Race in Context

Some white people and even some Black people who are ignorant about American Studies and history continue to question why Black people have not made more progress in the United States, and they argue that Black people have no reason to complain about racial discrimination. They insist that racism is a thing of the past, and they exaggerate about Black people being their own worst enemies or their only real enemies. “Race in Context” is an effective counter to such arguments. Of course, since the scope is too broad to be covered adequately in a streamlined fashion, “Race in Context” is intended to serve as an introduction.

We must learn the sociohistorical context regarding race, which explains that each time Black people in America have begun to move forward, there have been external forces that blocked them or pushed most of them back. These obstacles have either been unique to Black people in America or more damaging to them than other groups of people. In my article, a practical and personalized discussion about racism follows a list of briefly stated obstacles faced by Black people that places race in context.

The Obstacles

Consider the following racial issues in the United States, which are not all-inclusive:

1.???? Racism not being limited to the feelings or actions of individual people but involving institutionalized racism (systemic racism), white supremacist ideology, and white privilege

2.???? Relying on the dictionary definition of “racism,” which is less relevant than a definition (the formula) related to racism’s impact on human lives:

Racism = Prejudice + the Power (social, political, economic) to enforce it

3.???? Misinformation and lack of knowledge about what racism is, including the myth of reverse discrimination (or white civil rights) and the myth of being pro-Black being unpatriotic

4.???? White denial and white guilt about the United States’ legacy of racial injustice: “non-racist” white people who turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to racial injustice because they think it does not affect them directly or because they know they benefit from it

5.???? Diminished knowledge about the experience and contributions of Black people to world history and American history, from the ancient world to the present: whitewashed history in our schools and some of us having to research things for ourselves and teach others while the rest of us lack the resources to do the same

6.???? Trans-Atlantic slavery and American slavery (and their long-term social, political, and economic consequences)

7.???? Our struggle against the legacy of mental enslavement (promoted by racist whites who sought to facilitate long-term physical enslavement)

8.???? The racist denial of education to Black people during and after the American slave period

9.???? The Black Codes and the efforts of racist whites after emancipation that limited the freedom of Black people and kept them as close to the state of slavery as possible by limiting them to being low-paid laborers

10.? The racist denial of suitable means for formerly enslaved people to support themselves; continued exploitation, such as sharecropping (underpaying and cheating Black people or even forcing them into that way of life)

11.? The transformation of overseers and slave catchers into racist law enforcement

12.? The federal government’s double-cross, which allowed Southern states to reverse the gains of Reconstruction and send us into the Jim Crow era: the placing of reconciliation between whites, through appeasement for former Confederates, as a much higher priority than Black people having rights that would be protected under law

13.? The Jim Crow or “separate but equal” era of legal segregation and discrimination

14.? The rise of hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and their white nationalist agendas

15.? The lynching of Black people and the intimidation of whites who aided in our civil rights struggle

16.? Continued lynching and murders of Black people (largely stemming from white racists’ fear of their own so-called “pure race” becoming extinct due to amalgamation and the notion that “unworthy” Black people have been stealing opportunities from white people, especially white males)

17.? The mass murders of Black people in towns such as Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Rosewood, Florida, at the hands of whites just because they resented the fact that these Black people were beginning to rise out of poverty and make better lives for themselves

18.? The loss of Black people’s lives continuing to be deemed as less important than white people’s lives in law enforcement and in our society, in general

19.? The Great Depression of the 1930s, which hit Black people the hardest

20.? The creation and perpetuation of race-based ghettos by deliberate federal and state government policies, redlining, and white flight (i.e., whites leaving areas as Black people moved in and taking the tax base with them)

21.? The demolition and displacement of Black neighborhoods and Black-owned businesses by cities as part of area redevelopment for white-only commercial ventures

22.? The federal government’s attention being diverted from civil rights by major wars such as World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War

23.? The fact that most Black people in America remained in poverty through the 1960s

24.? Post-industrial America: the loss of industrial jobs in major cities, which soon helped increase the number of Black men behind bars and the number of single-parent homes

25.? Limited socioeconomic advancement for most Blacks in the United States and the fact that most of us who are considered “middle class” today are just one step away from slipping back into poverty

26.? The filtering of drugs, guns, and alcohol into poor Black communities

27.? Gross exaggerations about Black people’s dependence on Affirmative Action (when white women have benefited more than racial minorities)

28.? Gross exaggerations about Black people’s dependence on welfare/government assistance (when the majority of recipients are white)

29.? The fact that eight years of President Barack Obama, the United States of America’s first openly recognized Black president (2008-2016), could never have erased centuries of institutionalized racism and white privilege—even if it had been possible for him do more while he was in office

30.? Emboldened white racists resulting from factors such as eight years under a Black president as well as Donald Trump’s presidential campaigns (2016 and 2024) and presidency (2016-2020)

31.? Today’s continued Eurocentric curricula and covert racism in K-12 schools, including the deliberate mislabeling of numerous Black children as “slow” or “behavior-challenged” and the “school-to-prison pipeline” (based on factors such as disability, economic status, and race)

32.? The “pushing” of academically and socially unprepared students through school systems more concerned about “numbers” than children’s futures (personal and professional growth, achievement, and success)

33.? White racists “acting out” as their fears heighten because the populations of nonwhite people continue to rise as theirs decreases

