Last Sunday they had a racism workshop at my new church, called "Constructing a New White Identity in the 21st Century". It lasted only two hours but could have gone on much longer. It is part of a series of discussions that they are having on racism and I hope to attend others.
This session dealt with the history and origins of institutional racism, how all the power structures have been set up to favor white males. For a long time whites were able to get away with it because they were numerically in the majority. But it is estimated that by 2040 whites will be a minority in the United States. The presenter warned that things could get very ugly--even more ugly than they are now--because there is a substantial group of whites that feel threatened by this and won't give up power easily. The Republican Party being a prime example. In fact, I am going to go out on a limb and predict that in a few decades the Republicans will be as extinct as the Whig Party they replaced in the mid-19th century unless they radically change their ways. The Democrats are doing much better in this regard; however, the speaker gave several examples of how they too are in many ways interested in keeping the system as it is--including the present occupant of the White House! It is true that he has run into a lot of opposition from the Republicans but he has made some questionable choices himself.
Anyway, what this session didn't have time to cover was where do we go from here? How do we transition to a more equitable sharing of power--one that is not lopsided in favor of one group?
One of the things I brought up in the session was voting. We were talking about politics and how districts are gerrymandered and such and I said, "You know, I am an election inspector. So I am neutral as regards to party. But I have noticed that in my district the Republicans run unopposed in every election. I can tell you who is a Republican and who is a Democrat by the amount of time they spend in the booth. If they go in and walk out right away they are a Democrat. If they take their time they are Republican. Now my suggestion is, why don't we get more people running for local office? Why not run for drain commissioner if you have the time and money to do so? All I hear about is politics at the state and federal level, but it has to start locally." I'd like to see more candidates of color, more women, more independents on the ballot. Get out, make yourselves known at the local level. If James Howard Kunstler is right about the Long Emergency, local is going to be where it's at anyway.
The second thing that I did not bring up was business ownership. I am white and I spend my money (as far as I know) almost entirely in white-owned businesses. That is not because I go out of my way to avoid African-American-owned businesses; it is because there are no such businesses in my community to avoid! If I wanted to spend my money at an African-American-owned business I would have to drive more than 10 miles to the nearest city to find one--and I'm not sure how I would even go about looking. The grocery store, the gas station, the hardware store, the pet supplies place, the beauty salon, the coffee shop and the restaurants, the car repair places, the banks--all owned, as far as I know, by whites. Same for the veterinarian, the dentist, the eye doctor, the medical center--again, all white. All my employers have been white. Yet there are African-Americans and others in my community, I wrote a blog about that a while back. Is this institutional racism at work or are there other factors? I don't know. But where are the minority entrepreneurs? I know I have written critically of Reverends Jackson and Sharpton but that is because I see them as demagogues, stirring up controversy without offering real solutions to real problems. I don't see them asking the questions I am asking now. One of the things that I admired about the Black Panthers back in the 1960's is that they advocated economic self-development for black communities. They said, "start your own businesses, don't rely on the Man."
I think that there are a lot of whites out there who really do want to see the black community empowered and strong. They don't like to see the glorification of "ghetto" that is so prevalent. We really do want to erase racism and extend a hand, but we don't always know how to go about doing that. And we do need to keep watch and rein in the more radical elements of our community that don't share Dr. King's vision of the "beloved community." Ignoring them won't make them go away and if anything they may become more desperate than ever.
This session dealt with the history and origins of institutional racism, how all the power structures have been set up to favor white males. For a long time whites were able to get away with it because they were numerically in the majority. But it is estimated that by 2040 whites will be a minority in the United States. The presenter warned that things could get very ugly--even more ugly than they are now--because there is a substantial group of whites that feel threatened by this and won't give up power easily. The Republican Party being a prime example. In fact, I am going to go out on a limb and predict that in a few decades the Republicans will be as extinct as the Whig Party they replaced in the mid-19th century unless they radically change their ways. The Democrats are doing much better in this regard; however, the speaker gave several examples of how they too are in many ways interested in keeping the system as it is--including the present occupant of the White House! It is true that he has run into a lot of opposition from the Republicans but he has made some questionable choices himself.
Anyway, what this session didn't have time to cover was where do we go from here? How do we transition to a more equitable sharing of power--one that is not lopsided in favor of one group?
One of the things I brought up in the session was voting. We were talking about politics and how districts are gerrymandered and such and I said, "You know, I am an election inspector. So I am neutral as regards to party. But I have noticed that in my district the Republicans run unopposed in every election. I can tell you who is a Republican and who is a Democrat by the amount of time they spend in the booth. If they go in and walk out right away they are a Democrat. If they take their time they are Republican. Now my suggestion is, why don't we get more people running for local office? Why not run for drain commissioner if you have the time and money to do so? All I hear about is politics at the state and federal level, but it has to start locally." I'd like to see more candidates of color, more women, more independents on the ballot. Get out, make yourselves known at the local level. If James Howard Kunstler is right about the Long Emergency, local is going to be where it's at anyway.
The second thing that I did not bring up was business ownership. I am white and I spend my money (as far as I know) almost entirely in white-owned businesses. That is not because I go out of my way to avoid African-American-owned businesses; it is because there are no such businesses in my community to avoid! If I wanted to spend my money at an African-American-owned business I would have to drive more than 10 miles to the nearest city to find one--and I'm not sure how I would even go about looking. The grocery store, the gas station, the hardware store, the pet supplies place, the beauty salon, the coffee shop and the restaurants, the car repair places, the banks--all owned, as far as I know, by whites. Same for the veterinarian, the dentist, the eye doctor, the medical center--again, all white. All my employers have been white. Yet there are African-Americans and others in my community, I wrote a blog about that a while back. Is this institutional racism at work or are there other factors? I don't know. But where are the minority entrepreneurs? I know I have written critically of Reverends Jackson and Sharpton but that is because I see them as demagogues, stirring up controversy without offering real solutions to real problems. I don't see them asking the questions I am asking now. One of the things that I admired about the Black Panthers back in the 1960's is that they advocated economic self-development for black communities. They said, "start your own businesses, don't rely on the Man."
I think that there are a lot of whites out there who really do want to see the black community empowered and strong. They don't like to see the glorification of "ghetto" that is so prevalent. We really do want to erase racism and extend a hand, but we don't always know how to go about doing that. And we do need to keep watch and rein in the more radical elements of our community that don't share Dr. King's vision of the "beloved community." Ignoring them won't make them go away and if anything they may become more desperate than ever.
