A White America

 

A couple years ago in 10th grade English, we were assigned to read 1984. We sat in shock, surprised at how a government was able to brainwash its citizens so effectively, to the point in which they were oblivious to the manipulation they were experiencing. But somehow, as I grow older, I seem to understand these tactics more and more, as I notice them within our own society. This may seem to be an extremist view on our society, but upon reading “Stamped” within the past few weeks, I realized that extremism has been at the core of all our mindsets for centuries. The history classes which we’ve been taking since the beginning of elementary school have been revealed to be a distorted version of our country’s history, the version that not only forces us to love America, but to love white America. 

Even before we start sitting through history classes in elementary school, we begin pledging our allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Then one day in the eighth grade, Colin Kaepernick made history. Upon kneeling during the national anthem, headlines the next morning stated that he was forfeiting his loyalty to America, protesting the country that stood for equality and justice. But in reality, Kaepernick was bringing attention to America’s lack of loyalty towards him, and more specifically Black people living in America. From that day on, a revolution began. More and more kids remained sitting during the years, fully aware of the racist accusations they could throw at teachers who mandated that students pledge their allegiance to a country which surely does not provide allegiance to us. Whatever the motive may be within these students, Kaepernik’s message only continued to spread. America was not a country which provided liberty and justice to all, but only to a few. And for those of us, including me, who have been privileged enough to remain blind from these atrocities for the large majority of our life, we were hit with the sudden realization that our community was not the norm. 

In a time of constant political upheaval, racial disputes have become ever common, whether it be the numerous comments made by a previous president about minorities or the summer of protests and riots across the country. Simultaneously with the exposure of racism within our society, the topic of systemic racism comes up more frequently. 

Systemic racism refers to “a system in which public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms work in various, often reinforcing ways to perpetuate racial group inequity” (The Aspen Institute) . In a nutshell, systemic racism is the way that our society continues to sustain racism within institutions, for centuries beginning from slavery. 

Let’s take a quick detour from history for a moment, and switch to another topic, psychology. A few weeks ago in psychology class, we began learning about babies! But instead of talking about how cute babies are, we focused on how their mind works, more specifically their bias. Now, take a look at this video which perfectly encapsulates the study. 

We use the quote “Racism is not something we are born with, it’s something we are taught”, but this video proves otherwise. Further applications of this study show that babies gravitate to those who are similar to them, and that includes skin color. Our innate nature teaches us to push away those who are different, and reach, in this case, to the stuffed animal who is most similar to us. We can take this concept and apply it back to anti racism. Since we are born with these biases, it takes anti-racism to counter ourselves. At the very beginning of “Stamped, Reynolds and Kendi explore what it means to be anti-racist, separating the identity from those who are segregationists and assimilationists. They state that segregationists are those who “hate you for not being like them”, assimilationists are those who “like you when you’re like them”, and antiracists “like you because you’re like you” (Reynolds 3). For those of us who, for most of our lives, have grown up ignorant to the world around us, it takes antiracism to reverse the prejudice which has been ingrained in us for years. 

Let’s go back to history class now, starting with the novel 1984 by George Orwell. I’m sure you’re a bit confused as to how societal manipulation relates back to racism, so I’ll get straight to the point. 

Thomas Jefferson did not declare independence for all, Abraham Lincoln was not a moral hero, Malcolm X was not insane, Tarzan was not a cute kid’s movie, and neither was Planet of the Apes. 

Understand the brainwashing a bit more now? I’ll explain. 

