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bigtree

(85,917 posts)
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 10:22 AM Mar 2016

Talking About Race In This Election

I've been told by some here that discussing race in this campaign is 'divisive.' I reject the notion that I, or anyone else impacted by race should be silent, just to satisfy someone's discomfort with the subject. It's actually cathartic for me to discuss race in this campaign in a constructive way. The alternative is to do what I've done in my youth, which is to bury those feelings and cede our political conversations to those who feel comfortable in disparaging blacks, intentionally or out of ignorance.

One of the results of the presidential pursuit of Barack Obama has been the awakening of a new (and reinvigorated) generation of black voters. That's not something which I believe should be parsed out in our conversations, but, rather a development which deserves highlighting and nurturing.

Like it or not, there are going to be differences expressed about the value of such votes, and also, the inevitable efforts to dismiss or denigrate these important and consequential votes for our party. Those votes and voters should be pursued and defended by our party with just as much vigor and determination as any grassroots, political 'revolution' of support for our party and candidates is celebrated.

However, unfortunately, we're not talking about something which occurs in a benign vacuum of indifference. The effort for representation and recognition of blacks in our political system has been going on since Reconstruction, and continued through the dark days of Jim Crow and state-sponsored discrimination and obstruction of this vital community's political voices.

Indeed, the representation of blacks (by elected black politicians) is a relatively new development, in my own lifetime. (Repeating a narrative of mine), when I was a young adult, there were just a couple black legislators in Congress. I still recall the mere handful of blacks I found in Congress when I first explored the Capitol. I remember seeing the tall head of Rep. Ron Dellums, ever present on the House floor, and imagining that there were many more like him in the wings. It wasn't until 1990, though, that we actually saw a significant influx of minorities elected to Congress, enabled by the 1990 census Democrats fought to reform and manage (along with their fight for an extension of the Voting Rights Act which Bush I vetoed five times before trading his signature on the bill for votes for Clarance Thomas) which allowed court-ordered redistricting to double the number of districts with black majorities.

The gains blacks have made in our political institutions have not kept pace with even the incremental gains which have occurred in the workplace, for example. We may well have an abundance of black CEOs, military officers, business owners, doctors, lawyers and other professionals. However, Americans have yet to support and establish blacks in our political institutions with a regularity we could celebrate as 'colorblindness.' And, to be fair, not even many blacks would likely agree that we've moved past a point where race should be highlighted (if not overtly emphasized), in our political deliberations and considerations.

Moreover, there has been a fear of black advancement throughout our early American history - fear that blacks would rise up and dish out the same injustice & violence many in the white-dominated had perpetrated against the race of people since slavery and through the years of segregation and state-sanctioned discrimination. Yet, despite our tragic history, though, blacks have shown great forbearance and benignity in the face of it all.

The federal advancement of group rights was an important element in securing individual rights for blacks, before and after the abolition of slavery. Government's role has been expanded, mostly in response to needs which had gone unfulfilled by the states; either by lack of will or limited resources. After the passage of the 14th and 15th amendments, the federal government had to assert itself to defend these rights -- albeit with much reluctance and not without much prodding and instigation -- by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. That effort, and others by the federal government were a direct acknowledgment of the burdens and obstacles facing an emerging class of blacks.

Indeed, the efforts in the '60's to bolster and nurture black Americans into the social, economic, and political mainstream of America has meshed perfectly with the needs of our expanding economy and the growing markets which have eagerly absorbed millions of black Americans who were advantaged by the educational opportunities and initiatives which were focused on lifting their communities out of the squalor of indifference and disrespect of the past.

It's not uncommon, as many folks so breathlessly want to express, to find blacks succeeding and operating at almost every level of opportunity, industry, or occupation. But, that advancement of black Americans did not occur in some vacuum of 'colorblindness,' nor, will the progress of black Americans in our political system be served by a revisionism which automatically suggests the playing field has been fair or accommodating to the interests of the individuals -- or, even, to the black communities which are assumed to have advanced along with those who manage to get elected.

Racism certainly isn't chic anymore; not like it was in the days where slurs, slights, and outright discrimination were allowed to flourish under the umbrella of segregation and Jim Crow. But, it has still been used by some, over the years since the dismantling of that institutionalized racism, to manipulate and control the level of access and acceptability of blacks in a white-dominated political system.

In this day and age, the persistent racism directed against President Obama has not allowed many in the black community to feel secure in this one advancement. That racial insecurity recalls the immediate wake of Reconstruction and the election of a handful of black lawyers, ministers, teachers, college presidents to the national legislature where there was a concerted campaign by their white peers and other detractors to challenge their seats and to construct discriminatory barriers to the election of other blacks which persisted for generations and generations. The 'birther' movement is no stranger to those who recall that 'Jim Crow' past.

President Obama's courage and vision in seeking and achieving the highest office in the land has been inspiring; not only for this generation, but for generations of Americans who will follow in the wake of his historic achievement and his outstanding service to the nation.

In fact, volume of remarkable and celebrated subjects who have enriched and enhanced our lives here in America over centuries of our nation's growth is vast and wide. Many of the giants in the black American experience have earned prominent positions in our recitation of that history of our development as a country and as individuals. However, there is an endless resource of black Americans in our nation's history whose accomplishments aren't as widely known and recognized.

I'm fortunate to have a long line of outstanding family members and friends of the family to recall with great pride in the recounting of their lives and the review of their accomplishments; many in the face of intense and personal racial adversity. In many ways, their stories are as heroic and inspiring as the ones we've heard of their more notable counterparts. Their life struggles and triumphs provide valuable insights into how a people so oppressed and under siege from institutionalized and personalized racism and bigotry were, nonetheless, able to persevere and excel. Upon close examination of their lives we find a class of Americans who strove and struggled to stake a meaningful claim to their citizenship; not to merely prosper, but to make a determined and selfless contribution to the welfare and progress of their neighbors.

That's the beauty and the tragedy of the entire fight for equal rights, equal access, and for the acceptance among us which can't be legislated into being. It can make you cry to realize that the heart of what most black folks really wanted for themselves in the midst of the oppression they were subject to was to be an integral part of America; to stand, work, worship, fight, bleed, heal, build, repair, grow right alongside their non-black counterparts.

