Racism: We are all victims.

If you'd asked me a few weeks ago if I was racist, I could have responded with a positive "absolutely not". I attended a mixed high school, experience everyday diversity in my neighborhood community, glare at people who tell offensive jokes about any minority, and work at a day care as the only white teacher. With these facts, along with several others, I thought I was in the clear as a politically correct non-racist. After reading Beverly Daniel Tatum's book, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?, I'm having to rethink my statement. Tatum ventured forward the idea that racism is not a personal judgement or opinion against other races or minorities, but is a system of advantage based on race. Tatum would argue that since I am White, I am a part of the privileged race, and am experiencing and perpetuating a racist society that I never took the time to really notice. A great example of this would be views on incarceration. Take a look at the chart below:

Does this chart shock you at all? Because it didn't shock me, which is disturbing in and of itself. Why would I not be surprised that more Whites were not in jail? There are more Whites in the U.S. than any other group, so the fact that they aren't the most highly incarcerated should be unexpected. I started thinking of the reasons people might use to rationalize these statistics, such as, "Maybe Whites could afford the best lawyers and avoid jail time because they were in a higher economic class.  Maybe society views Blacks and Hispanics as more violent because they're portrayed that way through mass media outlets such as the news, reality television shows, and sitcoms. Therefore, juries would be more likely to prosecute them since they assume non-Whites are more violent. Or maybe they have to turn to more crime because they don't have the same education and less legal channels are open to them for success." Every one of those rationales is racist and promotes the idea that in our society, Whites benefit the most.  Since I personally have never tried to change this system of incarceration, or any other systems where Whites receive advantages (school, businesses, etc.) Tatum would say that I can be accused of passive racism. This is the equivalent of standing on a people mover. I am not walking forward (toward racism) but am not walking backward or making a stand either. Therefore, I am still passively on the road to racism, like many others, until I better understand the problems and how to overcome them.

 This YouTube clip shows 3 White boys vandalizing a car. While several people walk by them, only one person calls the police. They broke into a car and spray painted it for hours while people pointedly looked the other way. In that same park, there were 2 police calls against 3 Black boys sleeping in a car, because the caller said they "looked like they were about to rob something." The park walkers, if asked, might not have seen themselves as racist, but he police calls alone speak for how quick people are to assume the worst of minorities. This is a great example of both passive racism (not calling the cops on the White boys even though they were clearly vandalizing a car), and active racism (assuming the Blacks were going to do something violent, and calling the cops to express those prejudiced beliefs).

The racist beliefs that minorities are less wealthy, more violent, or less educated than Whites is an idea that Tatum explores in her book. She wrote that by saying minorities are "less" or "more" than the norm for Whites indicates that Whites are ideal, and everyone else should strive to be just like them. This is not the case. The whole point of diversity is to understand there is no "norm" groups should try to be. The language used by dominant groups supports their oppression cements their status as privileged and normative. In order to stop victimized groups from internalizing society's views on them, we need to be conscious of passive-seeming statements that actually carry a lot of oppressive weight.

Racism is pervasive, restrictive, and internalized. It is pervasive in that you can find it everywhere in society, including people's personal prejudiced beliefs or actions. An example of its restriction would be a Black child who is told by a substitute that they should only consider community colleges as higher-education possibilities after high school.  That child may be restricted from reaching his or her full educational potential at a four-year college or university. Overall, internalization may be the hardest part of racism to overcome. The problem is that not just Whites think Blacks are more violent (as expressed in the YouTube clip), or homophobes think gay men and lesbians are disgusting. It goes deeper, because victims of oppression and racism find themselves believing what society tells them. If a Black child couldn't get the confirmation and support of a family and community at a young age, he might also believe that because of his race he is genetically predisposed to be violent. If he isn't violent, he might still believe Black violence is the "rule", and merely think of himself as the exception. There are also real-life examples of gays and lesbians who have internalized the mainstream idea that being heterosexual is "better". Without the education and "frank talk" that Tatum promotes in her book, we have no way of stopping the negative impacts of racism.

Just as a last thought, Tatum does think that both active and passive racism can be largely prevented. She suggests everyone try to be more conscious of out own actions, and talk with people we can directly impact in our spheres of influence. For my honors class, I am at a point where I can directly impact IHAD children, through actions and things I don't say just as much as through what I do say. This "talk" should not be idle chatter or throwing around random ideas while the other person listens. Tatum says it means"meaningful, productive dialogue that will raise consciousness and leas to effective action and social change." Don't be silent out of fear of sounding naive, offending someone or violating personal boundaries. Look for courage through other people who are already doing it and work with your own strengths. This will start to build the human potential, higher productivity, and lower fears of violence that Tatum believes will come once personal, cultural and institutional racism are vanquished.