Our History Too.

            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.

Is It Possible For Black People To Be Racist?

Yes. Yes it is. Now this is not a discussion of reverse racism, which on the other hand, is not a thing. However, in order to have what we as black Americans want today, and what Martin King wanted for us - true racial equality - we must hold ourselves accountable. Because it is possible for black people to be racist towards white people. Dictionary.com defines racism in the following terms:

1. A belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human racial groups determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to dominate others or that a particular racial group is inferior to the others.
2. A policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.
3. Hatred or intolerance of another race or other races. (1)

One of the premises of the Nation of Islam, a black Muslim movement founded by Elijah Muhammad, was not only black power, but the religious concept that black people were superior to white people and soon would gain their deserved dominance in the world. (2) This manifestation of the rare concept of black supremacy is undeniably racist, by the first definition listed. The second definition of racism is the only one that black people in America literally are not capable of; since the government and lawmakers of America are predominantly white, and historically have further the interests of white people over minorities. There is no black government to discriminate against anyone, much less white people. The final definition is also capable of being demonstrated by black people; hating or showing individual discrimination against other races, predominately white people, based on race. In summary, by definition, it is absolutely possible for black people to be racist, and it absolutely occurs in the U.S. Just like King and Gandhi argued that we cannot fight violence with violence in order to end violence, it is also true that we as black people cannot fight against racism while exhibiting racism ourselves, with the intention of ending racism. We must carefully tread the fine line between outspokenly showing our black pride and actively speaking out against the institutional racism that plagues our country and literally threatens the lives of our race, and committing hate speech and being racist towards the white people who are racist towards us.

However, most importantly: racism against white people is a much, much less severe offense than racism towards a minority. Why? Because of that - white people are not a minority. White Americans do not have to endure the systematic oppression of their entire race that has been a hallmark of society ever since they were brought here against their will as slaves. Lower percentages of white Americans experience police brutality. White people are not faced with socioeconomic inequality on a daily basis. White people are not targeted in mass incarceration. White people are not discriminated against as a race in American society. In simpler terms: the oppressor cannot be the oppressed. That is why it is not racist to say that racism towards white people is a much less severe offense. That is why it is racist to say that “All Lives Matter”. That is why it is not racist to say that “Black Lives Matter”. That is why reverse racism is not a thing. It is important that black Americans consider and remember that they should never be racist towards any other group, including white Americans. But they are not the ones who have been in a position of political, social, and economic power for the entirety of the world’s existence since the creation of civilization in Europe, and abused that power by inhumanely enslaving, segregating, incarcerating, and further discriminating against black people simply based on race.

1. "Racism." Dictionary.com. Accessed March 01, 2018. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/racism?s=t.
2. "Elijah Muhammad Biography." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Accessed March 01, 2018. http://www.notablebiographies.com/Mo-Ni/Muhammad-Elijah.html.

Which is more dangerous... the free black body or the dangerous?

The black body is something that has been abused and stereotyped in America. These stereotypes are constantly verified and spread by institutionalizing it and rationalizing it. While in school, teachers and administrators use discourse to institutionalize different names and stereotypes to kids at a young age. They cast a bad light which the kids see as natural. The new media of today is a primary example of using that language to rationalize their understanding of the black body. They use terms like “thugs, felons, juveniles, gang members, etc.” to describe news of black people when they get in trouble with the law. Creating a new perspective towards the black body. Hyper sexualization of the black body provides rationale for exploitation. During slavery, white people hypersexualized the black body for exploitation and inferred their guilt. Saying that because of this sexualization that black people wanted the exploitation that happened to them. This is because in the bible, sex before marriage is a sin. When the black body is hypersexualized, they wanted to make it seem like a sin and that black people were at fault for their own sin. The black body has constantly been viewed as dangerous. If the black body were free from oppression would it be different? Is black freedom the right to cherished white property? In my opinion the free black body and the dangerous black body are practically equivalent. The free black body would be different, it would invade “white space”. That threatens the social order that America has set in place through capitalism. Capitalism needs an oppressor or a lower class. the free black body would not only be threatening the lower class but going against all the ideology and stereotypes that have been created towards black people. Do you think the ideology of white space can be changed by allowing the free black body? The dangerous black body is something that was created through stereotypes and discourse. They see black people as dangerous animals with a dangerous drive for violence.  The media uses this prospective to rationalize action of black people. One example of this is when they compare black people to monkeys or gorillas. This rationalizes there understanding of actions of black people. They also compare animalistic sex drives to black people. This comparison of sex drives was used during slavery to rationalize white owners raping black slaves saying they “wanted it”. In what was do you think the black body is constructed in a negative light?

