Black People Can Be Racists, Too. Gregory Freeman, 6/2/1995

Headline: BLACK PEOPLE CAN BE RACISTS, TOO
Reporter: By Gregory Freeman

Publication: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Last Printed: Fri., Jun. 2, 1995
Section: WAR PAGE, Page: 5B, Edition: FIVE STAR LIFT

THE WOMAN was clearly upset.
   She and her daughter had moved into a new neighborhood. Now, every day when the daughter walked home from school, she found herself taunted by other youngsters because her skin color was different from theirs. At times the girl came home in tears because of the hateful words and racial epithets that had been tossed at her by youngsters who enjoyed little more than getting her goat. She was different, and that was enough for the other kids to tease her.
   "We are trying so hard to fit in here, " the woman said. "But it's hard when it seems like everyone's trying their best to make us feel different."
   She's "different" because she's white, living in a largely black area in Jennings.

In another instance, a white woman developed a friendship with a black woman at work. The two became fast companions, causing the black woman's African-American friends to criticize her and accuse her of trying to "be white."
   It caused the black woman embarrassment at first, but she finally got her critics to back off after telling them that she would not allow others to tell her with whom she could make friends.
   But even the relationship between the two women took an unfortunate turn when the black woman got married. Her friend who, by now, knew various relatives and other friends of the bride, was invited to the wedding and went to the reception afterward.
   When she got there, however, the only reception she got was a chilly one. The only white person attending, she found herself snubbed, even by people she knew. "It was as if people were afraid of what other people might think if they talked to me, " she said. Hurt by the experience, she left the reception.

Some black people who read the previous anecdotes may say, "Well, now she knows how it feels to be the only black person in a situation." Indeed, that may be the case, especially since black people and other minorities - by nature of the fact that we are minorities - are more likely to be in situations where we are the only ones.
   But that doesn't negate the fact that prejudice exists and that no race has a monopoly on it.
   Just as some blacks, Hispanics and Asians have been discriminated against by whites over the years, some whites also have felt the poisonous venom of discrimination by blacks.
   The situations may not be quite as dramatic, of course. I'm unaware of a black equivalent of the Ku Klux Klan, for instance.
   But the slights, often on a more personal level, are just as detrimental to race relations as larger, institutional racism.

If we look at racism as a major issue that only institutions must contend with, we put ourselves in the position of saying that there's nothing we can do to reduce the problem. That leads to a defeatist attitude, one of shrugging our shoulders and giving up.
While there is much that institutions can do to reduce discrimination, there's also much that individuals can do as well. The longest journey begins with a single step, as the saying goes.
As blacks, we sometimes assume that we can't be prejudiced against others because we often have suffered a great deal at the hands of discrimination. Sometimes, though, that suffering causes us to be blind to what we may be doing to others, sometimes without even realizing it.

Some argue strenuously that blacks can't be racist. Their argument goes something like this: that for blacks to be racist, blacks would have to have power in this society and be able to keep others from getting it. Because blacks have no power in this society, blacks cannot be racist.
That argument, in my view, has more holes than a slice of Swiss cheese. It makes huge assumptions and is based on a "woe-is-me" attitude. While cumulatively, blacks certainly don't hold the power that whites hold in our society, it would be to negate the accomplishments of countless African-Americans who have achieved to suggest that blacks hold none.
Second, the plain and simple fact is that one does not have to have any power to be a racist. Some of the most blatant white racists in our society have no power at all. Lacking power, some of these pathetic individuals turn to violence against minorities to try to make themselves feel that they have power over someone else.

Many would like to see an end to discrimination. Many would strive for a nation of racial harmony. Many realize how much more productive this country would be if we could get rid of racism and focus our efforts on other problems.
What all of us - regardless of race - must do in the meantime, however, is take a good look at ourselves to see if we're part of the problem. Without doing that, we may be contributing as much to racism as the cowards who hide behind white sheets and robes.

Daniel Schesch - Webweaver

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