Grappling with Racism

One of the things I have genuinely grappled with this semester is the institution of racism and what that means in regards to human nature. I think it is too simple to simply think that all people that participated in and perpetuated the slave system, from those that benefited from its economic production in indirect ways to those who owned slaves themselves, are inherently and only evil. Though those with the best of intentions were surely misguided, I think they understood a truth far different from the truth of racial equality which we understand (but still do not recognize fully) today.

A broad example would be middle-class white people during slavery. Though the middle class was not nearly as developed as it is now, there were people that could not afford slaves or did not have them, attended church, and considered themselves to be good, moral people. Even in the case of wealthy planters who owned hundreds of slaves, many planters considered their paternalistic purchasing of slaves beneficial to the slaves themselves, therefore justifying their actions and also receiving the benefits of their labor. How was it possible to consider oneself moral while also owning other human beings? In the case of those who did not own slaves, how was it possible to consider themselves moral while not using their inherent privilege to change the system of racial slavery?

One specific example would be Thomas Jefferson. I would consider Jefferson to be a pretty terrible person, since he upheld white supremacist ideals and practiced levels of hypocrisy that are honestly appalling to read about. However, he is revered as one of the most intelligent presidents, founding fathers, and Americans to ever live. He is glorified over even Benjamin Franklin, who eventually developed his opinion to include at least that people of African descent could produce creative thought, as we read in “The Trials of Phillis Wheatley.” Jefferson maintained his prejudices against people of African descent and supported slavery throughout his life, and is still considered to be intelligent and not entirely immoral due to his dedication to the country. Why is this? Why are people able to separate his morality from his intelligence? Is this a flaw in our system of interpreting Jefferson’s intelligence, or simply the acknowledgement that Jefferson knew a different “truth” than we understand today?

Personally, I have spent extensive time with several very kind, caring individuals, some of whom are members of my family, who hold blatantly racist views. I have absolutely addressed the ideas when they arose in conversation, but it has become clear to me that the “truth” I learned as a child and am continuing to learn, that of equality and cultural appreciation, is simply a different reality than the one these people understand. Is there a way to combat this in older generations, or is it simply too late? Can addressing racism change minds already instilled with ignorant, misguided ideals, or is it up to our generation to instill enlightened beliefs in those around us and those we influence throughout our lives?

There is no easy solution, and that makes the entire idea of racism and the reality of American slavery incredibly difficult to rationalize. The question I am intending to work with here is how slavery, and racism in general, persisted for so long in the presence of intelligent, rational people. Were people less willing to address injustice then, or were racist ideals so deeply ingrained in society that racist ideals were “the truth” to these people? Are all people with racist bases for their thought purely immoral and evil, or is it possible for them to just be ignorant/misguided? How do we combat this ignorance in a society governed by those that understand a different “truth” about equality than we do?