It's a dwindling white majority in the workplace, and a dwindling dominance in other institutions which is, ironically, producing a familiar insecurity in some. Overall, black Americans' reaction to a dominating majority has been remarkably gracious, patient, and forgiving over the decades. Some of these dominionists could learn from that as they reconsider their role in a more inclusive society.

It can also floor you to see just how confident, capable, and determined many black folks were in that dark period in our history as they kept their heads well above the water; making leaps and bounds in their personal and professional lives, then, turning right around and giving it all back to their communities in the gift of their expertise and labor.

The attacks in this generation are not to be taken lightly, even though we may assume that the nation is past all of that. The attacks need to be openly and loudly defended against by Democrats and Republicans alike. They can't just be brushed aside as some sort of acceptable standard of discourse. For the most part, they've been responded to with dispatch and sincerity. For the other, there's a glaring silence -- and even a rhetorical encouragement by some in the political arena who are leveraging age-old stereotypes to serve their cynical campaigns for office.

Catherine Meeks, Ph.D., wrote in HuffPo today that, "The entire discussion is almost beyond comprehension for those of us who are not being blinded by bigotry and hatred."

"Magic Mulatto, Mrs. YoMama, Touching A Tar Baby, Your Boy, Orbameo, Watermelons on the White House Lawn, cartoons with the President Obama's head and a chimpanzee's body, references to monkeys who escaped the zoo being related to the First Lady, and the list goes on with the racial slurs that have been hurled at this President and his family," recalls Meeks. "Along with these is the recent attack of racial slurs against 11-year-old Malia, his youngest daughter."

"Whatever policy issues that anyone finds themselves at odds with him about should be spoken about, debated and fought over in whatever civilized manner that discourse can occur," she wrote. "But I am talking about this low level of racist discourse that has been going on since day one. A discourse that has exhibited no respect for the office of President in the first place as well as no respect for this man, his wife and children. But even larger than this is the lack of respect that is being shown toward every African American in this country," she said.

Who are we; we the people of color? We the African Americans? We Minorities, we Negroes, we Blacks? Our history in this country is rooted in slavery and oppression, but in the search for the roots we sometimes find that the more we draw closer to our black identity, the more we seem to pull away from the broader America. An insistence that our community must necessarily be at odds with white America, because of our tragic beginnings, threatens to render our successes impotent. But, what becomes of a quest for a national identity when many of blacks' contributions in developing and reforming this nation have not been acknowledged or reciprocated? Can we really put aside our identification with our unique heritage and regard ourselves as 'homogenized,' even as our particular needs are seemingly ignored? Even as the advancement of a person of color to the highest office in the land is openly disparaged by racism?

In this very forum, in this very primary, I was told by a poster that my blackness is essentially irrelevant. It was actually more vile than that..

...poster:

" At this point, I'm tired of blacks expecting people to kiss their ass in return for their vote. Sorry, you're just not that important. You do not contribute enough to America to be worthy of such special treatment. In fact, the truth is we'd all just be better off without you. You are a burden we're all tired of bearing.

I don't care anymore. Fuck you and your race."


I'd humbly like to ask just how many folks here have been denigrated in this primary for the color of their skin? It's a withering and extremely challenging experience which I don't wish on anyone.

It's not something I can just shed out of some attempt at comity with those uncomfortable discussing these issues. Like it or not, I'm stuck with this skin, and I'm not going to hide away from defending it, much less from recognizing the blackness of others who contribute to our society and politics just because someone has a political pique over the subject.

Now, many here who have read my (long) posts on race before will recognize these thoughts from my earlier writings. It has been a cathartic experience to write about these issues of race and to share them here and elsewhere. I've experienced a lifetime of slights and outright abuse due to the color of my skin. It's my intention that some of these thoughts have some lasting influence on our conversations. I'll be damned if I'll be dissuaded from discussing this important subject because of familiar accusations of 'racebaiting' or divisiveness.' There is a lifetime of understanding which I want to convey. I don't expect everyone to understand or agree with me, but I do expect understanding of my need and my obligation to speak out when I feel it's necessary.

One of the things I learned from my youth is that there's absolutely no benefit in keeping these issues quiet. There's no great virtue in avoiding the subject of race. There's every opportunity to heal divisions through better understanding of each other.

I'd like to re-share some things I wrote about in 2008 which I hope will be enlightening as to my own intentions, and to the issues we face today.:

IN so many ways, I was a direct beneficiary of the civil rights movement. In 1968, I was living in D.C. and witness to the upheaval that the shooting of Martin Luther King produced in our middle-class neighborhood. D.C. was a smoldering mess of brick right after Dr. King was killed. It was chaos for everyone. Blacks there seemed to suffer the most from the violence. It was a fearful time for a young kid like me, although black myself. Knives, not guns, were the weapons of choice. Really tough times. Lots of robbery. Mostly blacks were the victims as well as the perpetrators.

I remember in that same period, a kid strutting down our street singing 'I'm black and I'm proud' at the top of his lungs. I was pretty young and naive, and I imagined he was saying, 'I'm black and I'm brown'. I thought to myself, Yeah, that's me. Black and brown.

My parents certainly knew the importance of civil rights, as their own livelihood and their own expectations of comity and acceptance were challenged by my African-American mother's pale skin - which was often mistaken for that of a Caucasian individual - and her marriage to my dark-skinned father. Their own work experience was advantaged by the new civil rights initiatives which were opening the workplace for blacks and providing opportunities which often were in the very civil rights field that they were counting on to lift them out of the oppression that their earlier lives had endured during segregation, Jim Crow, and the like.

Mom worked in the personnel division at Raritan Arsenal overseeing and managing a fresh population of light-skinned blacks who had managed to find higher employment in the clerical field.

Dad had taken on civil service positions ever since his stint in the Army in New Guinea where he was given a field promotion with the expectation that he would keep his all-black unit in line and still be accommodating of the expectations of the segregating majority. He went on to achieve a position in the federal government in the newly created Equal Opportunity Commission which was to facilitate the influx of the new generation of blacks into the federal workplace who were advantaged by the Civil Rights Act that had just passed. He moved up the ladder and retired some 30 years later in the position of Director of Civil Rights in the newly revamped EEOC.

