The conclusion of “Race in the
American Mind” was very thought provoking for me. The authors of this article
discuss the complexity of racism in the U.S. They argue that our country is
still infected with a racial virus, however there are signs that demonstrate we
are heading in the right direction. One of the signs is the Barack Obama
candidacy. This conclusion was written prior to the election of Obama, making
it particularly interesting since he is about to retire as our president after
eight years. The authors viewed the Obama candidacy as a signal of hope for the
racial virus in our country. I am curious how they would view the election of
Donald Trump in terms of our country’s racial issues. I can imagine that they
would view the 2016 election as our country heading in the wrong direction: a
direction where racist sentiments are being emboldened and accepted. However I
do not want to dedicate this blog post to Trump’s election. Rather, I want to
focus on the results and reality of Obama’s presidency.
The election of Obama and The Civil
Rights Movement had similar effects on our country’s outlook on race. After The
Civil Rights Movement, it became a very common belief that we lived in a post
racial society because this movement resulted in African Americans gaining many
rights. However, many people, mainly white people, failed to recognize that
this movement did not did not fix all of the racial issues or create complete
racial equality in our country. A very similar phenomenon occurred after Obama
was elected: once he was elected, it became even more common for white people
to believe that we lived in a post-racial society because we had a black
president. This was an extremely problematic narrative that got reinforced
after Obama’s election because it made many whites blind to the racial
segregation and discrimination that continues to exist within our country. Unfortunately,
this lack of awareness of the racial inequality makes people less likely to
support policies and programs that work to eradicate these racial inequities. This
narrative also makes people more likely to blame victims because they cannot recognize
that this is still a systemic issue that greatly hinders the social mobility of
people of color.
My Black Feminist Thought professor
from last semester, Zandria Robisnon, told our class a story that nicely
demonstrates this dangerous narrative that was emphasized after the election of
Obama. One of Robinson’s African American friends was at a social gathering
when Obama was elected as president in 2008. Once it was announced that Obama
had won, a white associate turned to Robinson’s friend and told her “Now you
have no more excuses.” This anecdote is just one example of how the election of
Obama perpetuated our nation's ignorance about the continued effects of racial inequality.
Zandria Robinson's story that you've included in your last paragraph is particularly dismaying. What that man really communicated is: race is not actual a legitimate source of descrimination and inequality, you have been using it as an invalid "excuse" to (fill in the blank here), but now that it is clearly possibly for a black person to become president, your "excuses" have been exposed as illegitimate, so I better not hear anything about it anymore.
ReplyDeleteAs you said ("This narrative also makes people more likely to blame victims because they cannot recognize that this is still a systemic issue that greatly hinders the social mobility of people of color), this is yet another instance of a white person not experiencing the discriminatory and oppressive end of racial inequality of their black counterparts and thus writing them off as "excuses." De-contextualization remains as damaging as ever.
I think a key phrase that is missing here is "black exceptionalism". A point that Taylor made near the beginning of our "Homecoming" was that there are always exceptions to an issue, but the issue itself still exists. So I agree with you that black exceptionalism has dramatically shifted our country's view of race.
ReplyDeleteFollowing the metaphor that racism is a disease/virus, people who quick to say "racism is a thing of the past", "why are you bringing race into it?" (or more commonly known as the "pulling the race card"), and "we have a black president, therefore racism does not exist". They say these things using black exceptionalism as a magical "cure" to racism. So when the man says "you have no more excuses [as to why you can complain]" it's following the mindset I just mentioned. However, as we discussed in class, black exceptionalism is only a specific exception for black people. The phrase is rooted in the "exception". All notable examples, such as President Obama and Secretary Colin Powell, are just people who exceeded the stereotypical, oppressive lifestyle our society places upon black people. This does mean that racism is dead or even close to being dismantled.