Race in America
There is a narrative on the left that racism is still pervasive in America. Evidence used to demonstrate this includes the state of the criminal justice system, Hurricane Katrina and poverty in the ghettos. Don’t get me wrong, all of those issues are troubling, but it is easy to forget the progress that has been made since 1965. Losing the Race by John McWhorter was published in 2000. However its assessment of race in America is still relevant and persuasive.
McWhorter’s thesis rests on the argument that while racism is not extinct, it has diminished greatly and is no longer a life-affecting issue for the majority of African Americans. On the other hand, the majority of race experts view racism as a permanent phenomenon which constantly finds new ways of expressing itself. As Sunny pointed out in an earlier post (if you missed it, make sure you read it!), any attempt to move beyond this prism results in the person expressing this view as a sell-out. (For more on this, see Harvard Law Professor Randall Kennedy’s book)
However as McWhorter repeatedly points out, dwelling on the vestiges or racism does a great injustice to the legacy of Martin Luther King and the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. I don’t think that its unfair to say that those leaders would be pleasantly surprised by the amount of progress which has been made, albeit concerned at the state of Urban America.
Education and Affirmative Action
What really interests McWhorter are the reasons for African-American underachievement in both schools and universities. The reasons usually given for this phenomenon is the underinvestment in inner city schools. This is a real problem but McWhorter points to the fact that only a quarter of African-Americans still live in the inner cities. Also the achievement gap also exists for middle and upper class children.
Some have used this data to try and prove that African-Americans are genetically less intelligent. McWhorter rightly rejects this and instead pinpoints the problem as a cultural suspicion of education. There are obvious reasons why such suspicions took root in African American communities. Given the complete disenfranchisement and segregation of African Americans, it would be entirely natural to be distrustful of people of the same race who got the opportunity to be educated at top universities.
McWhorter feels that due to the oppression against Blacks, affirmative action was justified when it was introduced, but that it is no counter-productive because it strengthens the cultural meme against studying hard and aspiring to be good at school. Through the judicious use of anecdotes from his own time in academia, he also highlights how this has come to be exemplified by the type of anti-learning and anti-rationalist tendencies in African-American Studies in Departments at universities across America.
Racism: The Next Generation?
In response to my comment, Desi Italiana cited the growing unease at hispanic immigration and the treatment of Muslims as evidence that racism is in fact still pervasive. It is true that people like the minutemen patrolling the border have some very xenophobic tendencies. Yet it is worthwhile remembering that John McCain has managed to win the Republican nomination despite being in favour of comprehensive immigration reform.
Also, while I abhor the Patriot Act, Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib it is also worth remembering that Muslims are among the wealthiest groups in America and generally live pretty peaceful lives.
Compared to the internment of over 100,000 Japanese-Americans by Roosevelt after Pearl Harbour, things aren’t nearly as bad. Especially as an Obama presidency is likely to signify that the Bush years were simply an aberration in the aftermath of 9/11. (As an aside, I was watching an excellent documentary on Basil D’Oliveira the other day and appreciated the fact that he was finally selected to tour South Africa because of an outcry by the British Public at the very unfair way in which he had been treated)
So What Battles Should we be Fighting?
I’m not so naive as to believe that racism doesn’t exist or has a profound impact on people who are victims of it. On the other hand, I believe that the really big issues of the day are economic inequality in a globalised world and a somewhat hard to define need for cultural uplift.
In the meanwhile its also important not to get stuck up on issues like which racial minority is more discriminated against or is racism a greater threat than sexism. When we see threats on issues such as a women’s right to choose or increased detention without trial then we should speak up and campaign to the best we can. However that can’t be the be all and end all.
The biggest threat to minority rights and anti-racism both in America and the UK is a disenfranchised and angry white working class. I agree with Sunny that nobody is ever ‘driven’ to join such a party. Yet if conditions become bad they are more likely to be popular and there won’t be much that we could do about it.
There are however steps we can take right now to show we are on the same side.