34.? Covert discrimination against Black students in higher education, including applicants for admission and enrolled students: the admissions process and problems caused by prejudiced white instructors, staff, and administrators

35.? Covert discrimination against Black faculty, staff, and applicants for employment in higher education, including the denial of access (despite qualifications and merit), limited career advancement, unequal compensation, and wrongful termination

36.? Covert racism in employment, in general, which includes the denial of access (despite qualifications and merit), limited career advancement, unequal compensation, and wrongful termination

37.? Employers’ use/abuse of their probationary periods and their state’s at-will work status to cover up discrimination

38.? The failure/refusal of employers (including those that claim to value diversity and inclusion) to make ongoing efforts to stamp out white supremacy culture and white privilege

39.? The myth of meritocracy

40.? Continued racism in the criminal justice system: racial profiling as well as the grossly disproportionate confrontation of alleged crimes, arrests, and conviction rates—all despite the fact that Black people comprise no more than 14% of the nation’s population

41.? Continued, disproportionate police violence against Black people

42.? Continued, deliberate mischaracterizations of Black people in fictional and nonfictional media, including modernized versions of the buck, coon, mammy, Jezebel, and Sapphire; the image of Black people as criminals; the irrational fear of Black people; the continued disrespect and disdain for Black females and their bodies; and the image of Black people as pathological and pathogenic

Racism Is . . .

A dictionary definition of “racism” lacks social and historical context, such as power. It is even less useful than a dictionary definition of “friend.” As an educator, I emphasize that the practical application and life application of knowledge are far more important than busy work completion and mere memorization.

As stated earlier, the most practical definition of “racism” is as follows:

“Racism” equals “prejudice” plus the “power” (economic, social, and political) to enforce it.

Technically, that is a definition of institutionalized racism, but to be clear, the idea of racism where no power is involved is irrelevant. Prejudice (prejudging) and racism are not the same thing. Systemic racism and white privilege as well as the conditioning involved in both are more relevant than the typical emphasis on how individuals feel or behave.

Race is a sociohistorical construct that has been used inconsistently by a group of people that has sought to maintain its control over other groups. Thus, “minorities” are “lumped together” by the dominant group when it best suits a particular objective. Yet, “divide and conquer” is used rather conveniently in other instances.

Furthermore, the idea that Black people hold power in small spheres ignores the issue of systemic or institutionalized racism, especially since these spheres are not microcosms of the United States.

The lack of meritocracy and the presence of discrete, covert racism are serious problems. Racism and racial discrimination in America are institutionalized, sustained even as they seemingly lose adherents over time. Then, of course, there are “non-racist” whites who sit back idly and remain silent when they observe injustice; they remain in their comfort zones because they benefit from white privilege, despite having Black “friends” or having any feelings of guilt.

Institutionalized racism and white privilege are why some white people can be mediocre or worse and still receive the opportunities that Black people must demonstrate excellence to receive. For example, I graduated with a master’s degree from a Big Ten university. I had a 3.93/4.0 GPA, glowing references, and teaching experience. Yet, I was rejected by six Ph.D. programs at PWIs. Off the record, a professor told me that those programs felt they had too many of “us” already and that my chances of acceptance would have been better or even worse, depending on the timing of my applications because PWIs tend to admit Black graduate students in cycles. It had nothing to do with merit or the level of competition. I was discriminated against, even if I could not prove it. I was not an African American who lived up to negative stereotypes or failed to pursue the opportunities that were “available.”

“Gatekeepers” continue to limit how many Black students, even the absolute best, may obtain admission into graduate programs. That, in turn, limits who may later gain opportunities to eventually enter the professoriate and become tenure-track instructors.

Of course, Black students who enter graduate school and survive the additional hurdles that white students never have to face are soon met by the same gatekeepers when they apply for faculty positions, no matter what their levels of merit might be. Some who do obtain positions at these institutions find that they are less than welcome and held to higher standards than their white peers yet again. In addition, they often lack the power needed to help other Black people gain employment at their institutions, unlike whites who often pull strings or network extensively and successfully (fairly or unfairly).

I am a college instructor with more than 10 years of experience and a background of excellence. I am more versatile, more creative, and more qualified than most of my competition. Yet, I have been ignored consistently by most of the PWIs that I have applied to, despite my attempts to follow up with them. Regarding the few who have responded, some have been blatantly disrespectful and insulting. The constant rejection has never been about my qualifications or the descriptions found in position announcements; unfortunately, despite the level of merit some of them have pretended to acknowledge, my background has not been Eurocentric enough to satisfy the gatekeepers.

Yet, some whites complain about “Affirmative Action,” which allegedly allows unqualified Black people to steal opportunities from whites even though it has benefited white women (who have faced gender discrimination) more than Black people, female or male. White instructors at PWIs, especially white male instructors, have no business complaining about the mere 3% of Black instructors. The percentage ranges from 0% to just under 10% at any PWI.

“Race in Context” is not about excuses. We must promote awareness and effectively counter misinformation. It is about consciousness. We need to understand what is out there in order to overcome these obstacles. A false sense of security can be just as harmful as self-defeat. Unfortunately, it is still a challenging road for many of us. If knocked down, we must get back up and move forward. We overcome through faith in God, perseverance, knowledge, and excellence.

(updated on 10-26-2024)