Ta-Nehisi Coates writes this interesting article in Time about what Obama's election does and does not mean for the black community.
[T]he very idea that Obama should transform African Americans into the black Waltons is flawed. It rests on the notion that the black community, more than other communities, is characterized by a bunch of hapless layabouts who spend their days ticking off reparations demands and shaking their fist at the white man. The truth is that the dominant conversation in the black community today is not about racism or victimization but about self-improvement....
The belief in Obama as a force for moral reform rests on another shaky pillar--the idea that people should get their values from what they see on television. This goes for entertainers and Presidents. Obama can't do the work of the family. It's not his job to buy your kid a belt or teach him to box. His job is to monitor this nation's nuclear arsenal, not your daughter's iPod.
I've always been fascinated by political and ethnicity issues. In the long term, I'd eventually like to pastor in an urban area among racial, socio-economic, and intellectual diversity. So I'm always interested when I white person tries to spin news about the black community. If there's anything I learned about being around African-American Christians, it's that I didn't know much. I agree with Coates that much of white opinion on the black community is developed through hip-hop and the television. Yet again, it's one more reason the television is no source of informed dialogue.
On a different note, I want to dispel the notion that racism has ended in America. Explicit and overt racism is going by the wayside, but implicit and unrecognized racism still exists. It exists every time a white person looks over their shoulder in protection because they know a black person is back there. It exists every time a white person is surprised at how articulate a black person is. It exists when white people label black people as "Affirmative Action" folks in colleges and work places.
Elaborating further, racism still exists when a white person gets annoyed at a Hispanic person when they don't speak English. It exists when people still use derogatory terms to describe those of Mexican descent. It exists in housing discrimination, in job applications, and still in the human heart. We are are a people hopelessly bent inward on the self, skeptical of others, and overconfident in ourselves.
All people are made in the image of God, all have fallen short of God's perfect standard.
11/17/08
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4 comments:
I agree with most of what you've said here, Dave, but I take exception to the idea that its racist for a person--not sure it matters if they're white or not--to get annoyed when a Hispanic person does not speak English. It's very reasonable to at least be frustrated when you cannot communicate with another person. I'd say, instead, that we should be careful in our assumptions about an entire group of people based on their race. That is the common thread among your statements, save for the one about the non-English speaker. Assuming that someone who is Hispanic doesn't speak English would be racist. Great examples otherwise, though I wonder why they were limited to transgressions of a white person.
I do think it's silly for anyone who is not part of a particular group, be it race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, etc., to be presented or present themselves as an expert on the subject without hearing from at least one member of that group, especially when the group being discussed is not some ancient civilization to whom we cannot make contact. Anyway, that's usually the talking heads on TV who opine in such a manner. One more reason not to get your news only from TV.
Yeah I agree.
The transgressions were from the perspective of a white person because those are the only sins with which I'm familiar.
Thanks for the good input. You clarified the language statement well.
Yes, I figured as much. While I wrote, it occurred to me that it was answered by my own second paragraph. How could one honestly detail the sins of racism from the perspective of one other than himself?
Kev, I appreciate your distinction on the language question, but I still think there can be racism involved in this. To put it a little differently, I'll say it's racist when a white person expects an Hispanic person to speak English. The attitude looks like this: "They live here, so they should learn our language." I would respond... (1) They are, believe me, but it takes time. Have you ever tried to learn a second language? (2) Do you know what it's like to live in a country where the native tongue is not your own? Generally speaking, when you arrive, the natives don't want to socialize with you, so you find others like you, and it's a self-perpetuating cycle where all hold a chunk of the guilt. So, if you want "them" to learn English, volunteer as a conversation partner or ESL teacher, or have them over for a meal, or whatever.
Okay, I've probably overstated my case. As for speaking about the sins of people not like us, I think this is more possible than we might let on. Everyone is an "other"; it just so happens that some "others" are more like us, so we are able to recognize sin based on fewer observations. The more "other" someone is, the more observations or research we should do & the more questions we should ask before assessing the behavior... but we can still make an assessment. Therefore, I can still talk about black racism, but I should probably be much slower to do so than I am to talk about white racism. In most cases, this should involve talking to trustworthy people who are closer to the person I'm trying to assess than I am (in this situation, black Christians).
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