By Peter D. Miller
The disturbances in Ferguson, MO, got my attention. I wasn’t the only one, of course. They held the entire nation’s attention for several weeks. Over a month later, the aftermath of this tragedy is far from over.
One thing made it resonate with me at a visceral level. The precipitating event was disturbingly similar to a plot point in my recent novel, Differential.
In Differential, a riot followed the police shooting of an unarmed African-American teen. This fictional occurrence was set in 1969. I remember the turmoil of that period. When I wrote this scene, it seemed plausible in the late sixties.
That a somewhat similar incident would occur in 2014 caused me to ponder. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was meant to defang racism, put us on a level playing field. Why have we made so little progress in 50 years?
I have read many accounts of the shooting itself, the violence that followed, and the police activities during, and following the violence. There is a specific division in the points of view for these accounts.
One point of view emphasizes that Michael Brown was unarmed when killed by a police officer. It cites multiple examples of conduct perceived to be improper – in the past and present – by police and city personnel. Essentially, this point of view paints the Caucasian-dominated local officials as the ‘bad guys.’
The other point of view emphasizes Brown’s size, claims he had tried to take Officer Wilson’s gun, and claims that he had stolen cigars from a convenience store. In the aftermath, this point of view concentrates attention on the looting and destruction of property, by members of the African-American community. From this point of view, the African-Americans who participated – from Brown to the demonstrators and looters – are the ‘bad guys.’
How can two sets of people, viewing the same information, arrive at diametrically-opposed conclusions? The answer is obvious. The conclusions preceded the information.
Each of these conclusions is not a deduction based on reason. It is, rather, based on the belief system of the person drawing the conclusion. He focuses on the information that supports his belief, and he discounts any information that does not.
Niall Ferguson, MA, D. Phil., is an author and professor of History at Harvard. In an article in The Guardian[i], he states, “Race mattered, and, alas, may still matter, not because there are biologically distinct races but because people believe in their existence. That belief has repeatedly served to justify acts of organised repression …”
Belief systems are ingrained. They come from your upbringing – largely from your parents – and from the social groups of which you were a part in your formative years.
If you are a Protestant, the odds are very high that your great-great-great-grandfather was a Protestant. It is likely that your lineage includes Protestant ancestors, going back four centuries.
Most Catholics have Catholic ancestors going back as far as twenty centuries. Many Jews have Jewish ancestors as far back as twenty-six centuries.
There are, of course, exceptions. Sometimes people will ‘convert’ to another religion in order to marry someone of that religion. And a growing number of people identify with no particular religion.
The point, here, is that racial prejudice is a belief system. Like religion, it is passed from generation to generation.
As James Fidlerten observed in Racism in America: Live and Well[ii] “The problem with racism is that it’s passed down from one generation to another. When children who are racist because they were brought up by parents who are also racist and their parents were also brought up by racist(s) …”
There are ingrained viewpoints on both sides. Mistrust for the government in general, and the justice system in particular, is widespread in the African-American community. Like the racial prejudice among many Caucasians, this has also been handed down, generation to generation.
The slogan, “No justice, no peace!” has accompanied racial strife for decades. Crowds in Ferguson shouted it. It was chanted after the acquittal of the officers who had beaten Rodney King, and later after the acquittal of George Zimmerman. It echoes one of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches, circa 1967.
It has to be noted that Dr. King eschewed violence. However, it cannot be ignored that he was murdered. The violence which erupted in the days following his death brought the country’s focus on his work more intensely than the peaceful demonstrations he led.
And so the animosity feeds on itself. Each instance of racial injustice fuels mistrust. It strengthens the position of those who advocate violence. Each resultant act of violence by African-Americans strengthens the position of those who claim that African-Americans are by nature violent, uncivilized, inferior, etc.
How do we change this? How do we accelerate a process that has been mired for generations?
In “The Multiple Futures of Racism,”[iii] Caleb Rosado, Ph.D., described the four major roles in repression: 1) Perpetrator, 2) Victim, 3) Bystander, and 4) Rescuer. He makes a number of suggestions in the article on how people can help us make progress.
My suggestions are different for each of the four roles:
Perpetrator – in this context, a person who justifies treating non-Caucasians as inferior because he believes they are innately less intelligent, more violent, etc.
It is unlikely that anything I say will change your mind. But here is some food for thought. You may think of yourself as an independent thinker. You are not. Your prejudice against people of color was handed down to you, through indoctrination by your forebears. It probably goes all the way back to someone who justified treating slaves as sub-human, by claiming that the race itself is inferior.
Victim – people who are treated as less than equal, by government personnel or in public accommodations, employment, etc., because of race.
There is ample evidence that acts of racism exist and continue. If we are ever going to make progress, some of it must begin with your reaction to discriminatory acts. It boils down to this: Don’t give them an excuse. If you are stopped for driving while black, keep a civil tongue and attitude. Some of these folks are looking for a confrontation.
I still believe that most police officers are good people, doing a difficult job. There are, however, some racist officers, and many of those like to play a game Dr. Eric Berne called “NIGYYSOB.” Antagonizing someone who carries a gun will not end well.
Be ready to record and document. Check the laws of your jurisdiction on this. In nearly all states you have the right to record and document police activities, so long as you do not interfere with them.
If you believe that the justice system will not work for an African-American, prove it. Resorting to violence, based on mistrust of the judicial process, merely strengthens the hand of those who seek to deny your rights. A demonstrated injustice can call attention to a problem in a positive way, without the offsetting effects of property destruction and looting.
The same is true of the political process. Peaceful protest, lawful assembly, and especially participation in elections are powerful tools. Doctor King showed the effectiveness of these generations ago. The current attempts to minimize minority voting are a clue. There are those who fear non-Caucasians to voting in significant numbers.
Bystander – people who observe discriminatory actions but do nothing about them.
This is the group that could, in my opinion, make the biggest contribution to long-term change. And it wouldn’t take a lot of effort.
One of the keys to racism is insecurity. The need to devalue other people often comes from a desire to feel better about one’s self, by comparison.
Because racial prejudice is part of a belief system, it can be unlearned. Our belief systems are nurtured in our interactions with others – in the family, in the workplace, among friends and acquaintances. When a racist makes a demeaning comment, he is often doing so to gain emotional support or approval from those around him. To this person, silence is tacit approval/agreement. What you can do is to remove his assumption of your agreement.
Why should you do anything? It’s like Edmund Burke said long ago: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
You don’t have to do that much. It can be as simple as a head-shake or an eye-roll. If you feel adventuresome, perhaps you could even say something like, “I find that offensive.”
The point is to take away the assumption that you agree, because of your silence. If take this small step, you may give others the courage to do so. The person will lose some portion of the social support he seeks. At the least, he may be less aggressive in his racist actions. At best, the lack of social support could cause him to re-examine his belief. All belief systems are subject to re-learning, or unlearning. The small step of removing the assumed support could contribute to this happening.
Rescuer – the people who act to alleviate the effects of racism.
First of all, good for you. Beyond that, I have only a couple of thoughts. If you haven’t already done so, consider organizing and networking. With every millimeter of progress we make, our country becomes better for all of us.
[i] http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/jul/11/comment.race
[ii] http://fidlerten.com/2012/03/26/racism-in-america-live-and-well/
[iii] http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/papers/caleb/futures_of_racism.html