Racism and Humanity

This originated as a reflection for my class "Race and Racism in the Congregation" I thought it was worth sharing here. It is a response the second part of the PBS Documentary "Race: the Power of an Illusion"


It is striking to me how quickly and completely the concept that whiteness is the norm has been written into the laws of the United States. It is shocking that a country that expounds the value of equality so quickly begins to make distinctions between people. What is even more disturbing is that in attempt to reconcile the value of equality with these distinctions that some peoples begin to be seen as subhuman.

It was horrifying to hear about the human exhibits that existed at the St. Louis World Fair. It is so easy for us to see in hindsight this for what it was, a kind of human zoo. It would be easy for me to look at this in judgmental horror and think how glad I am that I’m not as bad as those people who stripped people of their humanity in the past. Though it is tempting to pat myself on the back and say how good I am for coming so far, I have to avoid this temptation. If I fall into that temptation I don’t ask the question that is begging to be asked here and that is how are we still stripping people of their humanity.

I think this is a startling fact about racism and institutional racism that not only does it metaphorically strip humanity from those who experience it, but also in it’s very history it has literally left people being categorized as subhuman. This makes the work of bringing down the systems and attitudes all the more important. It is not simply about equality or justice but it is actually about working together to restore people’s very humanity.

This link between people’s humanity and racism has been an epiphany for me. Though I have thought it important to struggle with race and racism for quite some time, it shows me what is at stake in that struggle. There is a big difference between the concepts of people feelings versus people’s humanity being at stake. Somehow this is the first time I am making this connection and it means that I need to rethink the way I talk race and racism. It may in fact mean that I need to think about new models and new language for fighting the specter of racism.

I was shocked by how deeply embedded the normalization of “whiteness” was within the laws and history of the United States. This normalization has allowed people to equate being white with being “civilized.” First off it seems very arrogant to me to consider oneself “civilized” implying that one’s own culture is the measuring stick by which all others are measured. What is even more infuriating is that this concept lead to the discussions of who could be “civilized” (made to live like the dominate “white” culture) and who could not be therefore being labeled as inferior to the dominate “white” culture.

This sense of “civilizing” people has lead to a great deal of cultural genocide. We only have to look at how the Native American cultures in the United States have been systematically destroyed to find an example of this. The unsaid principle is that those being “civilized” have a culture that will not allow them to be fully human and to be fully human one must adopt the dominate “white” culture.

It is again tempting to say this is another idea that is somehow situated in the past, but the truth is that we can still see this idea today. All we must do is listen to the arguments in the emigration debate. It is this “civilizing” tendency that is behind the attempt to make English the national language. Even in the term “illegal emigrant” we see that it labels the person as illegal, suggesting that they must adopt the dominate “white” culture to be citizens.

Another disturbing fact about this tendency toward “civilizing” people is that if a person of color is successful, it allows “white” culture to take credit for it. In other words that person only could be successful because they have been so successfully “civilized.” Take the case of President Obama being described as a “well spoken, articulate black man” as an example. We see in this example the implication that being articulate or well spoken are not attributes that can be attributed with blackness, which in and of itself implies that these are “white” traits. Therefore the President must have been taught these “white” traits. I can not even begin to express how disturbing this logic is to me.

This normalization of “whiteness” without question is one of the factors that leads to the existence of white privilege. It makes me wonder in what ways do I benefit from the fact that “whiteness” is seen as the norm. I think it is this normalization that allows me to not pay to much attention to the fact that I am white. At the worst moments it can lead to me feeling like others should automatically understand my point of view. It makes it easy as part of the group who is seen as the norm to let that, even unintentionally, effect how I see myself.

Social sin is a real thing and if I am honest with myself I am guilty in participating in a number of social sins. All I can hope is that as I keep wrestling with these concepts that I can recognize where that sin exists and do what I can to make others aware of it as well.