I think one thing that is very important
to understand and remember as a white person attending a predominately white institution
in a country catered to serve the white, is that even the history that we do
not want to claim as our own is ours. We captured and colonized, and now that
history is our history. Often white people are quick to dismiss the African American
struggle because it makes them uncomfortable. This discomfort is key. White
privilege can be found in comfort. White people are infrequently put in
uncomfortable positions due to their race, or forced to face unfortunate
realities caused by the color of their skin. So, when thinking about slavery,
or segregation, or police brutality white people have the privilege to remain
comfortable and look away. When faced with the “Black Lives Matter” movement and challenged to understand that not all people are treated equally, white people choose to argue that in fact “All Lives Matter”, remain comfortable, and
look away. Really, the challenge is to lean into our own discomfort and
recognize that these stories are also our stories.
This fall Rhodes Singers, a choral
group on campus that I am a member of, sang a graphic slave spiritual called “Great
God Almighty” by Stacy V. Gibbs. When first reading over the song, our predominantly
white choir shifted in their seats, uncomfortable with the narrative in front
of them. “Great God Almighty” is a beautifully haunting song sung from a slave’s
perspective, where the slave is running from their master crying out to God for
help, and asking that they be spared from their master who tells the slave that
he’s going to kill them. Many in the choir felt awkward about singing this song,
questioning whether our choir had the right to share this story. Noelle Chaddock, our school's Dean of Academic Affairs for Diversity and Inclusivity, came to meet with our choir and challenged the white members of the choir to
think about how this song also shared the history of our white ancestors, it
was just not a history that we would like to dwell on. It was our history too.
While learning about King and the
Civil Rights Movement, and what the movement was forced to fight against, I have
reminded myself that this too is my history. When thinking about segregation many
young white Americans I know like to think of all the ways that they have not
participated in segregation or a society with anything like the segregation of
the 1950s and 1960s highlighted throughout the Civil Rights Movement. However,
I would challenge them instead to think of all of the ways that they are
connected and think about the ways that our country continues to systematically
oppress minorities. While it might make us more comfortable to distance ourselves
from the oppression and hate that filled our ancestors hearts, I would argue it
is far more important to feel uncomfortable and understand your connection to
that hate and oppression. Many people are not afforded the comfort that white
people feel in this country, so next time something makes you feel
uncomfortable in relation to your race, ask why. Also please listen to “Great God Almighty” and think about the role that your ancestors may have played in
this song. It should make you uncomfortable. Deal with it.
I totally agree with this. White people often get very defensive when their ancestors are labeled as the bad guys, and I've never understood why. They're defending these people who lived a century before them, who they never met, who also thought it was okay to own other people, just because they share a last name? I often wonder about this kind of thing myself, as Hawkins is a common last name of both black and white people. Did one of my ancestors own slaves who were forced to take their last name when slavery was abolished? It's hard sometimes to think that my family may have caused other peoples' family pain, but I think you're right, that it's more productive to face history and use to try and make the present and future better. I hope my ancestors are turning over in their graves at the sight of me taking a class about MLK and Civil Rights, being taught by a black professor. Even if they didn't own slaves, I know one thing for sure is that they were white and either in the United States or Europe and contributed to slavery either way, so they can (for lack of a better phrase) suck it.
ReplyDeleteYes!! We have no history if we choose to ignore what we fail to claim as our own. Personally, most of my moments of growth have come from being uncomfortable at first. I like how you challenge us to ask why we are uncomfortable the next time we feel so, because if we never face it we will never grow from it or learn from it. It boggles my mind sometimes how much privilege we have, but more so that some white people do not even claim that to be true. I think deep down they are scared of their freedom being ripped away, but if we're being honest, that will most likely never happen because of how privileged white people are.
ReplyDeleteI think this connects well with what we learned about white moderates. Most people value order and comfort over justice. Learning about our ancestor's history is always disturbing, but without discomfort I don't think anyone can grow as a person. If we shy away from history because we don't like it, then we'll end up repeating the past; something I find more horrifying than confronting a disturbing history. When we look at the present time, we must consider if we are valuing justice or comfort; if we are valuing comfort then we must ask the questions why, and how can we change this.
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