Our progress was a progression in which the negative forces we were pushing back to allow us room and opportunity to grow and prosper fell steadily away as our generation grew and staked our claim to our newly-protected citizenship. In many ways, the struggle was glaring, but, to those who observed our progression out of the era of Jim Crow and other resistance and indifference, it was all opportunity with the worst behind us. Slights and other aggravating remnants of the earlier racism began to fall out of public fashion (at least up north, in the region which was our nation's capital).

My father moved us to the suburbs very shortly after the riots and looting and I was propelled into a world which was green, open, and almost pristine in comparison to the broken glass and the suffering facade of our once-quiet and serene community.

The folks who I met had the same sunny, polite manner that masked any resentment or discomfort they may have felt in the presence of this brown person in the middle of the sea of light skin. It was a culture shock for me. It was likely one, as well, for the kids and adults who mostly welcomed me into their community. I say 'mostly welcomed' because most of the folks were unfailingly polite. There was no visible tinge of overt racism in their embrace of me that summer when we arrived. There was also no visible expression of the upheaval that had characterized my former community - and many parts of the nation, as well.

I remember getting lost riding my new bike around the neighborhood in the first week in my new home. I had never been lost and I was in some sort of strange wilderness, in this pristine community and I had no recognizable bearing. After an hour or so of an exhausting effort to weave my way out of the maze of freshly-blacktopped streets, I broke down and just went up to the first house I had the nerve to approach and rang the bell. An older white lady came out and was just as sweet as she could be. She put aside what she was doing, loaded up my bike in the trunk of her car, and drove me directly to my house. Now, I didn't know exactly where I lived; I didn't even know the house number or the street address . . .but, somehow, this rescuing angel did. Turned out, her daughter, (Mrs. S) lived directly across from my new home. She knew exactly where this recent aberration to her community belonged.

That incident characterized the majority of my life as a black kid in an overwhelmingly white community. It represented the best of humanity; but, it also represented its hidden face, as well. We had gotten this property by the skin of my parent's wallets. Turns out that our welcome into this community wasn't preceded by a carpet of rose-petals from the residents.

Mrs. Green next door, before she died, told my mother that most of the neighborhood had been, literally, in the middle of the street, up in arms over the prospect of a black family moving in. The alleged ringleader of it all, according to Mrs, Green, had been, none other than our neighbor directly across the street; the daughter of this exceedingly kind lady who had scooped up this young transplant and deposited me at the door of my new home.

Go figure. My father came to regard these folks across the street as his best friends in the neighborhood over the years we lived there; yet, they had actually instigated against our arrival in the past. Who knew where their true affinity for their black neighbors lay?

Did it matter? We'll never know, I suppose.

Does it impact my own thinking and attitude toward that community, as I look back? Absolutely. You see, life growing up in that atmosphere of outward tolerance, was much different from what most folks would regard as acceptability and acceptance.

I remember Bill Clinton once correcting someone who suggested that we need to 'tolerate' our differences. We should 'celebrate' them instead, he had said. I was certainly tolerated in this community, but I had a difficult time gaining acceptance. I participated in most of the activities of the others, but I never really seemed to have the same social experience as the rest of my peers and friends. There were actually quite a number of parents of these kids who would not allow me to come into their homes; and the suburbs was all about the indoors. I got edged out of many of the events which should have been the hallmark of my youth. I didn't really get a grip on the camaraderie others seemed to revel in. It was a period of transformation of views. It was a period of misunderstanding of the, mostly contrived, differences between us. Folks were wary and cliquish. Things like finding a cub scout troop whose mentors would welcome you into their home for meetings. Things like being invited to parties or finding room in a group for the special trips they took to ski or to the beach. This was hard for a kid.

Thing is, though, most of the racism and discrimination was well undercover. Reasons and justifications needn't be openly discussed to deny a kid access to those elements of society that folks wanted to restrict for themselves. You just turn your back. Or, you just decide, as a group, to exclude. That characterized most of the problems I had as a result of the color of my skin. No open hollering racial epithets at me when I walked down the street, like the folks in Cumberland, Md. did when I visited there in 1979. No outright discrimination like I experienced as an adult looking for work and in the actual workplace. Just indifference and exclusion. Coded racism, undercover.

Much of the racism we experience in this 'modern' age -- so far from the overt and institutionalized expressions of our nation's racist and discriminatory past -- isn't overt or obvious; especially to those who haven't been at the receiving end of it all. That reality requires a special kind of vigilance among us which isn't readily understood or identified with by folks who don't see the perniciousness in small, seemingly benign and marginal slights and insults which once were so openly accepted and encouraged against our black population.

In many ways, I see the need to move past the reflexive defensiveness which often deepens the controversies or draws unwanted attention to something which is, perhaps, better left unremarked on. There has been remarkable progress past the old civil rights battles for acceptance and acceptability among our peers which is a product of an enlightened generation determined to put all of that behind us.

Yet, I can't countenance having our discourse go all the way back to the place where folks were comfortable and secure that their slurs and their stereotypical insults wouldn't be met with forceful condemnation by society as a whole, and met by individuals determined to elevate our interactions above these opportunistic appeals to those things we sometimes use to divide or alienate.

There seems to be a revival of that racism and bigotry which is being encouraged by the cynical politics practiced by the present batch of republican candidates. That attitude is certainly trickling down to folks in our communities who are encouraged by these pols to identify their own opposition to this presidency with these racist and bigoted appeals which have root in our nation's tragic past.

I'm not convinced, though, that enough folks out here are truly familiar with all of the nonsense which has been resurrected from the past in a cute attempt to replicate the divisive attitudes and expressions which characterized a more confrontational age. It's going to take some education from those of us whose life experiences aren't readily available in a google search; rendering our experiences mostly invisible and mostly unbelievable to a new generation. I hope for understanding. I fear, though, we'll be fighting many of the old battles out in the open again. That may well be for the best, in the long run.