Firstly not to patronise white workers by implicitly or explicitly assuming they are racist. A lot of people have focussed on some clips by people in West Virginia about why they wouldn’t vote for Obama and extrapolated it to Ohio and Pennsylvania generally. I’d say that any state where a former member of the Ku Klux Klan is a Senator (Democrat no-less) is somewhat of an anomaly.
Secondly showing an understanding that minorities don’t necessarily have things worse off than poor white people. There’s been a lot of talk about who can help Obama pick up the white working class vote. To be honest I don’t think the VP matters that much. If on the other hand Obama declares that he will replace race-based affirmative action with class-based affirmative action I think that he wins in a landslide.
Ultimately, I think the mistake people putting forward the type of arguments I’m making is giving a sense of complacency and self-satisfaction when there is still work to be done. However, I think we can only effectively address the challenges ahead if we are honest about improvements which have been made and build on those rather than disregard them.
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Filed in: Race politics, United States
I haven’t seen Spike Lee’s documentary on Katrina but hear it is an indictement on ‘race’ in America.
Well if that was your PhD thesis, no wonder you are are down and dirty here with the rest of us. It would take enormous effort for me to take every word apart, but, believe me, I could do that.
What a lot of shite. I am only interested in what I advocate, as a Liberal, Lefty, Anarchisty sort of guy. Apart from the foregoing, I have no strong ego needs. Nor needs for attention, praise or ultimate power. This is psychobable, IMHO.
i think he did a pretty good job in the paragraph he quoted. if you want it smashed further you can always e-mail him :p
oi !! – where did flipside’s homework go – I was half way through marking it.
Sorry – Shariq no offence – i’m a glutton for quantity.
justforfun
flipside is a known BNP troll. all his comments will be deleted.
Yes, I agree. But the sort of discussion you cite is mainstream discussion and debate.
But there are a HUGE number of right-wing nuts in America who say all sorts of stupid shit when it comes to black people.
Katy sent me this hilarious link today:
http://www.sadlyno.com/archives/9657.html
Am still considering posting it. The point is, one fist bump by a black person makes right-wingers there have a hissy fit and turn crazy.
It would be funny if these nuts jobs weren’t around in large numbers.
Shariq:
“I’m not so naive as to believe that racism doesn’t exist or has a profound impact on people who are victims of it. On the other hand, I believe that the really big issues of the day are economic inequality in a globalised world and a somewhat hard to define need for cultural uplift.”
The two are by no means mutually exclusive. The majority of the world’s poor and are overwhelmingly female and not -white. The dynamics of social inequalities are tied into colonial and post-colonialism, global economies, political economies, class, gender, and race/ethnicity.
“Also, while I abhor the Patriot Act, Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib it is also worth remembering that Muslims are among the wealthiest groups in America and generally live pretty peaceful lives.”
Citing that Muslims are one of the wealthiest groups in America, two things here:
1. how in the world can you ascertain this? Is this a stat? If so, what is the source? I believe you are confusing race with religion. The US Census is pretty good with classifying ethnic backgrounds in terms of socio-economic status, and Indian Americans come out on top. But a religious group being the wealthiest? Source please.
2. Citing Muslims as being wealthy (problematic, see #1) is by no means an indication that racism does not exist amongst the $350 million plus Americans, especially given the fact of the massive profiling that anyone who looks ‘Muslim” goes through, including hate crimes against Sikhs, Indians, and Muslims who have died post-9/11, etc. And as an American, anyone who says that race does not matter in the US, and that racism does not exist (whether outright or clothed in PC garbage) makes me wonder. Saying that “oh, racism isn’t THAT bad in the US” defeats the whole fucking point of the principle that there should be NO racism in the first place.
I agree that affirmative action needs to be replaced with concern for all poor people.
I also agree that racism still exists in society. For example, why is it that a black preacher is called unpatriotic because he criticises his country?
