A Glimpse Behind the Curtain
By Brother Rogers
Usually at this time of year, I write a feel-good column about race. It may contain a thought provoking challenge or two, but mostly it celebrates our progress and encourages us to continue in that positive direction.
Unfortunately, such optimism can be interpreted to indicate that racism is no longer a problem. I have heard some version of the racism-no-longer-exists theory from several corners, but the common thread is that the source is always a white person with a comfortable income.
Several events of the past year have reminded me that racism does still exist. If we will admit this fact, particularly those who are Christians, then we can be creative and productive in making progress toward eliminating this scourge on our society.
How do I know racism still exists and what gives me the right to make that claim? I am privileged in that, as a white person, I can glimpse behind the curtain. People will say things to me or send me emails that no black person would ever hear or read.
After Hurricane Katrina hit, I received a number of emails about how awful black behavior was in New Orleans. The emails were written as if to say, “See there! All those stereotypes I have about blacks are justified. I knew it!” These emails said a lot more about the people spreading them than those who were being slandered while suffering.
During football season, I was tailgating in Tuscaloosa when a stranger heard I was from Starkville. “Is Sylvester Croom going to recruit any whites?” he asked me with a laugh. Honestly, it is hard to know how to respond to a question like that in a civil manner, but the question reveals a lot about the person who asked it.
William Bennett, the former education secretary and anti-drug czar who has found a new calling in talk radio, told his audience last September that “if you wanted to reduce crime, you could – if that were your sole purpose – you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.” Leaving aside the abortion issue, he said in essence that blacks are criminals. His comments, like the other examples above, are an indication that old assumptions, now unspoken, still survive.
For whites, imagine how you would feel if a nationally respected commentator said that Christianity would be less divisive over time if Southern Baptists would abort their babies or that America would be better off with fewer racists and less poverty if Mississippians would quit reproducing. It’s not just offensive and reprehensible; those are fighting words. But if the issue is race, we conveniently dismiss it or brush it under the rug.
The other thing we like to say is, “It’s not race. It’s class.” That is a convenient way to pretend race does not matter. And when such a disproportionate number of black people are poor, the race versus class distinction becomes moot anyway.
I am not saying that all whites are racists or that some blacks do not exhibit bad behavior. What I am saying is that racism does exist. Old stereotypes about blacks still fester in enough white minds to keep our state and our nation from realizing the full potential that God has given us.
There is a still a lot of unfinished business. I know because I have had a glimpse behind the curtain.
William “Brother” Rogers is assistant director of the Stennis Center for Public Service and a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News.
Usually at this time of year, I write a feel-good column about race. It may contain a thought provoking challenge or two, but mostly it celebrates our progress and encourages us to continue in that positive direction.
Unfortunately, such optimism can be interpreted to indicate that racism is no longer a problem. I have heard some version of the racism-no-longer-exists theory from several corners, but the common thread is that the source is always a white person with a comfortable income.
Several events of the past year have reminded me that racism does still exist. If we will admit this fact, particularly those who are Christians, then we can be creative and productive in making progress toward eliminating this scourge on our society.
How do I know racism still exists and what gives me the right to make that claim? I am privileged in that, as a white person, I can glimpse behind the curtain. People will say things to me or send me emails that no black person would ever hear or read.
After Hurricane Katrina hit, I received a number of emails about how awful black behavior was in New Orleans. The emails were written as if to say, “See there! All those stereotypes I have about blacks are justified. I knew it!” These emails said a lot more about the people spreading them than those who were being slandered while suffering.
During football season, I was tailgating in Tuscaloosa when a stranger heard I was from Starkville. “Is Sylvester Croom going to recruit any whites?” he asked me with a laugh. Honestly, it is hard to know how to respond to a question like that in a civil manner, but the question reveals a lot about the person who asked it.
William Bennett, the former education secretary and anti-drug czar who has found a new calling in talk radio, told his audience last September that “if you wanted to reduce crime, you could – if that were your sole purpose – you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.” Leaving aside the abortion issue, he said in essence that blacks are criminals. His comments, like the other examples above, are an indication that old assumptions, now unspoken, still survive.
For whites, imagine how you would feel if a nationally respected commentator said that Christianity would be less divisive over time if Southern Baptists would abort their babies or that America would be better off with fewer racists and less poverty if Mississippians would quit reproducing. It’s not just offensive and reprehensible; those are fighting words. But if the issue is race, we conveniently dismiss it or brush it under the rug.
The other thing we like to say is, “It’s not race. It’s class.” That is a convenient way to pretend race does not matter. And when such a disproportionate number of black people are poor, the race versus class distinction becomes moot anyway.
I am not saying that all whites are racists or that some blacks do not exhibit bad behavior. What I am saying is that racism does exist. Old stereotypes about blacks still fester in enough white minds to keep our state and our nation from realizing the full potential that God has given us.
There is a still a lot of unfinished business. I know because I have had a glimpse behind the curtain.
William “Brother” Rogers is assistant director of the Stennis Center for Public Service and a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News.