In the time being, though, the sly appeals to the racism and toleration of the resurgence of some of the divisive rhetoric and attitudes of the past is a disturbing and disheartening trend which will require vigilance and a determined response. I hope to do my part to recall our nation's history and to challenge us to advance our better selves.
78 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Talking About Race In This Election (Original Post) bigtree Mar 2016 OP
K&R fleur-de-lisa Mar 2016 #1
Rec because it is important JustAnotherGen Mar 2016 #2
@bigtree serbbral Mar 2016 #3
Post removed Post removed Mar 2016 #4
case in point from a new poster bigtree Mar 2016 #5
Message auto-removed Name removed Mar 2016 #8
BS heaven05 Mar 2016 #37
Thanks for preserving that to show what we're up against from some quarters Hekate Mar 2016 #64
"All whites have ever done to blacks is show them love and kindness" What the EVER LOVING FUCK Number23 Mar 2016 #72
Go away,troll.nt sufrommich Mar 2016 #7
This...is an awesome OP. Bravo. sufrommich Mar 2016 #6
K&Rrrrrrrrrrrrr kydo Mar 2016 #9
rec riversedge Mar 2016 #10
K/r, bookmarked, all of it. VulgarPoet Mar 2016 #11
Oh my, bigtree, this is fantastic. kaiden Mar 2016 #12
A wonderful post, bigtree. book_worm Mar 2016 #13
Thank you UtahLib Mar 2016 #14
K & R! displacedtexan Mar 2016 #15
I wish-- JohnnyLib2 Mar 2016 #16
Read this once quickly thucythucy Mar 2016 #17
Came back to do a more careful reading thucythucy Mar 2016 #68
Thank you for this, it's incredibly heartfelt and personal. PeaceNikki Mar 2016 #18
+1! eom BlueMTexpat Mar 2016 #27
What you are describing IMHO is Tribalism monicaangela Mar 2016 #19
My experiences 2naSalit Mar 2016 #20
Thank you. K&R lamp_shade Mar 2016 #21
Great post, thank you! mountain grammy Mar 2016 #22
+1! eom BlueMTexpat Mar 2016 #26
k&r bigbrother05 Mar 2016 #23
I am filled with awe and admiration. Koinos Mar 2016 #24
That was an awesomely beautiful BlueMTexpat Mar 2016 #25
K & R Alfresco Mar 2016 #28
Very nicely written. fun n serious Mar 2016 #29
K & R to an wonderful post. eom KitSileya Mar 2016 #30
So what you are saying is: Vote Bernie! Correct? yourpaljoey Mar 2016 #31
lol Hiraeth Mar 2016 #32
Wow. Just, wow. Stuckinthebush Mar 2016 #33
There is indeed a better way. lovemydog Mar 2016 #34
Religion birthed the Division... though to many are blinded by it. ConsiderThis_2016 Mar 2016 #35
Lecturing about race in this election.... AlbertCat Mar 2016 #36
as it should. elleng Mar 2016 #39
Post removed Post removed Mar 2016 #40
Gee, why don't you explain it to them? mcar Mar 2016 #50
Well bless your heart gwheezie Mar 2016 #51
You are speaking gibberish, AlbertCat nyabingi Mar 2016 #53
+1. Wow. VulgarPoet Mar 2016 #55
I'm not sure you even get it passiveporcupine Mar 2016 #60
Thanks for this EffieBlack Mar 2016 #70
thank you heaven05 Mar 2016 #38
talking about race in the campaign is very important...But just repeating over and over again Cheese Sandwich Mar 2016 #41
You say: 'Racism certainly isn't chic anymore,' elleng Mar 2016 #42
Bigtree you are a giant among giants. Please keep sharing your thoughts. Fla Dem Mar 2016 #43
Huge K&R Treant Mar 2016 #44
Isn't everyone impacted by race? malthaussen Mar 2016 #45
Define impacted... awoke_in_2003 Mar 2016 #75
"impacted," I should say, as in "affected." malthaussen Mar 2016 #76
Thank you for your reply... awoke_in_2003 Mar 2016 #77
Bravo! BumRushDaShow Mar 2016 #46
Peace. K&R fleabiscuit Mar 2016 #47
K&R mcar Mar 2016 #48
wow. one_voice Mar 2016 #49
Oh, wow! lunamagica Mar 2016 #52
What an amazing OP. Thank you. nt msanthrope Mar 2016 #54
Beautiful. (This should be published somewhere bigger than here.) NurseJackie Mar 2016 #56
This is one of the finest pieces of writing I've ever read on this site wysi Mar 2016 #57
Beautiful piece bigtree FreedomRain Mar 2016 #58
Thank you Rose Siding Mar 2016 #59
KnR, bigtree Hekate Mar 2016 #61
Wonderful post Bigtree! Lucinda Mar 2016 #62
Hear Hear. great white snark Mar 2016 #63
K&R ismnotwasm Mar 2016 #65
K&R DesertRat Mar 2016 #66
K&R Sissyk Mar 2016 #67
a good conversation about race would be more than just "let's talk about white v black" MadDAsHell Mar 2016 #69
Kicked and bookmarked for later reading Chitown Kev Mar 2016 #71
Nice OP but it really belongs in GD instead of here IMHO. nt Live and Learn Mar 2016 #73
An excellent piece! lexington filly Mar 2016 #74
Excellent OP... Spazito Mar 2016 #78

JustAnotherGen

(31,681 posts)
2. Rec because it is important
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 10:41 AM
Mar 2016

And you DO speak for many black Americans who are politically aware with what you have written. I don't care about someone who was someone's friend in the third grade -

You speak for me NOW and that's what matters most.

serbbral

(260 posts)
3. @bigtree
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 10:45 AM
Mar 2016

Great piece! I have to say that it still amazes me that some folks are still ignoring black folks (and other minorities) when it comes to this election, despite what happened in the 2012 election. Many just knew (that baffled me) that Mitt Romney had it, completely underestimating the black vote. Whether we talk about it or not, the minority vote does help shape who wins.