Desi,
1) I said Muslims were one of the wealthiest not the wealthiest.
http://www.allied-media.com/AM/AM-profile.htm
Its true that the numbers aren’t great, but that’s because they take into account a large number of nation of islam people who are converted in prison meaning they have criminal convictions and are more likely to be poor. Still, average household income of $53,500 isn’t terrible.
Actually, this page is more informative.
http://www.allied-media.com/AM/index.html
2) Exactly how many people have been killed in race crime attacks?
3) I agree there ’should’ be no racism. But if we can’t acknowledge progress then we can’t build on what has been achieved and look for better solutions.
Once you accept that crude racism isn’t such a big deal then you go and look at the actual reasons for poverty and inner city decline. Race baiting over white working class folk voting for clinton isn’t going to get health care.
4) I’ll venture the biggest problem with race in america is the media.
5) Obama is going to become the President. Doesn’t that mean something? How many people were saying that there were these tonnes of white people who wouldn’t vote for a black man??
Shariq:
“Its true that the numbers aren’t great, but that’s because they take into account a large number of nation of islam people who are converted in prison meaning they have criminal convictions and are more likely to be poor. Still, average household income of $53,500 isn’t terrible.”
You are conflating immigration dynamics with religion. The main aspect is not that Muslims are the wealthiest in the US, but that the post 1965-1970’s immigration where large numbers of highly skilled professionals came from Arab countries and South Asia, groups amongst which there are large numbers of Muslims. The immigration following that and before the IT boom is a totally different story. This is why I am not buying your point that Muslims are amongst the wealthiest groups, and that this also means that there is no racism in the US. It is a shoddy logical connection to your argument.
Shariq:
“4) I’ll venture the biggest problem with race in america is the media.”
Biggest problems with race in America is that it still exists, and two, that people deny it.
Shariq:
“Once you accept that crude racism isn’t such a big deal then you go and look at the actual reasons for poverty and inner city decline.”
I have no idea what you are trying to say here.
Shariq:
“2) Exactly how many people have been killed in race crime attacks?”
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_04/offenses_reported/hate_crime/index.html
2004 numbers available:
Bias motivation Incidents Offenses Victims1 Known
offenders2
Total 7,649 9,035 9,528 7,145
Single-Bias Incidents 7,642 9,021 9,514 7,136
Race: 4,042 4,863 5,119 4,173
Anti-White 829 998 1,027 1,085
Anti-Black 2,731 3,281 3,475 2,694
Anti-American Indian/Alaskan Native 83 97 100 97
Anti-Asian/Pacific Islander 217 252 266 188
Anti-Multiple Races, Group 182 235 251 109
Religion: 1,374 1,480 1,586 604
Anti-Jewish 954 1,003 1,076 330
Anti-Catholic 57 57 68 37
Anti-Protestant 38 43 48 28
Anti-Islamic 156 193 201 124
Anti-Other Religion 128 140 147 68
Anti-Multiple Religions, Group 35 37 39 14
Anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc. 6 7 7 3
Sexual Orientation: 1,197 1,406 1,482 1,258
Anti-Male Homosexual 738 855 902 832
Anti-Female Homosexual 164 201 212 163
Anti-Homosexual 245 297 314 224
Anti-Heterosexual 33 35 36 22
Anti-Bisexual 17 18 18 17
Ethnicity/National Origin: 972 1,201 1,254 1,047
Anti-Hispanic 475 611 646 585
Anti-Other Ethnicity/National Origin 497 590 608 462
Disability: 57 71 73 54
Anti-Physical 23 23 24 16
Anti-Mental 34 48 49 38
Multiple-Bias Incidents3 7 14 14 9
Shariq:
“5) Obama is going to become the President. Doesn’t that mean something? How many people were saying that there were these tonnes of white people who wouldn’t vote for a black man??”
This is the reason why your comments and posts on race and the US are superficial and without a deeper understanding of what is going on in the US, and people who follow this logic pointed to PIYUSH (Bobby) Jindal’s victory as a victory over racism. People like Piyush and Obama get elected (and BTW, elections have not taken place yet, we will see if Obama gets elected) not because racism has been obliterated off of the map of the US, but because their politics are acceptable to mainstream, white, pro-capitalist America. Please read up on Piyush’s campaign, his platform, and his policies to see what I mean.
