Growing up middle class and white, in a middle class and white town in suburban Ohio, I always understood racism to be dead. Racism was something I learned about in history class. The Klu Klux Klan. The “N” word. Slavery. The Civil War. Some guy name Martin Luther King and a lady named Rosa Parks. Ancient history.
None of that stuff happens anymore. We aren’t racist.
White people are digging their heels in right now…
Don’t accuse me of being racist…
If you ask the average white person, it’s very very rare that you’ll find one who will tell you there is still racism around. Or if it’s around, that it’s still a significant issue.
Jackie Robinson Day (April 15th) in Major League Baseball is a fantastic day. Jackie Robinson was the first African-American baseball player in the major leagues, a HUGE feat considering it was done in 1947, the thick of the Jim Crow laws and huge discrimination against blacks. On Jackie Robinson Day, every player in the league wears Jackie Robinson’s #42 and his legacy his remembered in touching fashion. The movie “42” (currently in theaters) portrays Robinson’s story excellently:
Robinson’s legacy needs to be remembered. But in remembering his legacy, and celebrating how far we’ve come, let’s not forget how much progress we still need to make.
The last of the Jim Crows laws weren’t removed until the late 60s! (and full integration of schools not until 1971) This wasn’t that long ago, and the scars they left have kept our culture divided in many circles.
Segregation used to be forced. Now we choose it.
That’s a huge topic. I bring it up simply to bring it up. So we can be aware of it. Being aware is the first step of showing love and respect. I’m not saying it’s the same as traditional racism, but it is something we should think about, and wonder if it’s how things should be or not.
Back to baseball.
I read a fascinating story (read it here) about Sergio Romo in the recent edition of ESPN the Magazine. Romo is the star closer for the San Francisco Giants, the reigning World Series champs, and has a popular public persona as a goofball. The article was surprisingly revealing for a sports article. Sports conversations are typically the realm of men grunting and scratching and talking about their team’s success or failure as if it were as important as the health of their children.
The interview with Romo centered on his insecurities, as well as the racism he’s had to endure as a baseball player. His immigrant town being ridiculed at football games by an affluent upper class suburb. Being called a “Spic” regularly by opposing fans as he made his way through the college baseball ranks. He also tells of being repeatedly pulled over in Arizona by the police while driving his BMW because he is a Mexican with a big beard. The first question he is always asked is not “Do you know why you were pulled over?” or “License and registration, please”, but “Is this your car?” The star closer of the World Series champs, toting a $4.5 million/year contract is asked if he owns this BMW. Because he is Mexican.
I’m not trying to fill you with white guilt.
But we should be honest about the fact that we (whites) are the only ethnicity who doesn’t face significant racism. And I don’t mean being made fun of because you are white. I mean being denied a job, a place to live, or schooling because you are white. Or being pulled over on a regular basis because you are white. All things that happen on a regular basis to our non-white brothers and sisters.
I just think that having awareness of both direct and indirect racism, racial division, and our racial history shows a lot of respect to those who actually have to deal with such things. To ignore that these things exist is very disrespectful. To tell a black person they weren’t actually pulled over because they are black, even though they know they were, is very disrespectful. To tell a Mexican that it’s appropriate for a cop to ask them, “Is this your car?” after pulling them over for being a Mexican, is incredibly disrespectful. It’s telling someone what they are feeling and experiencing is null and void. That the discrimination they experience is acceptable and appropriate. They are wrong to feel the way they do. Because we know. We are the experts.
The fact is, you don’t know what it feels like, so don’t tell others what they are supposed to feel about it. Let’s grieve the racism and discrimination that still exists in America, even if we aren’t the direct causes of it.
Let’s make sure we aren’t creating further discrimination in our culture, and as we give due respect to Jackie Robinson for what he had to face, let’s give the same respect to those who face it today.
We know discrimination is wrong when we commemorate Jackie Robinson Day.
Let’s know the same when we look at the world in 2013.
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Racism is prevalent in our country in subtle and overt ways. My cousin in law is regularly asked “Where did you get them?” about her twin daughters, because they have a Filippino dad and Caucasian mom and people in the suburbs of Milwaukee apparently can’t imagine that this mom out with her kids actually birthed them if they don’t look exactly like her.