Response to bigtree (Original post)

bigtree

(85,917 posts)
5. case in point from a new poster
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 10:48 AM
Mar 2016

from Bolko:


(My quote)

"fear that blacks would rise up and dish out the same injustice & violence....many in the white-dominated had perpetrated against the race of people since slavery and through the years of segregation and state-sanctioned discrimination."

Bolko's remark:

Actually, the "fear" is that blacks will simply carry on behaving like blacks, just on a larger scale. Just look at anywhere where blacks live now. Look at the murder rate. Look at the senseless violence. Look at the corruption. Look at the dysfunction. They are a demonic, animal race. Pretty sure scientists recently discovered most blacks carry the evil gene.

All whites have ever done to blacks is show them love and kindness, and try to lift them out of the darkness, and look at how these ungrateful worms repay us
.

Response to bigtree (Reply #5)

 

heaven05

(18,124 posts)
37. BS
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 12:41 PM
Mar 2016

Last edited Wed Mar 2, 2016, 01:47 PM - Edit history (1)

The only reason black people in miserably ghettoized living conditions are so angry that we take that anger out on each other so easily is because of a racist culture always oppressing and executing PoC summarily, continously for generations. To have to be subject to a society's hate for generations does not a peaceful person make. The ONLY "worms", cowards and "animals" are the people who are racist and continuing the lies such as this. We will get better and more loving toward one another and I bet change in white society will speed up. MY PROOF OF THE THE IMMENSE AND WIDESPREAD WHITE RACIST HATE IN America CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNET EVERY FUCKING DAY.

Hekate

(90,189 posts)
64. Thanks for preserving that to show what we're up against from some quarters
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 08:24 PM
Mar 2016

My gods that is just sick.

Number23

(24,544 posts)
72. "All whites have ever done to blacks is show them love and kindness" What the EVER LOVING FUCK
Thu Mar 3, 2016, 04:38 AM
Mar 2016

I can barely type right now. That is the biggest pile of bullshit I've ever seen in my life. Cannot believe someone actually had the nerve to type that shit.

VulgarPoet

(2,872 posts)
11. K/r, bookmarked, all of it.
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 11:14 AM
Mar 2016

Thank you. People call me a powerful writer, you're a bit more deserving of that title.

thucythucy

(7,985 posts)
17. Read this once quickly
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 11:29 AM
Mar 2016

but have to dash now, so will come back and do a more careful re-reading.

First impression: this is brilliant. It is precisely the sort of careful, thoughtful analysis we need here.

I'm a (white) Bernie supporter, but I've been dismayed but much of the discussion here at DU on matters of race as they relate to this campaign. I can't now remember the post or poster (will have to search for it when I get back) but he or she also offered an excellent and much needed analysis on why the "black voters don't know Bernie" meme is a fail.

Thank you so much for putting in this effort, and like I say, I'll be back to read this more carefully later in the day.

For the time being: K & R.

Edited to quickly add: "It's a dwindling white majority in the workplace, and a dwindling dominance in other institutions which is, ironically, producing a familiar insecurity in some. Overall, black Americans' reaction to a dominating majority has been remarkably gracious, patient, and forgiving over the decades. Some of these dominionists could learn from that as they reconsider their role in a more inclusive society."

Totally spot on writing.

thucythucy

(7,985 posts)
68. Came back to do a more careful reading
Thu Mar 3, 2016, 12:06 AM
Mar 2016

and it's every bit as good, if not better, the second time through.

Great OP, and thanks again.

PeaceNikki

(27,985 posts)
18. Thank you for this, it's incredibly heartfelt and personal.
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 11:29 AM
Mar 2016

I don't mean to make this about me or take away from it at ALL, but I, as a woman can really REALLY relate to the less overt, yet VERY real instances of sexism that still exists in society. As a white woman, I will never know how that feels to be a POC, it helps me understand that, in addition to the overt, the covert is still very real. And most of that goes unnoticed to the untrained eye because it is so commonly ingrained in society.

Thank you for giving us an opportunity to listen and attempt to better ourselves.

monicaangela

(1,508 posts)
19. What you are describing IMHO is Tribalism
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 11:30 AM
Mar 2016

more so than racism. Tribalism implies the possession of a strong cultural or ethnic identity that separates one member of a group from the members of another group. Based on strong relations of proximity and kinship, members of a tribe tend to possess a strong feeling of identity. Objectively, for a customary tribal society to form there needs to be ongoing customary organization, enquiry and exchange. However, subjectively, intense feelings of common identity can lead people to feel tribally connected.

African Americans along with most other minorities in this country have been systematically excluded partly because of tribalism. Tribalism for me is something more than a conscious effort or a realization, it is almost something that is inbred, not so much as would be in the case of biological or sexual inbreeding, but a character or trait that is fixed in the character or disposition as if inherited; deep-seated. African Americans since we are discussing this group, have had that trait systematically removed from their character by their captors. Many slaves came from different tribes, and once in the U.S. and other countries had no time to cultivate their tribal instincts.

In most communities this tribal instinct is held together by a sense of belonging, that affords members of the tribe to coordinate their efforts so that the rest of the community can prosper. I don't feel African Americans have come to the realization that their economic power is as great as it is, because if they did or even if they had years ago, the community as a whole would have been able to prosper and advance more rapidly than what has occurred to this point. Yes, I know that most times when African Americans have even gotten the idea of banning together there have been efforts by the majority community to prevent the cooperation of the group. History shows of this:

Atlanta Race Riot (1906)

When the Civil War ended, African-Americans in Atlanta began entering the realm of politics, establishing businesses and gaining notoriety as a social class. Increasing tensions between Black wage-workers and the white elite began to grow and ill-feelings were further exacerbated when Blacks gained more civil rights, including the right to vote.

Greenwood , Tulsa, Oklahoma “Black Wall Street” (May 31 – June 1, 1921)


During the oil boom of the 1910s, the area of northeast Oklahoma around Tulsa flourished, including the Greenwood neighborhood, which came to be known as “the Black Wall Street.” The area was home to several lawyers, realtors, doctors, and prominent black Businessmen, many of them multimillionaires.