Desi,
I am not arguing that racism doesn’t exist! I am saying it isn’t nearly as prevalent as it used to be and should continue to decline as younger people, very few of whom are overtly racist, replace older folks who are more likely to be racist.
The problems with race stem to a large extent from inner city decline.
Some factors which contribute to this;
1) war on drugs
2) city mismanagement
3) underfunding of schools
4) erosion of industrial base
5) poverty traps caused through bad health
6) black attitudes towards education
7) breakdown of wider family system to weather shocks due to changing nature of jobs and some cultural reasons.
The majority of people affected by this are black. They aren’t the only ones though and the direct reason they are where they are isn’t overt racism. It has more to do with the middle class having reached a size that the underclass doesn’t matter much electorally.
The problem is that if you keep looking for racism Al Sharpton style, you divert attention from the systemic causes. You also disenfranchise decent white folk by putting across the idea that most of them are actually racist.
Comparing Obama to Jindal isn’t fair as they have very little in common in terms of what they stand for.
As for Obama becoming president, of course it doesn’t show that there is no racism. However what type of person are you envisioning as a non-convention, non-mainstream candidate? Al Sharpton? Jeremiah Wright? Cornell West?
Why is it wrong to suggest that the civil rights movement has made a big difference to the lives of African-Americans so that a person like Barack Obamaa can become President.
Also, he’s just managed to survive endless clips of his radical preacher talking about America’s chickens coming home to roost without feeling the need to disown him.
Shariq:
“The majority of people affected by this are black. They aren’t the only ones though and the direct reason they are where they are isn’t overt racism. It has more to do with the middle class having reached a size that the underclass doesn’t matter much electorally.”
Have you heard of red-lining?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redlining
http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2008/06/from-redlining.html
http://washingtonindependent.com/view/reconsidering
“The problem is that if you keep looking for racism Al Sharpton style, you divert attention from the systemic causes. You also disenfranchise decent white folk by putting across the idea that most of them are actually racist.”
Falling on purely economic reasons is intellectually dishonest, Shariq. What on earth is so ‘Al Sharpton’ about stating that racism exists in the US? Who’s ‘disenfranchising decent white folk’ when we point out that your argument on race in the US is totally flawed?
Do you not think there is anything significant about how race and poverty overlap in the US? Are you going to give only an economic reason for why most people living in the inner cities are black and Latino?
You are more than welcome to come visit me in the US when I return after my stint in Nepal, jaan. I’ve got lots of friends who will give you a front seat ride to scope out how race and poverty works here in the US. No wonder some people get militant in the US, with people denying that shit isn’t stinking all THAT bad, when it obviously is.
“The problems with race stem to a large extent from inner city decline.
Some factors which contribute to this;
1) war on drugs
2) city mismanagement
3) underfunding of schools
4) erosion of industrial base
5) poverty traps caused through bad health
6) black attitudes towards education
7) breakdown of wider family system to weather shocks due to changing nature of jobs and some cultural reasons.”
Right. And somehow, racism, whether institutionalized, overt, or covert, has nothing to do with this. Please.
Finally on the Muslim thing, who cares if a lot of it is due to the IT boom. It wouldn’t have meant anything if arabs and south asians were denied jobs and promotions due to their race.
Look every society will have racism. Some of it will be crude. Some of it will be cynical. American in 2008 is one of the least racist countries in the world. On the other hand it does have an obscene amount of inequality. I think we need to shift our priorities. That’s all I’m saying.
“It has more to do with the middle class having reached a size that the underclass doesn’t matter much electorally.”
Err…
Shariq:
“Finally on the Muslim thing, who cares if a lot of it is due to the IT boom. It wouldn’t have meant anything if arabs and south asians were denied jobs and promotions due to their race.”
You obviously have not read my comments, which explained why your using Muslims as a proof to your questionable point makes no sense.