We are thrilled to live in a diverse city and neighborhood where at the elementary school Brooklyn will go to, Caucasians are the minority. Jay grew up as the only non-white student in our small private school in Wisconsin in a very very white city. We love living in a place were our kids don’t experience racism. We live on a block with 4 other families with kids 5 and under and all but one is an interracial family. We are so thankful to be raising our kids with those friends.
Thanks for the encouraging reply Cara. You bring up a great point that we are conditioned to think that whatever we are accustomed to is the norm = how everyone else should be. So when we see someone who looks different from that, our brains can’t handle it. There’s been some really interested “in-group” “out-group” sociological studies done I will post soonish when I really feel like offending people! 🙂 They’re not offensive, they are just really enlightening (and sobering) and they show the consequences of growing up around a bunch of people that look like you.
I agree with you that racism and discrimination are wrong, but I don’t think groveling in pity and sympathy is a viable solution to the complex problem- “Let’s grieve the racism and discrimination that still exists in America” Why? What good will grieving do? Grieving won’t gain perspective. Grieving won’t change our skin color or tear down the figurative walls of discrimination engrained in our culture.
Also, reference the Sergio Romo article, (from a quasi law enforcement perspective), I don’t buy the whole “woe is me” sentiment/victim mentality- Arizona has state laws that specifically enable officers to stop and question hispanics who may or may not be illegal immigrants (which is a HUGE problem in AZ and the US as a whole….and a totally separate issue altogether. For further information you can read the bill at the link below- Arizona Senate Bill 1070: http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1070s.pdf)
It irks me that we as a culture have bought into the idea that the solution to a complex intercultural problem is some sort of combination of emotional and legal reparations a la Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity laws. Overcompensation of discrimination leads to reverse discrimination (which is just as wrong)!
Hey Dave, thanks for the comment. I think grieving definitely is a way of gaining perspective. Most middle-class white people (who grew up like me) are not even aware of the racism in our country. Most of us have no clue Sergio Romo could be called a “Spic” by college baseball crowds only a few years ago, and this was deemed as totally socially acceptable behavior. So when we realize this, it should make us sad. That is grieving. And that should help us gain perspective. Perspective is seeing things from a wider view. It’s putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes. There are a lot of bad things in the world, like human-trafficking, systemic governmental oppression that keeps certain countries in extreme poverty, etc. where we should grieve these things, as they are things that break the heart of God, just as racism breaks the heart of God. It doesn’t mean we need to feel guilty because we have money, or aren’t slaves; grieving and feeling guilty and two unrelated things. I’m not trying to make you feel guilty because you’re white, or that you need to change your skin color, but I think it’s loving for us to think about how Latinos, blacks, and others feel about racism, because they are the ones most affected by it. It’s not meant to make you or any other white person feel guilty, but it is a simple fact that we are the one people group (with the exception of the Irish) who has never experienced systemic racism in America. This doesn’t mean we need to feel guilty for being white; it is what it is. It’s simple history, and for the sake of our non-white brothers and sisters, we shouldn’t ignore this history (or the present). But it does mean that perspective is exactly what is needed. Think about how you’d view racism if you were black, or if you were Latino. It’s loving to think this way. I’m not saying immigration laws need to all be removed; I’m honestly not an expert on what these laws say or don’t say. I know Christians that I respect a lot, like those at World Relief, say that laws are definitely needed, but it should be easier to become a citizen of our country than it is. Again, I don’t know the details, but perspective on a systemic level reminds us that at one point we were all immigrants to this country (unless you are 100% Native American), and also that the Bible is very clear about welcoming the stranger and the alien, so we should view this issue through a biblical Christian lens. But the point I was trying to make was not about legislation, it was about simple respect for our fellow Americans, our non-white Americans. For example, if you were a Latino living in Arizona, I guarantee you’d think differently about a cop being able to pull you over if they thought you were an illegal alien. I’m not saying that to have you think about changing your position, I’m just saying it for us to try to understand what it’s like to be a minority, because that’s a healthy and loving thing for us to do. When we do this, we no longer are the ones with all the answers about racism, we can listen and yes, grieve, with those who have actually had to experience these things. There’s no reverse discrimination in simply listening to someone, grieving with them, and hugging them because they were called a Spic, that’s just simple Jesus-like love.