Greenwood boasted a variety of thriving businesses such as grocery stores, clothing stores, barbershops, banks, hotels, cafes, movie theaters, two newspapers, and many contemporary homes. Greenwood residents enjoyed many luxuries that their white neighbors did not, including indoor plumbing and a remarkable school system. The dollar circulated 36 to 100 times, sometimes taking a year for currency to leave the community.

Chicago Race Riots (1919)

The “Red Summer” of 1919 marked the culmination of steadily growing tensions surrounding the great migration of African-Americans from the rural South to the cities of the North during World War I. Chicago was one of the northern cities that experienced violent race riots during that period.

Drawn by the city’s meatpacking houses, railway companies and steel mills, the African-American population in Chicago skyrocketed from 44,000 in 1910 to 235,000 in 1930. When the war ended in late 1918, thousands of white servicemen returned home from fighting in Europe to find that their jobs in factories, warehouses and mills had been filled by newly arrived Southern Blacks or immigrants.

Rosewood Massacre (1923)

Rosewood was a quiet, self-sufficient whistle-stop on the Seaboard Air Line Railway in Florida. By 1900 the population in Rosewood had become predominantly African-American. Some people farmed or worked in local businesses, including a sawmill in nearby Sumner, a predominantly white town.

In 1920, Rosewood Blacks had three churches, a school, a large Masonic Hall, turpentine mill, a sugarcane mill, a baseball team and a general store (a second one was white owned). The village had about two dozen plank two-story homes, some other small houses, as well as several small unoccupied plank structures.

Spurred by unsupported accusations that a white woman in Sumner had been beaten and possibly raped by a Black drifter, white men from a number of nearby towns lynched a Rosewood resident. When the Black citizens defended themselves against further attack, several hundred whites combed the countryside hunting Black people and burning almost every structure in Rosewood.

Washington, D.C. Race Riots (1919)

Postwar Washington, D.C., roughly 75 percent white, was a racial tinderbox. Housing was in short supply and jobs so scarce that ex-doughboys in uniform panhandled along Pennsylvania Avenue.

However, Washington’s Black community was then the largest and most prosperous in the country, with a small but impressive upper class of teachers, ministers, lawyers and businessmen concentrated in the LeDroit Park neighborhood near Howard University.
By the time the “Red Summer” was underway, unemployed whites bitterly envied the relatively few blacks who were fortunate enough to procure low-level government jobs. Many whites also resented the influx of African-Americans into previously segregated neighborhoods around Capitol Hill, Foggy Bottom and the old downtown.

In July 1919, white men, many in military uniforms, responded to the rumored arrest of a Black man for rape with four days of mob violence. They rioted, randomly beat Black people on the street and pulled others off streetcars in attacks. When police refused to intervene, the Black population fought back.

Knoxville, Tennessee Race Riots (1919)

In August 1919, a race riot in Knoxville, Tenn., broke out after a white mob mobilized in response to a Black man accused of murdering a white woman. The 5,000-strong mob stormed the county jail searching for the prisoner. They freed 16 white prisoners, including suspected murderers.

After looting the jail and sheriff’s house, the mob moved on and attacked the African-American business district. Many of the city’s Black residents, aware of the race riots that had occurred across the country that summer, had armed themselves, and barricaded the intersection of Vine and Central to defend their businesses.

New York City Draft Riot (1863)

The Draft Riot of 1863 was a four-day eruption of violence in New York City during the Civil War stemming from deep worker discontent with the inequities of the first federally mandated conscription laws.

In addition, the white working class feared that emancipation of enslaved Blacks would cause an influx of African-American workers from the South. In many instances, employers used Black workers as strike-breakers during this period. Thus, the white rioters eventually turned their wrath on the homes and businesses of innocent African-Americans and anything else symbolic of their growing political, economic and social power.

On July 13, 1863, organized opposition broke out across the city. The protests soon morphed into a violent uprising against the city’s wealthy elite and its African-American residents.



http://atlantablackstar.com/2013/12/04/8-successful-aspiring-black-communities-destroyed-white-neighbors/4/

So you see, when it comes to discussing race or racism, I believe it has more to do with tribalism, I believe some get uncomfortable because it somehow raises their inbred instincts. I believe unconsciously some feel it is an attack on the privilege they enjoy and have enjoyed since inception of this nation as the USA. So don't feel so bad, so left out, so hurt, or so misunderstood. Join with the members of your tribe and try your best to concentrate on educating those that will listen on the importance of tribalism and above all keep those hard earned dollars circulating within the community.

2naSalit

(86,048 posts)
20. My experiences
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 11:39 AM
Mar 2016

growing up are clearly described here:

I was certainly tolerated in this community, but I had a difficult time gaining acceptance. I participated in most of the activities of the others, but I never really seemed to have the same social experience as the rest of my peers and friends. There were actually quite a number of parents of these kids who would not allow me to come into their homes; and the suburbs was all about the indoors. I got edged out of many of the events which should have been the hallmark of my youth. I didn't really get a grip on the camaraderie others seemed to revel in. It was a period of transformation of views. It was a period of misunderstanding of the, mostly contrived, differences between us. Folks were wary and cliquish. Things like finding a cub scout troop whose mentors would welcome you into their home for meetings. Things like being invited to parties or finding room in a group for the special trips they took to ski or to the beach. This was hard for a kid.

Thing is, though, most of the racism and discrimination was well undercover. Reasons and justifications needn't be openly discussed to deny a kid access to those elements of society that folks wanted to restrict for themselves. You just turn your back. Or, you just decide, as a group, to exclude. That characterized most of the problems I had as a result of the color of my skin. No open hollering racial epithets at me when I walked down the street, like the folks in Cumberland, Md. did when I visited there in 1979. No outright discrimination like I experienced as an adult looking for work and in the actual workplace. Just indifference and exclusion. Coded racism, undercover.

Much of the racism we experience in this 'modern' age -- so far from the overt and institutionalized expressions of our nation's racist and discriminatory past -- isn't overt or obvious; especially to those who haven't been at the receiving end of it all. That reality requires a special kind of vigilance among us which isn't readily understood or identified with by folks who don't see the perniciousness in small, seemingly benign and marginal slights and insults which once were so openly accepted and encouraged against our black population.


