Race, Class and Opportunity

By way of introduction to this post, I first feel the need to say that The Real News Network (TRNN) has assumed the position that ETV used to occupy. ETV has become a pale imitation of the real thing. And it's sad that such a large amount of funding goes to ETV for such a small return. TRNN relies on donations from people and organizations, but it has to compete with ETV for that same funding while ETV also sucks down a huge governmental subsidy. Somehow, progressives need to weave into the discourse and agenda a change that puts places like TRNN on an equal footing with ETV.

OK, enough with the preaching, although I truly mean every word of it and this sequence of videos supports that position, in my humble opinion (OK, not so humble).

First, let's get this out of the way. Judgments are not inherently bad. There are an entire panoply of information that can be affect a given circumstance where our immediate environment somehow changes and we make a judgment.  Judgments are only bad based upon another set of information that our mind tells us we ought not think or at least not make public.

Race is still a forbidden topic in the United States. The standard answer whe the subject of race and racism is that trite denial of being a racist, "But, some of my best friends are (black, brown, red, ...pick a color)". Yes, but what John Powell is talking about is that unconscious racism that exists in everyone. You look at a person and the first thing you see is the color of their skin. Based on certain subconscious indicators that are deeply placed in your thinking process, you begin to make judgments.

The issue that John Powell is discussing for the most part, are those unconscious decisions we make that never rise to the level of awareness. A white woman sees a tall, young black male and she shifts her purse so that it is clutched under her armpit. A white male sees a black male-white woman couple walking down the street and feels hostility towards the black male and contempt for the white woman. He is not even aware that the expression on his face gives away his feelings. That is the racism that is the hardest to overcome unless we are willing to admit that we make judgments, good or bad, based solely on the color of someone's skin.

Even before we have the first word of conversation with the person we have formed opinions about that person that may be difficult to overcome. And we are not even aware that we made those judgments.

But John is also talking about the institutional racism that has affected people of color with decisions by government entities that may or may not be conscious. For example, when FDR instituted the first welfare program for people to help them buy food and pay rent and utilities, he caved it to Southern Democratic Senators who demanded a provision that there could not be an adult male living in the household. This was done expressly because these Senators believed the myth of the "shiftless n****r" and refused to have Federal tax money going to assistance for 'them'.

But rather than being simply an irrational, mean-spirited law that only affected the black men, this provision had a devastating impact that is with us today. First of all, the provision is still on the books. But secondly, and most importantly, it drove the role of the black man in the black family out of existence. And now we know that the presence of an adult male figure in the household  has significant benefits.

The children perform better in school, they are less likely to have a negative interaction with law enforcement and less inclined to join a disruptive influence, such as a gang. Here we had what was dismissed as a stupid concession to, in this case, overtly racist lawmakers because either no one could foresee the devastating consequences or simply didn't care about the consequences.

 
The issue is complex and won't easily be solved. But until President Obama makes the discussion of race and directs the study of institutional racism so that we may have an open and honest discussion about this topic, the pressure cooker continues to build up pressure. And white people of the United States really need to remember that there is a deadline for having this discussion. By 2030, self-identified white people will no longer be a majority of the United States' population. We need to face the issue and our lawmakers need to make the discussion so loud that it can't be ignored.