Racism Still Lives in America, Term Paper Example

 Preface

For many people the election of Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States seemed to signal the end of racism in America. As momentous as Obama’s election was, and hopefully it will usher in a new era of cooperation and understanding between the races, the quotations highlighted in this annotation will clearly demonstrate that racism has a long history in America and that such racism is likely to continue for some time in the future. Racial disparities still persist in nearly every measurable form they will not simply go away merely because the country now has elected a black president.

Racism in America is deep seated and has been present in the nation’s culture long before the country was even organized. Despite the euphoria felt by many Black Americans following the election of Obama, the weight of history indicates that racism has been with American society since its inception and that generations of Americans, white and black, have struggled to ease its effects. Political leaders, social commentators, and ordinary citizens have raised their voices over the years in an attempt to decry the wrongs inherent in racism.

Beginning with John Winthrop’s proclamation that America was a “City upon a hill” and represented the world’s attempt at establishing a perfect society, the United States has struggled to maintain this ideal while at the same time treating a large segment of its society as a form of second class citizen. Winthrop’s words were delivered in 1630 and yet the United States continues to strive toward this goal. Through the years since political compromises have been negotiated; a Civil War has been fought; and, riots and demonstrations have occurred as the direct result of American society’s treatment of its Black members. Along the way brave and enlightened individuals such as Abraham Lincoln, Thurgood Marshall, Cornell West, and Langston Hughes have all eloquently voiced their views on the issue and contributed to the progress that has been made but the deep seated nature of this horrible hatred remains in American society.

The quotations provided in this anthology provide a historical perspective of how Americans have addressed the issue of racism throughout the nation’s history while, at the same time, highlighting the inherent wrongs. The pervasiveness of racism is reflected by the fact that many of the remarks made by commentators early in the nation’s history remain in the thoughts of modern day commentators. For example, many of the comments made by then Senator Obama in his famous speech delivered in Philadelphia shortly before the 2008 Presidential election echo the same concerns expressed by some of the Founding Fathers and, later, by Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglas and many others throughout the nation’s history. Racism is still alive and well in America and the readings contained herein demonstrate how many Americans fear its impact and how its presence prevents America from becoming that “City upon a hill” that John Winthrop envisioned nearly four hundred (400) years ago.

1. Governor John Winthrop, A Model of Christian Clarity (1630):

“For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God, and all professors for God’s sake. We shall shame the faces of many of God’s worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us till we be consumed out of the good land whither we are going.”

Commentary: These famous words by Puritan minister John Winthrop were extracted from a sermon delivered by him as he and others were leaving by ship for the New World. Winthrop was extolling his fellow travelers to keep in mind their moral mission to establish a society in the New World that would stand as model for the rest of the world. Winthrop and his fellow Puritan travelers, however, did not have in mind the fact that Blacks would be a part of this splendid “City.” Many Puritans would play a significant role in the Abolitionist movement that would develop later in American history but when Winthrop voiced his original words racism had not yet developed but the idea of America as a moral ideal had been.

2. Herman Melville, Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street (1853).

“There is something in the Negro which, in a peculiar way, fits him for avocations about one’s person…There is, too, a smooth tact about them in this employment, with a marvellous, noiseless, gliding briskness, not ungraceful in its way, singularly pleasing to behold, and still more so to be the manipulated subject of. And above all is the great gift of good humour…When at ease with respect to exterior things, Captain Delano’s nature was not only benign, but familiarly and humorously so. At home, he had often taken rare satisfaction in sitting in his door, watching some free man of colour at his work or play. If on a voyage he chanced to have a black sailor, invariably he was on chatty, and half-gamesome terms with him. In fact, like most men of a good, blithe heart, Captain Delano took to Negroes, not philanthropically, but genially, just as other men to Newfoundland dogs.”

Commentary: Herman Melville, the author responsible for the use of this quotation, was one of the leading writers of the 19^th century in America. The fact that he was not a Southern American but, instead, a resident of an area of the country that was assumed to have a more enlightened view toward Blacks may indicate that Melville shared a patronizing attitude regarding Blacks. In reality, Melville may have used this patronizing approach purely for effect the fact that such language appears at all indicates that Blacks were viewed negatively even in Northern society as the Civil War was nearing.