Thomas Jefferson, in slight terms, was a human contradiction, especially regarding slavery. In history, we look at Jefferson as the ultimate savior, freeing us from the bonds of British rule, and releasing us into pure American freedom. To begin, shortly before the American Revolution, Britain had outlawed slavery, and guess what? They began looking towards America to do the same, and of course, a country built on the enslavement and persecution of others could not bear to consider banning their precious institution. And thus, the American Revolution begins. Growing up, Jefferson was said to consider his slaves, and black people, as his friends and companions. He even wrote in the original Declaration that “slavery was a cruel war against human slavery”. But on the opposite side of the spectrum, Jefferson claimed that slavery was sufficient as an ‘economic system’. And on the opposite side of the world, Jefferson sent messages from France “telling his slaves to work harder” to pay back creditors, while “telling abolitionists that there was nothing he wanted more than an end to slavery” (Reynolds 59). Now this is just one simplified example of how the figures we’ve been taught to idolize from such a young age do not live up to the pedestal which we have set them on.
To continue, we’ll move onto Abraham Lincoln. A man who is known as the “Great Emancipator” in history, did not believe that slavery should have been abolished until it was convenient for him. His views changed not only overtime, but at the same time as his voters. He was never the rebellious extremist senator, but the one who had seemed to have the right views at the right time in order to get elected. 

Ah, we’ve reached Malcom X, my favorite. I want you to take a moment and think about how you were taught about the Civil Rights movement, especially Martin Luther King and Malcom X. As children, we were taught not about the lynching and murders of black men and women, but of the peaceful protests and sit-ins.We were taught that Martin Luther King was the head of the civil rights movement, and his nonviolent movement achieved everything that was necessary for races to be equal from then on. But Malcom X? We were taught that he was an extremist, in the worst possible connotation; that his sole personality trait was hating white people, and he was just an example to uplift the nonviolent protests of King. But in reality, Malcolm X was a figure who imprinted his cause and ideals onto black history til this day. When activists were frustrated with the state of progress with the current movement, they turned to him and learnt not about assimilation, but of black self-sufficiency, a topic which was not brought up whatsoever at a time when white supremacy was the only answer.  

Now, before I begin talking about Tarzan, I’d like you to watch this clip from Tarzan of the Apes, released in 1918.

        This was the origin of Tarzan: a racist movie, created to counteract Jack Johnson’s wrestling win which boosted the power of black people throughout society. I think it’s pretty obvious from the clip that a white man saving a girl from a group of black people dressed up as apes is a bit problematic. It was an attempt for white people to reassert their power and ‘masculinity’.

If you haven’t realized by now, history is twisted. To every opinion you’ve formed, every story you’ve heard, every fact you’ve engrained, there is always another perspective to the story. From those elementary school history classes, we’ve only heard the story that those who have power want us to hear. And oftentimes, those who write our history textbooks are also associated with those who tear gas innocent protestors, those who refuse to hire minorities, and those who tell us that it’s our fault, not society’s for being unable to reach the same level as white people. Systemic racism means that racism is ingrained within our society, including the way we learn about each other. After reading even one book which opened my eyes, I can’t imagine how a proper view on our country would affect the viewpoints of the millions of other kids who currently sit in classrooms, oblivious to the world around him. 

Last year in English class, I had my first encounter with true unbiased learning. My 11AP teacher introduced a concept called the critical race theory to us one day. We spent the week in groups, analyzing the topic of racism and how it affected not only our lives, but the lives of those who are even more directly affected by the systemic racism within our society. The American Bar Association’s Human Rights Magazine describes the Critical Race Theory as practice of “interrogating the role of race and racism in society that emerged in the legal academy and spread to other fields of scholarship” (George). Per this theory, analyzing systemic racism within our society should be common, and is crucial to pursuing an antiracist society. 

Unfortunately we have a ways to go to reach this utopia, with the chaotic state of our society which continues to perpetuate racism at every level. Ignorance is oftentimes bliss, but for those who do not have the privilege of ignorance, their lives continue on, trapped outside of the doors to opportunity, watching the truly free continue on without burden. The only way we, as in our country as whole, will ever be able to be considered one where “all men created equal’, is when we are truly aware of the privileges and hardships which everyone experiences on a day to day basis, and take an active role in ending these practices. But as this day is not within eye’s reach for now, I’ll take this moment to thank Mrs. Valentino for opening my eyes for the very first time, and Jason Reynolds for teaching me the version of history I’ve never learned before. Hopefully there’s plenty more like them out there.