolished slavery and claim to understand that we are all equals, perhaps we haven’t actually deviated from the perceived value we placed on African slaves.

After attending a panel of young, black, male college students in which the two men discussed the importance of being “smart,” it occurred to me how much emphasis we place on finding those standout individual African Americans to “break the mold” rather than alter our perceptions. We continue to subconsciously (although sometimes consciously) let our perceptions (that have been systematically fostered) alter our expectations of others, forcing a system in which few African Americans can “shine” while the others “perpetuate” the stereotypes in the rest of the world’s eyes.

I believe we must look back at our own concepts and beliefs of others before we can see each other as equals, therefore allowing ourselves to be equals.