3. Eric Black, Our Constitution: The Myth That Binds Us (1988).

“The members of the Constitutional Convention didn’t invent
slavery, nor did they legalize it. But they did more than neutrally
condone the institution. They rewarded slave states, granting them
extra representation in Congress, and they strengthened slavery,…” (p.41).

Commentary: In the context of this book, the author reviews the activities of the Founding Fathers and the politicians that followed in their support of the institution of slavery. Surprisingly, even the political actions of the Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, in support of slavery are explored in a time when Lincoln believed that slavery was immoral but he did not seek its abolition. In actuality, during his time in the U.S. Congress he actually endorsed an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would have prohibited Congress from ever abolishing slavery.

4. Robert E. Lee, Letter to Mary Custis Lee (December 27, 1856).

“…slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil.”

Commentary: This comment by General Lee has been largely cited as his supporters as evidence that he distained slavery and that his decision to support the Confederacy against the Union was based on grounds other than racism. The quotation, however, is taken out of context and the complete letter lends support to the position that Lee, like most Southerners of the time, thought that slavery was ordained by God and that, as a Christian, it was his duty to support the institution. Lee believed that abolitionists, that is, those advocating the abolition of slavery were working contrary to God’s will and that such individuals, therefore, were evil.

5. Thurgood Marshall, Speech at the Annual Seminar of the San Francisco Patent and Trademark Law Association (May 6, 1987).

“For a sense of the evolving nature of the Constitution we need look no further than the first three words of the document’s preamble: ‘We the People.” When the Founding Fathers used this phrase in 1787, they did not have in mind the majority of America’s citizens. “We the People” included, in the words of the Framers, “the whole Number of free Persons.” On a matter so basic as the right to vote, for example, Negro slaves were excluded, although they were counted for representational purposes at three fifths each. Women did not gain the right to vote for over a hundred and thirty years.”

Commentary: With these words, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall placed into focus the fact that the Founding Fathers were erroneous in their treatment of large segments of American society including Blacks, women, and non-property owning whites. Instead of praising the Founding Fathers for their genius in writing the U.S. Constitution, Marshall called them to task for their failures and he pointed out that it took many amendments and a Civil War in order for their failures to be resolved.

6. Cornel West, Race Matters (1994).

“Nearly a century later, we confine discussions about race in America to the “problems” black people pose for whites, rather than consider what this way of viewing black people reveals about us as a nation.”

Commentary: Cornell West wrote his book describing the racial situation in America in the decade prior to the election of President Obama and in the aftermath of the Los Angeles riots. What West provides is a different viewpoint from what many other Black authors and commentators offer. West places part of the blame for the continued racist practices in the lap of Blacks. He argues that the Black community has not done enough to help themselves and that, as a result, progress has been slow. He suggests that in order for racism to be overcome the Black community must believe that there is hope for the future and they must find meaning in their lives in order to continue the struggle.

7. Bruce Cumings, Dominion from Sea to Sea: Pacific Ascendancy (2009).

“This ocean crossing eventually brought millions of Asians to the Pacific states, but for more than a century after the gold rush these early pioneers endured an appalling racism that barely distinguished the West from the abusive treatment of blacks in the South.” (p.197).

Commentary: The United States movement westward has been romanticized by novelists and historians but in this new book the effects of racism are considered and how it affected America’s manifest destiny. The look at racism is only a small portion of this extensive piece of work but the fact that the author decided to include references to it demonstrates its importance. It is also important to note that the book reveals that racism in America was not limited to maltreatment of Blacks but extended to other racial and ethnic groups such as the Chinese and other Oriental cultures.

8. Claudine C. O’Hearn, Half and Half: Writers on Growing Up Biracial and Bicultural (1998).

“It was clear to us growing up then that lighter was better but there was no question of discriminating against someone because he or she was dark skinned.” (p. 147).

Commentary: This essay reveals the fact that even among Blacks there is racism based on the aspect of color. In some Black cultures, discrimination exists similar to what is practiced in white cultures against those Blacks whose skin tones are darker. The rationale for this behavior is not explained but merely described. Discrimination based on skin tone is viewed by the author as being as oppressive as that based on skin color.