Racism in Soccer Today

While we live in an era where slavery and segregation are outlawed, racism continues to be a significant issue.  Many choose to ignore or downplay racism that African Americans endure in today’s society, but these problems can only be solved when people find the courage to take action against these intolerable acts.

Sully Muntari is a professional football (soccer) player born in Ghana who played for Pescara (a professional Italian football club) in 2017.1 During one of their games, the crowd started chanting racist insults towards Muntari, but he especially noticed a child and his parent yelling these profanities in the stands.  In response, Muntari walked over and tried to give the child his shirt “to teach him that you’re not supposed to do things like that” and “to set an example so he grows up to be nice.”2  The referee interfered, and Muntari attempted to explain what had transpired; Muntari asked the referee if he would stop the game to address the racist chanting.  The referee refused and gave Muntari a yellow card for disagreeing with him.  In response, Muntari walked off the field leaving his team with ten players to finish the game.  Later, the Pescara coach stated that while he had sympathy for Muntari, “we should not take justice into our own hands” and “We have been talking about racism for years now but nothing happens.  Today, this has happened to Muntari who had been playing in Italy for several years now.  We need a change of mentality.”²

I was quite impressed by Muntari’s ability to not respond to the racist insults with bitterness and violence, but instead with love and kindness.  He then took action via nonviolent protest by leaving the game; this did cause tension, but more importantly it brought the racist issues to the spotlight.  I was disappointed in both the referee and coach on how they handled the situation.  Neither were willing to take action to support Muntari, and both acted in line of white moderates.  The referee acted to restore order and comfort to the game instead of justice for Muntari; soccer is an incredible sport, but sometimes there are more important issues that must be dealt with.  I was surprised the coach did not support Muntari, and when he stated, “we should not take justice into our own hands.”² I strongly disagree with the coach as there will be no justice and change unless people like Muntari actively fight racism; simply accepting racism should never be an option.  Now is the time to take action. 

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1 UpClosed, “About Sulley Muntari //Association football player- Ghana,” UpClosed, Accessed February 26, 2018, https://upclosed.com/people/sulley-muntari/.

2 “Pescara’s Sulley Muntari walks off after being booked for reporting race abuse,” The Guardian, Acessed February 26, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/may/01/sulley-muntari-walks-off-racist-abuse-pescara.

Why King Should Not Have Perpetrated Sexism While Fighting Racism

This class and this blog are first and foremost concerned with the oppression that faced Rev. Martin King, Jr. and the rest of black America then and now. However, as they were then, the oppression of other social groups and the fate of those groups in American society is intrinsically connected to that of black Americans. Not everyone can be an activist for any one of these social issues, and I would argue that almost no one can effectively be an activist for all of these social issues. Just like King did, we have the moral obligation to fight for the issues that personally affect us the most directly. However, that should not imply an ignorance to the other issues present, especially those most directly connected to the issues that are at the heart of our own concern. Although we can only be effective in actively fighting for one major social issue each, we can never fall silent against the oppression of any other groups. King was notably sexist, and arguing that "he was a man of his time" absolutely does not justify this sexism, just as it does not justify racism. In this area, King is a prime example of exactly what not to do as an activist; in fighting against the oppression of one group, one cannot play a part in the oppression of another group. This is the definition of hypocrisy.

In a generation of activism that quite nearly transcends all others in its progressiveness, today's activists must learn lessons from the shortcomings of those who came before. King teaches this very important lesson: an activist cannot and should not raise up one group while putting down another. The greatest support for progressive activists will always come from other progressive activists. The greatest support for minorities will always come from other minorities. The greatest support for the oppressed will always be from other oppressed peoples. The greatest support for civil rights activism has and will always come from women, other minorities, and other oppressed groups in the world. To understand this is crucial in maximizing the effectiveness of a movement. King understood this to some extent, which is why he recruited the aid of black women activists and other civil rights group, and the sympathy of oppressed groups in apartheid-ruled Africa. However, he did not grasp the key idea that in order to maximize the effectiveness of his movement, and gain the maximum amount of support from women in America, he could not be sexist. The consequences of his failure to hold everyone to the same standard and progress past the social fallacies of his time will be unknown as long as the potential increase of support that could've been garnered with support for women's rights remains unknown. But the past is important only in that it influences the future, and activists today should learn from the shortcomings of King in order to create the most positive social change as possible in the modern day.