Confronting Our Racist Past (And Present)
“It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others.”
~ His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Racism has been part of America since before we were a country, despite Nikki Haley’s insistence that “this has never been a racist country.” Previous attempts at a racial reckoning, including abolishing slavery and the Civil Rights movement made great strides for people of color in this country. However, the work is incomplete and many people are still suffering as a result of systemic racism in the United States.
Today, there is a renewed demand for a racial reckoning in this country and for us to actually deal with systemic racism. The death of George Floyd and the seemingly unending viral videos of black people being harassed for doing completely normal things like having a barbecue or birdwatching have made more white people finally begin to pay attention to the racism that still exists in our country. We can no longer pretend to be colorblind or think that racism is a thing of the past.
Predictably, this is being met with a growing backlash that ranges from a complete denial that there is a problem to banning the teaching of critical race theory or anything to do with race or systemic racism. Those passing legislation to prevent teaching our kids about race insist that doing so amounts to “teaching our kids to hate” each other.
Critical race theorists and activists who are challenging the racist systems in our society are not interested in making our kids, or any of us, hate each other. It’s unclear whether our leaders really believe this or just want to avoid dealing with the serious problems in our country, like they do with all other major challenges.
Telling the truth about our history and confronting the persistent racism in our institutions is not intended to make white people feel guilty. Teaching the full American story provides a more complete understanding of our history and how we got to where we are today. Whether we are examining our own lives or the life of our country, understanding the darker aspects is essential to growth.
Awareness is always the first step to change. We cannot hope to address the inequities in our country, if we aren’t willing to confront the long history of racism in this country. This work starts with a willingness to have conversations about challenging issues and uncomfortable topics, such as equity, racism, affirmative action, and the need for dismantling racist systems. Unfortunately, these efforts face significant opposition on the right.
The old men in government have done quite well for themselves by not addressing any of the many pressing problems in our society, from racial justice to environmental justice. They are masters at the politics of grievance, stoking anger and outrage, and manufacturing controversy, while doing nothing to address the serious problems that we are facing.
The work of the current and next generation is to address the real problems facing our country, and this will require having the courage to confront our racist history and the current inequities that are built into our systems and institutions. Only when we recognize the problem and fully understand how racist policies started and have been perpetuated can we begin the hard work of dismantling them.
