Part III on Race – The Last Drop

By Dennis Matanda

Because it is very subjective, one cannot prove, with considerable certainty, that another is racist. Circumstances and conditions have to be taken into consideration and even on occasion, you should allow ignorance to be an excuse. For instance, you cannot blame a middle class Chinese woman for not even considering the advances of an African American man. Her society may have taught her that lighter or fairer skin is a sign of economic progress while darker skin is associated with the lower class. The same argument could be made for the Indians who have, traditionally, encouraged their children to find ‘a nice Indian boy or girl from a good family’ to settle down with. Even African American families do this. While some White men have sworn off Black women because of biases, many colored families do not want their girls or boys in the arms of white people. But you cannot prove, outrightly, that these here-mentioned aspects are proof that Chinese, Indians or African Americans and Whites are racist. Racism is, pun unintended, not skin deep.

That is why Part III of this Series on Race is going to provide an inkling into the institutionalization of racism. And no where is this institutionalization more profound than in the U.S! The hypothesis here is that the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s and the subsequent changes in America’s society were akin to deep seated elements of racism. Specious as this might seem, the syllogism is that if African Americans had not been given certain civil liberties like the right to vote and the ending of segregation, the Republican Party of conservatives would not be as formidable in juxtaposition with the Democratic Party as it is today. Simply: Because the Democrats pushed forward legislation in the U.S. Congress to support certain rights for blacks, White Democrats from southern states like South Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi left the Democratic Party and have been Republicans ever since then. This was a fundamental shift in ideology and philosophy. From being people that supported the influence of government and who were, to an extent, egalitarian, White Democrats, in the years since Civil Rights started to support the ‘limited government’ meme. The second hypothesis to this is that the whites felt that the federal government was giving too much help and support to the blacks.

The importance of the seismic shift in party alignment and voting patterns among former White Democrats and now Republicans is that it is being reflected in America today. The country leans more towards the right – meaning that it is more conservative or better still, suspicious of the federal government and especially sensitive about more government programs that do all kinds of affirmative action. To the American politics neophyte, although this might not make sense to you, the deepening gap between Republicans and Democrats is based on the ‘too much’ or ‘too little’ government meme. Conservatives do not like things like the Department of Education. They do not like government provided healthcare. This is laughable, of course, considering that a great many of the very people who say they do not like socialized medicine benefit from government programs like Medicare and Medicaid. And then at the federal level, almost all 535 members of Congress – even the ones virulently against government healthcare – receive first rate medical attention for themselves and their families from the government.

But when it comes to helping the poor people, these congressmen and many of their constituents are ‘against’ the hand of government because it might ‘redistribute’ the wealth. The federal government is called ‘socialist’ when it tries to provide housing for people who cannot afford it; food stamps to families that do not have enough food – and so forth. It’s important to note that most anti government activists represent mostly white districts. But on the other hand, this is not the entire explanation for why they are the way they are. Conservatives are deeply influenced by the free trade elements preached by Adam Smith. And they are extremely sensitive to any elements of Marxism, Socialism, Communism and especially, Class. The American Dream, in their estimation, is that any one can be born with nothing and make it to the top – economically – by pulling up their boot straps and putting in a day of hard work. In their fervid patriotism, many Americans are obdurate on the role of government. Government should not, they say, pick winners and losers. Government should let the market decide who wins, who loses, who eats and who dies. Government should not give a ‘free’ handout to the so called ‘welfare queens.’

While this might seem like conjecture, in a country with less than 40 million African Americans, blacks have come to be seen as representative of those who receive government hand outs the most. Of course, because of the advent of illegal immigration, the number of Latinos has grown to be higher than the black population. The conservatives have also adopted an agenda against the illegal immigrants and are against providing a path to citizenship for those who came here illegally. A convincing argument could be made about how small interest groups – powerful and monied groups – control the conservative agenda: but this will take the race discourse on another tangent. Summarily, there are too many contradictions in American politics – and we are left with a simple fact: African Americans are at the bottom of the food chain.

What does this mean? For starters, black people are, seemingly, a problem you cannot seem to find wholesome solutions for. Most young black men between the ages of 18 to 40 are in jail; many young black women cannot find a suitable partner to marry and raise a family; the economic recession of 2008 to the present date has decimated black family livelihoods and exacerbated unemployment because many are uneducated or do not have the requisite access to reconstruction or building jobs that were emphasized in the Stimulus Package of 2009. They live in the inner city and bring down property prices and rates – and superficially, it seems as though they are doing drugs or having abortions, having children out of wedlock and doing all things frowned up. Again, this is a generalization. However, it sets us back to the conversation around institutionalized racism.

If these are the general impressions that we can deduce about black people, who can ‘blame’ other races for not wanting to integrate with them? But there is another dynamic here as this is not a recent phenomenon. Historically, before the American Civil War, if you looked white or were mostly white, you were absorbed into the white majority. But in 1924, under the 1924 Racial Integrity Act, if you even had one drop of African blood carousing your veins, you were considered colored or black and with that came a classification on the lowest striation in society. America in the early 20th Century resembled South Africa in 1985. That drop of African ancestry affects people like Obama. He is considered America’s first black president. They do not consider that he did not have the black influence all his formative years. It is much easier for an Indian woman or Indian man to integrate into white American society than it is for either a black man or woman. Many authors speak to this. And in recent days, articles like George Will’s Unintended Consequences of Racial Preferences are eye opening. This treatise basically argues that affirmative action has created more harm than good and that African Americans are much better placed amongst their own or else their only contribution to the Ivy League colleges that accept them will be anthropological.

That jarring conclusion notwithstanding, how can one not see race in articles, in polls and in unemployment patterns? Yes – you cannot prove, beyond reasonable doubt – that there is racism involved. However, the Southern Law Poverty Center shows that the number of hate groups – including white supremacists – have grown in leaps and bounds ever since Obama was elected American president. The white working class voters do not like Obama. The Tea Party Movement, which is supposedly against taxes and deficits, waited for Obama to be president before they came into action – ignoring all the years of deficit spending under George W. Bush. Then there are the Birthers who deny that Obama is legitimate American president. These are especially white groups. What is one to make of all of this? The simple minded just give up and assign race to the face of it. The rest of us just roll our eyes and pray for a miracle.