Why did people react so strongly to the Shirley Sherrod incident?
Um…my first response is “which people?” Did you notice that there were differing reactions? I think that for many blacks and perhaps for others who have a personal connection to the legacy of “Jim Crow” in the United States, Sherrod’s actual comments to the NAACP resonate. Many have had to learn to practice forgiveness so as to continue to move beyond the impacts of the history of legalized segregation. For many of these folk, and I include myself, given my experiences of growing up in Rocky Mount, N.C. in the 1950′s, it is difficult to see politicians and the media “play political games” with her story. It reflects the deep divide that still exists in our country regarding race and the need for racial healing. For many whites and for blacks and others who did not live with segregation, given the really of modern racism (the myth that we have ended or at least mostly ended these problems), there is a sense that it is “reverse” racism to even talk about race, much less admit to racist attitudes and behaviors. This incident seems to me to illustrate what I see in our work all the time. We still have a small group of whites who want to return to a time of white supremacy; we have a large group of folk who want to believe the problems are all but solved for a variety of reasons, and we have a small group of folk who want to tackle our unfinished legacy. This is roughly how it has been since the mid-1970′s.
Why don’t we know how to talk about race better?
Just like we “have to be taught to hate,” we have to be taught to have genuine racial reconciliation. Martin King said it back in the 60′s. “Like life, racial understanding will not be found ready made.” Given our country’s history, we have some serious understanding still to do. My graduate work in the 1970′s in psychology involved studying how racial attitudes and behaviors were going “underground”, not changing. This work on modern racism asserts that most U.S. citizens in the 1960′s did not have enough contact and re-education to actually change their attitudes; we changed laws and tried to “outlaw” discrimination. It led to racism becoming more covert; not to our learning how to effectively address it.
We keep hearing the term Post-Racial. Is it true? And what does it really mean?
Post racial…this would mean that we as a nation and as individuals would have enough understanding of the impact of the history of racism in this country on all of us to be able to have effective conversations that led to addressing both the past and the present conditions. It would mean that we would do the work needed to genuinely needed to begin into live into a vision like:
“Until the philosophy one race superior and another finally is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned”, there will be trouble…”. (I have a great song on this). This vision is specifically learning to hear and understand how race still impacts us without getting into blame and shame..but rather into genuine dialogue, and problem solving.
Our kids are watching us, and the way that we talk about race, culture and class. What should we be doing to teach them better?
Our kids need to see us being willing to get out of our comfort zones. I was talking to a well to do white woman from Newton, MA, for instance who came over to Dorchester (black neighborhood) to volunteer at a local Peace Institute. She acknowledged that the fact that she would need to address race issues NEVER came to her mind. She just completed a VISIONS four day workshop and is now amazed at how she had that reaction (response). She is also clear that most of the people (who are white) in her circle in Newton would have no clue what she knows now. She is now talking actively with her children about all of this and in so doing beginning to model for them that it’s ok to know and to look for what to do about it…
Which brings to mind another story. We were seeking to hire a senior administrator a few years back. One of our top two candidates was another white woman from Newton. This woman worked with a “progressive” Jewish organization and was looking to move on. The day before her scheduled interview, she called to cancel. Upon probing, she acknowledged that she had never been in Roxbury (the historically black neighborhood where we are located) and that she was terrified at the thought. Before this experience, she noted, “I would never have thought I had any racial bias AND I realize that I am not prepared to explore working in that neighborhood.” I wonder if this woman would be willing to share this awareness with her children as an example of how racism can exist, lying dormant, even among the most well intentioned person.
Filed under: Valerie Batts