I am certain that this also describes the "political correctness" the chump and supporters are railing about. They just want to be openly rude and crude without consequence, you know, like back in Jim Crow dayze. And you don't have to be black skinned to be treated this way, just sort of brownish will do no matter one's ethnicity... always the one under suspicion when something wrong happens, always excluded from social activities and jobs...


Bravo! Spoken with eloquence!

Koinos

(2,792 posts)
24. I am filled with awe and admiration.
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 11:49 AM
Mar 2016

Bigtree, you are a gift to all of us. Thank you for helping me and others to see better and to know better.

BlueMTexpat

(15,349 posts)
25. That was an awesomely beautiful
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 11:52 AM
Mar 2016

essay from the heart, bigtree, If you do not already make a living from your writing, you should certainly consider doing so.

I am proud that you are part of what can one day become the most beautiful mosaic in the world if only we can not only openly discuss and tolerate, but also celebrate the differences that make each one of us the unique individuals that we are.

lovemydog

(11,833 posts)
34. There is indeed a better way.
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 12:28 PM
Mar 2016

That includes discussing race in positive constructive ways. I encourage any listening to read the AA group here. It's a very welcoming place too if one treats people there with the respect that everyone deserves. These issues are far greater that which candidate one chooses to support for the primaries. We all benefit and strengthen in wisdom by integrating and discussing in a civil manner the things that maybe we've avoided discussing for too long. Thank you bigtree for a great post!

ConsiderThis_2016

(274 posts)
35. Religion birthed the Division... though to many are blinded by it.
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 12:29 PM
Mar 2016

First and foremost... it's in the book. It was the main reason for escaping the King to settle on these shores, it divides continents and it divides humans with false hopes and desires. Human evolution has slowly diminished its harmful effects on society, but as our President rightfully proclaimed following the Charleston 9... "It's in our DNA"

It's the reason we still have Donald Trump and his fellow "crackers" and in part why Malcolm X split with MLK. Why some of the best professional years of Cassius Marcellus Clay's life were stolen and why he changed his name to Muhammad Ali. You wonder why Hillary Clinton overwhelming wins the bible belt states after destroying thousands of black family's by supporting the prison system?

No... though the Forrest has thinned over time, we still have many who can not see the forrest for the trees, or refuse to acknowledge the facts. Rest assured we're getting there, but not soon enough IMO. Maybe once the evil Christians, kill enough evil Muslims in the middle east, the hate will die down... /s

Response to elleng (Reply #39)

gwheezie

(3,580 posts)
51. Well bless your heart
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 02:21 PM
Mar 2016

Shouldn't you be trying harder to educate the rest of us. Do tell why black voters are just so wrong when they vote.

nyabingi

(1,145 posts)
53. You are speaking gibberish, AlbertCat
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 02:40 PM
Mar 2016

I don't care whom you support in this primary election (I'm in favor of Bernie), but to say "lots of Blacks seem to vote against their best interest" has got to be one of the stupidest statements I've ever seen.

Black people voting for Republicans would be Blacks voting against their interests, not Black people voting for a Democrat (Hillary) whom they think has the best chance of winning the general election against an openly and proudly white supremacist Republican party. Poor and working class white folks voting Republican is the epitome of "voting against their interests", not Black people voting for Hillary.

White supporters of Bernie need to be f-cking cognizant of what it is you're actually saying, because your "blame Black people" game is not one that Bernie would support and is bound to win you some enemies, AlbertCat.

passiveporcupine

(8,175 posts)
60. I'm not sure you even get it
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 06:07 PM
Mar 2016
not Black people voting for a Democrat (Hillary) whom they think has the best chance of winning the general election against an openly and proudly white supremacist Republican party.


that is not why adult blacks are voting for Hillary. They are voting for Hillary because she has a history with them and she is a known entity, who may have made some mistakes, but has worked for many years to help the black community. They don't know Bernie and do not see that past history of his...but then most of us don't know most people in congress who have not been in the public eye. Hillary has been in the public eye for a very long time, and still her work with blacks is not well known to white people...so if they are being blind about Bernie, we are being blind about Hillary.

I'm just finding out about this, because I have not been able to find anything about this on the internet, until just recently, OPB posted a history about her and it covers a little bit. But I asked and was informed by a black member of DU (privately) about why blacks support Hillary, and I now understand.

What I don't understand (except I really do) is why they don't stand up and express this openly here when people ask why they support Hillary over Benrie.

I think we need to know this. And stop giving them a hard time for their choice. They have valid reasons. I would like to apogogize if any of my earlier questions on this issue offended anyone, or came across as condescending. I was not trying to condescend. I truly did not know her history with blacks and now I do. I wish more people did. As I told the person who informed me, it will make it easier for me to voter for her in the general, knowing she really does fight for POC (at least blacks) and why wouldn't she. She grew up in the south so she knew a lot more blacks than Bernie. She has a comfort level with them that he doesn't, because he lives in a predominantly white state. That is understandable. They feel comfortable with her because of her outreach and her religious leanings and her outreach to them through their pastors. Remember that religion is more important to blacks historically than to many whites.

So I want to thank bigtree for this post as I think a lot more open discussion needs to be done to bring AAs openly into the fold of DU. And to accept that for them, Hillary really might seem to be the better choice, even if Bernie supporters don't see it. It's not up to us to see it...it's up to them.

And thank you to my mentor. Privacy respected.

Bigtree said:
One of the things I learned from my youth is that there's absolutely no benefit in keeping these issues quiet. There's no great virtue in avoiding the subject of race. There's every opportunity to heal divisions through better understanding of each other.

Yes...please. Please continue to encourage open discussion that hitherto has been avoided out of fear of rejection. I know I cannot understand what it takes to speak out, but many of us are open to learning.
 

EffieBlack

(14,249 posts)
70. Thanks for this
Thu Mar 3, 2016, 01:27 AM
Mar 2016

If you haven't ventured over there yet, you should join us in the AA group - we have some good, respectful conversations there and everyone works hard to try to learn from each other, regardless whom we're supporting.