“Look every society will have racism. Some of it will be crude. Some of it will be cynical. American in 2008 is one of the least racist countries in the world. On the other hand it does have an obscene amount of inequality. I think we need to shift our priorities. That’s all I’m saying.”
Yeah, I hear what you’re saying, I’m just saying that it doesn’t make any sense.
“Finally on the Muslim thing, who cares if a lot of it is due to the IT boom. It wouldn’t have meant anything if arabs and south asians were denied jobs and promotions due to their race.”
Probably you have never heard of ‘glass ceiling’ that Desis (whether Muslim or not, which seems to be your fixation) in even upper class professions have faced. But hey, life is good for non-white folks in the US!
I totally agree with you that it’s not just about race. But I strongly disagree with your ‘argument’ that there is no racism in the US. Race, poverty, and gender are linked to a major extent in the US, and significantly so, and do deny that connection is absurd.
BTW, for all of your talk about not leaving out poor white folks (which again, I totally agree that class needs to be looked at more rather than simply looking at race), you forgot to mention the ‘welfare moms’. Since you know about poverty and the US, tell me who make up the majority of welfare moms in the US. Without Googling it.
“American in 2008 is one of the least racist countries in the world.”
Pertinent to your ‘points’ on socio-economic status and race, and saying that blacks are in poverty, but not because of race, did you check out the red-lining links that I provided? (Forget the Wiki one, I just realized that it’s tagged).
BTW, those numbers for hate crimes, which you asked for, are pretty nasty, wouldn’t you say? If I can, I’ll pull up the most recent numbers available out there.
But good night for now.
Shariq,
‘Still, average household income of $53,500 isn’t terrible. ‘
Its better than $20,000. But still its pretty rubbish. You did say household?
but not because of race, did you check out the red-lining links that I provided?
I just read them, and they seem to be the clearest possible example of taking a boring, if important economic issue and trying to make it sexy by pretending that it is really about race.
If poor people are being preyed on by dodgy bankers, is it really true that the only way you can be persuaded to care about that is if someone counts the number of people of different skin colours affected and finding that the proportion differs from the last national census?
In the US, for a lot of historical reasons, arguments based on sharing, fairness, or common welfare have no traction (outside of the North-East)[1]. For equally good historical reasons, arguments based on redressing racial injustice have proved highly persuasive, able to prod people into taking action.
Even when they are stretching a point, to say the least. I’m sure someone, somewhere in the US has claimed CO2 emissions to be a racial issue…
There are two viewpoints promoted by virtually every single US film and TV series made since approximately the first series of Star Trek:
1. individualism and self-reliance are good.
2. racial discrimination is bad.
[1] The big cultural differences between the ex-Puritans of New England and the ex-cowboys of Texas is just one of the reasons the category ‘white’ is simply wrong if you are trying to talk about ethnic or cultural groups rather than some imaginary biological sub-species.
Lets just focus on glass ceilings for a second. Do you think they exist because people don’t like promoting brown faces to the top echelons of business?
Again, I’m saying that there are a range of factors. Cultural differences, family connections, old boys clubs and the cynical use of race by some and the overt use of race by others would all come into it.
Also if you really care about glass ceilings than why denigrate the achievements of a man who could break the biggest glass ceiling of them all.
I will accept the fact that there is a substantial overlap between race and the plight of the inner cities. If they were of a different colour, the media may well have treated their problems differently.
Yet some cities have managed to regenerate themselves whereas others have gotten left behind, so its got to be too simplistic too boil everything down to racism.
Out of interest did you watch The Wire?
On the welfare moms issue, I would say without googling that Black women would be disproportionately represented.
Would be interested to hear your take on Bill Clinton’s welfare reforms. Did they put money into black women’s hands and reduce disincentives to employment as its supporters would say or were they did they make the lives of black women more difficult by reducing necessary financial support?
By sheer coincidence, all candidates that get elected have views that are acceptable to mainstream. And fringe candidates, even the white ones, do not get elected.* I will let you figure that one out.