9. Anna Deavere Smith, Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992. (1994).

“There was an insurrection in this city before, and, if I remember correctly, it was sparked by police brutality. We had a Kerner Commission report. It talked about what was wrong with our society. It talked about institutionalized racism. It talked about a lack of services, lack of government responsiveness to the people. Today, as we stand here in 1992, if you go back and read the report, it seems as though we are talking about what that report cited some twenty years ago, still exists today.

Commentary: In the aftermath of the Rodney King beating the racial tensions that had been lying dormant suddenly exploded. The riots that followed opened wombs that had never healed and, as this passage states, revealed that nothing had really changed in Los Angeles in the past twenty years. These particular passages, and all the others contained in this work, are based on a series of interviews conducted with actual individuals who participated in the L.A. riots.

10. Christopher Isherwood, A Single Man (2001)

“All right. Now along comes the liberals – including everybody in this room, I trust – and they say, ‘Minorities are just people, like us.’ Sure, minorities are people – people, not angels. Sure, they’re like us – but not exactly like us; that’s the all-too-familiar state of liberal hysteria in which you begin to kid yourself you honestly cannot see any difference between a Negro and a Swede…”

Commentary: Hidden within the story about a college professor grieving over the loss of his long time lover are several vignettes about everyday life in Southern California in the 1960s. One of these vignettes is this passage questioning whether “minorities” are like everyone else. Obviously, minorities is not so subtle code for Blacks and everyone else code for the white majority. As the novel itself addresses many of the other social issues that were affecting life in Southern California in the early 60s, the vignette displays a common position held by many living in such era.

11. Langston Hughes, You and your whole race (2009).

You and your whole race.

Look down upon the town in which you live

And be ashamed.

Look down upon white folks

And upon yourselves

And be ashamed

That such supine poverty exists there,

That such stupid ignorance breeds children there

Behind such humble shelters of despair—

That you yourselves have not the sense to care

Nor the manhood to stand up and say

I dare you to come one step nearer, evil world,

With your hands of greed seeking to touch my throat, I dare you to come one step nearer me:

When you can say that you will be free!

Commentary: Langston Hughes has been highly criticized for the openness of his views on Black life in America but even his most vocal critics do not deny the accuracy of his poetry. The view of his critics was that Hughes was simply joining the white writers who stereotyped Blacks as lazy and shiftless individuals. Fellow Black writers believed that Hughes should work harder to dispel these stereotypes instead of reinforcing them. Hughes, however, believed that he accurately represented the Black culture as he saw it and was unapologetic.

12. Author Unknown, We Shall Overcome (Date unknown)

“We shall overcome, we shall overcome,
We shall overcome someday;
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We shall overcome someday.”

Commentary: The words of this song are not overly compelling but the basic theme of the song struck a chord with the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-1960s and has become identified as the Movement’s theme. The simplicity of the chords and lyrics made the song easy to learn and its popularity as a gospel song in Southern Baptist churches made it an immediate choice for the Movement. From its use in the Civil Rights Movement the song has move on to become identified with rights movements of all kinds.

13. Barack Obama, A More Perfect Union, (March 18, 2008)

“In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination — and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past — are real and must be addressed, not just with words, but with deeds, by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.”

Commentary: Perhaps no better evidence exists that racism continues to plague American society than the fact that Barack Obama while running for President saw the need to address issues related to racism during the course of his campaign. Obama aggressively, but sensitively, stated that racism remains a serious problem in American society and that it continues to cause divisions that must be addressed. In insight the speech served Obama well but, at the time, he assumed a risk that could have destroyed his candidacy.

Conclusion

As the passages cited herein represent clearly, racism has been an element of American society for over four hundred (400) years. Progress has certainly been made but, as Barack Obama’s 2008 speech demonstrates, the problem is still with us. Without a doubt, it was Obama’s speech that had the most profound effect on my own personal thinking as it was one that best highlighted the problem as it presently exists. A reading of its content should be required by every student until such time as the issues addressed by President Obama are resolved.