REGARDING RACE

July 2000
		A New York Times series is examining the state of race relations in everyday America. Where do U.S. race relations stand in the year 2000? Are there racial issues that need further discussion? Times reporter Dana Canedy, former Times writer and George Mason University professor Roger Wilkins and Dartmouth College professor Mary Childers take your questions.

Forum introduction What's behind racial separation? Why are native peoples left out of conversations like this? Don't these discussions reinforce racial separation? Will casual racism ever decline? Why do discussions of racism focus on white people?     July 11, 2000: Five experts discuss a New York Times series examining race in everyday America. Browse the NewsHour's coverage of race relations and the media.     "How Race is Lived in America" The New York Times Learning Network The New York Times

Patrick Madden of New York, NY asks: Why is the subject of race always treated as a 'white thing'? Always in an inflamatory context. Why isn't the subject of African American racism ever addressed? To me it is the most violent, virulent and prevalent form of racism in our country today. There are things that so-called 'black activists' say about white people that would get a white man put in jail, or at the very least cost his job and his career but they draw no notice by press and media, no sanction by 'responsible' Black leaders. Don't you think hatred and prejudice are all wrong no matter where they come from?   Dana Canedy responds: I agree. Racism is racism is racism. Certainly, there are black racists and white racists, but I don't see how finger pointing is productive in the discourse. There are also plenty of well-meaning people on both sides that want race relations to improve. That is where the hope is, in the people who, perhaps in part because of our series, will discuss these issues a bit more in their homes, churches, schools and workplaces. And I hope you are one of them.   Mary Childers responds: The New York Times series deliberately avoided presenting race in an inflammatory way. It includes not only stories of conflict, but also stories about multi-racial friendships and people striving to understand one another in a church and in the workplace. Many of the stories move in subtle and interesting ways in order to make it clear that racism is complex, interactive, and not restricted to one group. Numerous surveys document prejudices among all groups of people, including anti-Asian and anti-White attitudes among African-Americans. The Times story about two Cubans ends with a black man treating two white men unjustly; a story in the series about a slaughterhouse quotes both Mexicans and African-Americans saying racist things; several of the stories quote black people who are misinformed about the realities of most white people's lives. It is, as you suggest, important that we acknowledge prejudice as a shared problem. But it is not true that white people are jailed for saying things equivalent to what some provocative black activists say. The press has in fact covered examples of hate-speech by some black leaders, and numerous representatives of the black community, such as Cornel West, have been very responsible in criticizing prejudice in their own racial group. But I have seen numerous circumstances where fear of being attacked or seeming unsupportive or being charged with discrimination keeps people from challenging outrageous statements made by some black people. However, it is important to keep in mind that the disproportionate power held by white people as a group means that white racism, historically and in the present, has a far more devastating effect. We all need to improve our commitment to challenging injustice, which we can do most effectively if we refuse to numb our minds and culture with inflammatory rhetoric.   Roger Wilkins responds: First of all, I would agree with you that there are some black racists and that they say some horrible and deplorable things. But that's about the extent of our agreement. It is not true that mouthy black racists are not sanctioned by the mainstream press or by black leaders. I guess you don't read the newspapers very carefully. Editorialists and columnists rise up in fury when black racists spew their bile and "responsible" blacks have their say too. In fact, if you look back a few years in the Times you will find that even I wrote to excoriate one of these characters. Furthermore, I don't think I've ever heard of a white man being put in jail for any racist ravings about people of color. Finally, the reason that racism is treated as a "white thing" is that basically, it is. Whites planted the seeds of American racism in the Virginia colony almost as soon as they got to Jamestown early in the 17th century by hating and fighting the indigenous people they encountered there They then applied their racist ideology to the 20 blacks who were sold to the colony in 1619. Ever since then white racism has been one of the central elements of American culture (that is NOT to say that all whites are or have been racist), and it has shaped the way Americans think, the way we do politics, the way we punish human beings and the way we distribute the goods generated by our society. With respect to blacks, white racism accounts for the fact that blacks live shorter lives, are less well educated, are poorer, live in less desirable housing and possess less power than whites. The subject of race is treated as a "white thing" because the way whites have shaped race in our culture still affects the ways millions of Americans -- of all colors -- live in this society. That is not to say that whites have not been injured by the way race works in this society. But it is not the way you think. Whites have been injured because they have been led to believe that they are better than people of color simply because they are white. The moral sensibilities of many whites are dulled, they have limited ability to enjoy the full humanity of humans who are not white and they live in a society that is far harsher, more riven with inequalities than it would be were white racism not such a powerful element in our culture. We're all the poorer for the way white racism has eroded the quality of our democracy. Fortunately, however as indicated in my answer to Paul Hackett, this racism has not crippled us completely and we are -- decent people of all colors --struggling to make our country a healthier place. And we're coming along.