The point here is that 40 years ago, it wouldn’t have mattered if Obama had the most pro-capitalist mainstream agenda: he would have been utterly rejected for being black. It doesn’t mean that racism is dead, but that there are other factors at hand.
There is definitely a correlation between being black/hispanic and being poor and disadvantaged. But it does not mean that being black – and racism – is the main cause of being poor. Indians – who are dark, have funny names, and are non-Christian – are one of the most prosperous ethnic groups in America. It seems to suggest that racism is less of deterrent to success than education and skills. The latter being difficult to attain when you are stuck in the vicious cycle of poverty.
—
* Of course in Louisiana, Bobby Jindal’s views are mainstream. But in the 90’s, David Duke – the grand wizard of the KKK – managed to lose the same gubernational seat by a few hundred votes. So, it is nothing short of remarkable, and shows that America is indeed changing for the better.
I agree with shariq’s point.. by focusing just on race as the main issue, you sort of detract from unpacking the issue properly. Sometimes it not about race or religion specifically.
In other cases, its not racism but cultural prejudice that creates a glass ceiling. In industries like the media for example, its all about networks and understanding the internal culture. If you can’t do that, as many minorities don’t make an efffort to learn, then you don’t get far enough. I’m not saying all don’t do this… I’m just saying I see too many Asians in this country making no effort to learn about the media industry.
Of course, even within the same economic class, being black or non-white means you need to be considerably better and work harder than your white colleague to level the field. Obama is far superior than McCain on any issue yet they are tied – there is no way a black McCain would have this popularity with a white Obama.
This is what I really like about Obama: that despite this injustice, he doesn’t play the race and victim card, which is so prevalent in the Left narrative. Instead he says “Yes, we can”, he works harder, and he will open the door to a new generation of people that will not self-impose glass ceilings and restrictions to what you can achieve. And that is the way to go forward: each generation breaks a glass ceiling, and make it easier for the next one. Obama certainly needs to thank – and he has numerous times – the previous generation for enabling his candidacy.
Who do you think has the potential to inspire young black kids to do greater things? A black President with a “yes we can” attitude, or Al Sharpton by crying racism on any opportunity he can?
great comment ravi. agree with it completely.
The ground reality is very different than what you guys choose to believe. Do you know how many fortune 500 CEOs are non white? I would wager less than 10. Do you know that the only black CEOS of major American banks were Stan O’Neal at Merrill Lynch and the guy at AMEX. You can see institutional racism clearly in the banking industry in America, there is definitely a glass ceiling which is primarily because of race and not the issues you talk about. Vikram Pandit left Morgan Stanley as he would have never made CEO, he made CEO of Citi because no one in their right mind wanted the job. There are plenty of extremely smart people who are non white that I work with who will not ever reach the C level and that is primarily because of their race.
There was a study by some Harvard professors where they sent out resumes for job applications with candidates with Black sounding and White sounding names all else equal. Guess which set of candidates got more interview calls?
Shariq,
I have to agree. There is a difference between Americans who hold racist views and the institutionalization of racism that we expirienced prior to the Civil Rights movement and even after. KRS-One even said that this is a class issue. It will always be a class issue for the most part. When blacks or any other minority become wealtheir, begin voting in greater numbers they will also be pandered too. Ah oh! I think I may be having a Booker T. Washington moment. Ewww…
This is what I really like about Obama: that despite this injustice, he doesn’t play the race and victim card, which is so prevalent in the Left narrative.
Yes, but he also can’t raise the issue even if he wanted to, unless President. Otherwise it would simply get the backs up of whites who are voting for him simply because they want to believe that blacks face no prejudice.
In that sense, its a bit more complicated. There are lots of things Obama just can’t say. There are still rumours going around, spread mostly by Republicans, that once Prez he will deliver reparations to blacks for past injustices. If he said anything, thats the narrative Fox News will run.
Secondly showing an understanding that minorities don’t necessarily have things worse off than poor white people.