 

Cheese Sandwich

(9,086 posts)
41. talking about race in the campaign is very important...But just repeating over and over again
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 01:18 PM
Mar 2016

statistics about how black people don't like Bernie Sanders, that's not talking about race issues at all.

Neither is when Hillary stops in to pray with a black church, that's not talking about race.

There hasn't been hardly any talking about race. There has been a lot of talking about the political demographics of race, and that's about it.

elleng

(130,126 posts)
42. You say: 'Racism certainly isn't chic anymore,'
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 01:21 PM
Mar 2016

but as you suggest, there seems to be a revival of racism and bigotry, something I never thought I'd see.

I recall my law school professor, a renowned scholar born in Egypt, explaining that racism would decline when society no longer considered it 'chic' (your word; I don't recall his,) but after good years of it's decline (my perception,) 'chic' it is again.

This disturbing and disheartening trend is shocking to me, and likely horrendous to you and yours. Fortunately my daughters, young adults with children of their own, find it utterly unacceptable.


Fla Dem

(23,349 posts)
43. Bigtree you are a giant among giants. Please keep sharing your thoughts.
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 01:25 PM
Mar 2016

There will always be bigots and those who say they are not prejudiced, but when push comes to shove, in their hearts there is deep seated animosity against the "other". Whether it is against Blacks, Muslims, Asians, and even women of all ethnicity, there will always be hate. But there is I hope, a larger number of people who are just not aware. Words such as your may touch those and turn their hearts.

Peace.

malthaussen

(17,065 posts)
45. Isn't everyone impacted by race?
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 02:03 PM
Mar 2016

Other than that minor quibble, nothing with which to disagree in the post: I am amazed that anyone would try to float the idea that race is not something worth discussing in this election cycle. More so than ever in the past generation, I'd say, because the bigots have been getting more verbal recently, and have succeeded in overturning some of the progress already made, and would love to overturn more. But this is also true of just about all liberal progress: the divisions have sharpened as the radicals have driven the moderates out of the GOP and into the Democratic Party.

-- Mal

 

awoke_in_2003

(34,582 posts)
75. Define impacted...
Thu Mar 3, 2016, 09:00 PM
Mar 2016

as a 48 year old white male, my skin color does not make me subject to racism from others toward me. Cops don't look at me and think "how can we fuck with this guy today". People running stores don't keep an extra eye on me because they think I am going to do something. I guess technically I am impacted by race, in that I have privilege.

malthaussen

(17,065 posts)
76. "impacted," I should say, as in "affected."
Thu Mar 3, 2016, 09:40 PM
Mar 2016

The oppression of others takes a toll on those at the top of the food chain as well as the oppressed, because it creates an environment in which oppression is considered Business as Usual. You may not be at risk of being shot for walking down the street, but I seem to recall some maundering poet going on about no man being an island. It's not just a quibble: the idea that privilege insulates from the ill-effects of oppression is a great way to reinforce isolation and allow those with privilege to ignore their fellow-citizens. I submit that we need to revive the sense of community that was once said to be the ideal of our country, that old "melting-pot" shtick which was honored more in the breach than otherwise, but is not honored now at all. We are in this together, and when my brother is wronged, so I am. It's a simple enough philosophy.

-- Mal

 

awoke_in_2003

(34,582 posts)
77. Thank you for your reply...
Thu Mar 3, 2016, 09:48 PM
Mar 2016

I had read something wrong into the post I responded to, and needed clarification. The brain cell isn't firing too rapidly today (on meds for ear, nose, and throat infection plus bronchitis)

wysi

(1,512 posts)
57. This is one of the finest pieces of writing I've ever read on this site
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 04:38 PM
Mar 2016

Thank you very much for posting this piece, it was vivid and moving, and I hope everyone has a chance to read it.

FreedomRain

(413 posts)
58. Beautiful piece bigtree
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 04:46 PM
Mar 2016

I was in true suspense when you told the lost on a bike story wondering which way it would go, so glad for happy ending

Rose Siding

(32,623 posts)
59. Thank you
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 06:00 PM
Mar 2016

That was a good read. "Disturbing and disheartening" to say the least. You are generous to provide such a thorough explanation of what we've seen happening.

Lucinda

(31,170 posts)
62. Wonderful post Bigtree!
Wed Mar 2, 2016, 07:00 PM
Mar 2016

I've watched DU'ers from the AA community, for over a decade now, patiently explain the problems that still exist, and be met with a wall that some here just cannot see over. It's happening again now. I see it in those that want to blame the black community for not "getting" Bernie, when the truth is that Sanders, isn't listening to the AA voices, that have been telling him that every problem is not solvable through economic means. So we are seeing hatefulness seeping into the conversations here because people don't understand, but I think it is because they aren't listening, again. Out of all the extremist behavior in this election, this bothers me the most. I hope it is some comfort that many of us here are standing with you, trying to help people understand when we can, but not tolerating anything that seeks to divide us, or make anyone less than another.

 

MadDAsHell

(2,067 posts)
69. a good conversation about race would be more than just "let's talk about white v black"
Thu Mar 3, 2016, 12:47 AM
Mar 2016

Anyone notice that discussions of minority rights, racial injustice, etc., almost without fail, fail to include or even acknowledge the opression of Native Amercans, Asians, etc.? I feel like our argument for racial justice could be so much more impactful if we weren't consistently and deliberately excluding millions of our fellow persons of color from the conversation.

lexington filly

(239 posts)
74. An excellent piece!
Thu Mar 3, 2016, 05:37 PM
Mar 2016

In retrospect, it seems when Obama was elected, a huge number of people gave themselves permission to come completely out of their racist closets and proclaim by overt means just who they are. It was such a disheartening blow to me because I had illusions that America in fact had turned a corner racially speaking. And I'm white, so I cannot imagine how this has all felt when you're black.

Nothing is accomplished by our elected officials for a "pretty please." So I sincerely hope the power of the black vote is welded against the inequities of the justice system, lower pay for black men and women, the lack of opportunities all the way around, and a disgraceful system inner city neighborhoods. For starters....

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