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| Robin DiAngelo author of White Fragility (The Guardian) |
This revealing question was not asked at some forum on racial inequality. It was asked on the popular 70s TV series Little House on the Prairie by a young black child of the character played by series star and producer, Michael Landon. He could not answer the question.
What is revealing to me about this question is that it is in fact difficult to answer even if you are not a racist – as the term is commonly understood. (Seeing black people as an inferior race).
Robin J. DiAngelo in her best selling book, White Fragility claims that the phenomenon of racism it is not limited to bad white people. Even good white people are inherently racist. It is built into our DNA. So that even in an interracial marriage, the white spouse will be inherently racist despite living happily with a black spouse. That might help explain the difficulty answering that question. Why that is the case is beyond the scope of this post. (I’m not sure I can answer it anyway.)
What makes this book important besides the fact that it was on the New York Times best seller list is that that DiAngelo claims that this country was founded on racist ideals and that we are in fact a racist country. It doesn't matter if we are politically conservative or liberal.The founding fathers were all racist. The rights they guaranteed in the constitution were not intended for black people. They saw black people as inferior race. Many of them were slave holders. Those that were not certainly did not see anything wrong with it.
Does that mean the radical left is right? Should we tear down all the statues and monuments to our founding fathers? Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt - the faces on Mount Rushmore - should they be blown up? Should history books be rewritten to define America as a racist country? Should we we tear down the system? Is this the end of democracy as we know it? Should we start over and rebuild our country from scratch?
Unless you are a Marxist or an Anarchist, I think most people would answer no to all those questions. Including many black people. How is that possible? I think it is because the founding fathers were good people even if they were inherently racist. Strange as it may seem to actually say that in today’s world - since we see racism as inherently evil.
But as DiAngelo points out, that does not mean that the founding fathers were necessarily bad people. It just means they were flawed - holding views based on the cultural attitudes of their time. While I don’t know how anyone could say the idea that all men are created equal does not apply to black people - that is exactly what the founding fathers believed. They founded a country with those beliefs.
Fortunately the document they created called the Constitution (and Bill of Rights) had built into it the mechanism (in the form of amendments) to allow for a change in cultural attitudes that finally gave black people equal status with white people as human beings. And eventually gave them civil rights.
The icons of our history should not be torn down or denigrated. It is all too easy to judge people living in the 18th century with our 21st century eyes. They were heroes despite their human failings - having built a democracy that is still the envy of the world. Textbooks should not in anyway change their story other than to add that they were flawed people whose views on racism based on the cultural milieu of their time are nevertheless unacceptable..
The problem is that there are some people that actually do believe that the country should be torn down because of the racist foundation upon which they believe this country was founded and built. They are the ones advocating tearing down statues of American icons.
I am dismayed by the fact that there is little if any objection by the liberal/left (that I am aware of) to those who advocate tearing down statues of American heroes like Washington and Jefferson.
I am dismayed by the fact that there is little if any objection by the liberal/left (that I am aware of) to those who advocate tearing down statues of American heroes like Washington and Jefferson.
I have not for example heard the presumptive Democratic nominee for President, Joe Biden say a word about it. All he seems to be talking about is the legitimate grievances of black people in this country. Not a word about the downside this has wrought. It is almost as though Biden and the liberal/left are giving their tacit approval to tearing down those statues.
How far will they go? Do they also believe that textbooks be rewritten to cast our founding fathers as racist and not worthy of any recognition for what they did?
How far will they go? Do they also believe that textbooks be rewritten to cast our founding fathers as racist and not worthy of any recognition for what they did?
Making matters worse is that when conservatives object to it they are called racist. Can we be living in a time that makes looking at the founding fathers in a positive way is considered racist?
The truth about 21st century racism in America is that it does exist. Perhaps DiAngelo is right and we are all guilty of it. Maybe it is subliminal white guilt that makes so many of us so vocal about it. We ‘doth protest it too much’.
Maybe deep down those of us that are white are indeed glad that we are not black if we are being honest. But what makes this country so great is that such feelings are overcome by our sense of righteousness and justice. We know what is right and protest accordingly. We seek change because it is the right thing to do. We should not let ourselves be guilted into thinking America is a failure because of the racism of our founders.
Maybe deep down those of us that are white are indeed glad that we are not black if we are being honest. But what makes this country so great is that such feelings are overcome by our sense of righteousness and justice. We know what is right and protest accordingly. We seek change because it is the right thing to do. We should not let ourselves be guilted into thinking America is a failure because of the racism of our founders.
America is not a failure. It is an unprecedented success. We can and do overcome our prejudices and have made much progress towards racial equality. Black people are successfully involved in all manner of American life. Including government, law enforcement, Academia, the professions, the media, entertainment, and the business world. There are more black mayors and black police chiefs in major American cities than ever before. (Including Chicago).
A black man was elected President. There is a black man on the Supreme Court.This has been the case for decades. There are a great many black academics in prestigious ivy league universities. Same thing - black entrepreneurs. The standard of living of most middle class black is not much different than those most middle class white people. Interracial marriage is fairly common these days.No one even thinks twice about it.
Not all black people are living in black ghettos.
True, we have a long way to go before we can eliminate racism based phenomena like the disproportionate rate of black people being arrested and jailed compared to white people. But overall, things are not as dire as one might think by watching the mainstream media. That should be acknowledged not only by conservatives but by liberals too.
I don't know just how accurate DiAngelo's view about white racism is. But even it is accurate, that does not translate into destroying the country as we know it and replacing it with something unrecognizable - possibly even totalitarian.
Instead of demonizing the founding fathers as a bunch of no good racists, we should continue to recognize them for creating a country that made it possible to achieve the progress we have made in so many areas including progress in racial equality. As well as recognizing that we still have a long way to go.
A black man was elected President. There is a black man on the Supreme Court.This has been the case for decades. There are a great many black academics in prestigious ivy league universities. Same thing - black entrepreneurs. The standard of living of most middle class black is not much different than those most middle class white people. Interracial marriage is fairly common these days.No one even thinks twice about it.
Not all black people are living in black ghettos.
True, we have a long way to go before we can eliminate racism based phenomena like the disproportionate rate of black people being arrested and jailed compared to white people. But overall, things are not as dire as one might think by watching the mainstream media. That should be acknowledged not only by conservatives but by liberals too.
I don't know just how accurate DiAngelo's view about white racism is. But even it is accurate, that does not translate into destroying the country as we know it and replacing it with something unrecognizable - possibly even totalitarian.
Instead of demonizing the founding fathers as a bunch of no good racists, we should continue to recognize them for creating a country that made it possible to achieve the progress we have made in so many areas including progress in racial equality. As well as recognizing that we still have a long way to go.