Really…so when someone is dealing with more than one area of maringalzation it is all the same….Black women occupy the bottom of the racial and social hierarchy for a reason, we are black and female. To suggest that the problems of a poor black woman and a poor black woman are the same ignores the realities of the lived experience of women of color.
Secondly showing an understanding that minorities don’t necessarily have things worse off than poor white people.
Really…so when someone is dealing with more than one area of maringalzation it is all the same….Black women occupy the bottom of the racial and social hierarchy for a reason, we are black and female. To suggest that the problems of a poor white woman and a poor black woman are the same ignores the realities of the lived experience of women of color.
Renee and Umber Desi,
Let it be– according to Shariq, America is the least racist country in the world (!) and it is a racial paradise. I mean, look at Condi, Obama, and Bobby– people of color who have MADE it in the US.
Of course, this shoddy thinking leads people to believe that just because Mandela was elected president in the South Africa, black South Africans are not treated badly, racism is not institutionalized de facto, etc.
“Let it be– according to Shariq, America is the least racist country in the world (!) and it is a racial paradise. I mean, look at Condi, Obama, and Bobby– people of color who have MADE it in the US.”
Not sure he implied it was a racial paradise, merely that it did’nt stink as badly as everyone else.
Renee:
“To suggest that the problems of a poor white woman and a poor black woman are the same ignores the realities of the lived experience of women of color.”
I agree with you, but I was having a conversation with someone the other day, in which I pointed out that white disadvantaged groups such as the Appalachian whites are totally absent from our conversations about poverty. So while I think it is absolutely imperative to look at the race factor, I also think that there are other disadvantaged groups racially (who are not only Black, but other ethnicities as well), and socio-economic statuses (which may and may not overlap with gender, race, etc). With that point, I agree with Shariq that socio-economic statuses need to be looked at more; I just disagree with his arguments about race.
“McWhorter’s thesis rests on the argument that while racism is not extinct, it has diminished greatly and is no longer a life-affecting issue for the majority of African Americans.”
Has he been to LA and seen how the LAPD treats black youths?
“McWhorter rightly rejects this and instead pinpoints the problem as a cultural suspicion of education. There are obvious reasons why such suspicions took root in African American communities. Given the complete disenfranchisement and segregation of African Americans, it would be entirely natural to be distrustful of people of the same race who got the opportunity to be educated at top universities.”
Ahh, so now it’s the ‘cultural argument’. Yeah, this guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. This is like me saying, “Indian Americans are really wealthy because they have a culture of education”, when it’s more a class issue than culture (if the latter were true, most of India would all be in school, would not be poor, etc).
The fact of the matter is that for someone like me who went to shitty schools where a lot of not so well off people lived, it’s not the ‘cultural suspicion’ rather than the lack of updated textbooks, stupid ass guidance councelors who, because of their own racism, guide non-white and non-east Asian students into manual labour classes like auto-mechanics instead of enrolling them in classes they’d need for colleges, thereby effectively ruining their trajectory in life, and so on. Even with me, who’s not black or Hispanic, the guidance counselors at my high school A) tried to dissuade me from enrolling in the AP and Honors curriculum until I really fought with her to let me take the tests to get in; and B) didn’t know jackshit about the college application process (which they are supposed to do because it’s their job).
This is what an ‘inner city’ school is like. It’s not because some people living in the ghettos are culturally inept and suspect education; it’s because these schools and their staffs are not on par with those of the schools in rich, white, upper middle class and upper class districts.
And might I add that the ‘left to fend for yourselves’ educational jungle where they don’t even inform you of the classes you need to take to enroll in a 4-year university because they assume that you’d be a better car mechanic is the complete opposite of the babying, hold-your-hand-during-every-step-of-the-way treatment that students in richer districts get, and where even their public schools are like private schools in terms of wealth, competent staff, etc (I had the pleasure of frequenting such a high school my freshmen year in HS, and another HS for one month of my sophmore year, where some of us poorer folks had access to. My third HS was the shitty one (10th grade to 12th))