English 103: The Color of Racism

I

“No, my grandson ain’t playin’wit no white boy,” the aged and stern-looking black woman informed me from behind the screen. I had knocked on the neighbor’s door expecting that my new friend would be allowed to come outside and play. I did not know about racism, and I saw no difference between the boy and me, but the old woman recognized our differences all too well. She did not look upon me and see a child, also living in poverty, who only wanted to run around with his new friend; she saw the son of a slaver, an oppressor, with more privilege than her grandson. In reality, I lived on the same block where there were shootings and spent the same amount of time standing in the welfare line with my mother and younger siblings—we weren’t so different. In today’s society, I feel that racism is overly recognized as being an attribute of whites and that prejudice toward whites is somehow acceptable due to history’s sorrows.

In Gloria Anzaldúa’s essay, “Entering the Serpent,” she makes sweeping statements against white racism that in themselves are insidiously racist:

“No matter to what use my people put the the supernatural world, it is evident that the spirit world, whose existence the whites are so adamant in denying, does in fact exist.”

The denial of her “her people’s” spirit world was not by an opposing “white race,” but by a faction of the white race and a religion that was once the foundation of this country’s settlement; in fact, the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant were even disdainful toward other Europeans who did not conform to their beliefs, such as the Irish who were once enslaved.

My own progenitors were also victims of WASP-prejudice, despite their white skin. It is time for us to start looking at the world through twenty-first century eyes and a better understanding of history. Many battles were fought to bring us to where we are today, and to hold onto the tragedy of those battles without learning a lesson from them is to continue inflicting ourselves and each other with worthless wounds. It is time to stop embracing the role of victimhood for what our ancestors had to endure and simply be proud of their abilities to endure.

II

“Pinchi gabacho! I hate gabachos!” the Mexican boy said, then spit at me, as we did jumping jacks on the recreation yard of Juvenile Hall.

Growing up in poverty, on the streets, and in institutions, I was the minority, and I had to fight for “respect” and “acceptance.” I could often feel the bitterness and resentment of the other races and maybe the simplest explanation is that I was outnumbered and different, although, I believe that it goes much deeper. I think that in some way, shape, or form, minorities in the projects are taught that all white boys are somehow automatically dealt the better hand in life—something known as “white privilege”—and for this reason my own struggles were denied. The expectation was that I did not belong there in their neighborhoods. Historically, white’s have occupied the upper and middle class, locking minorities into the lower class through segregation, but today there is no such thing as lawful segregation. All races are given a much fairer chance, especially with affirmative action programs and minority support groups like the NAACP.

III

“They say it’s the white man I should fear,

but it’s my own kind

doin’ all the killin’ here”

—Tupac Shakur

My grandmother is the best! When I was riding in the car with her as a teenager, she would allow me to play whatever music I wanted, and I was listening to a lot of Tupac. Grandma sometimes winced at all the cursing, but she was usually able to find the message in his lyrics. Tupac’s poetry was insightful and profound enough that it is still relevant today, twenty years after his tragic death. For instance, the news of white cops killing black men is splashed across the headlines, creating a nationwide outcry against racism and white hate, but as Heather MacDonald relates in her book, “The War on Cops,” merely four percent of black homicide victims are killed by cops. Furthermore, according to a report released by the National Review, victims of black crime are overwhelmingly other blacks. Tupac himself was murdered by other black men. These facts reflect his lyrics with a pristine image of truth.

Still, every time there is an altercation between a white cop and a black man, both whites and blacks take to the streets and begin marching to the mantra of “Black Lives Mater.” The racial conflict is exacerbated by the news media broadcasters who put extra stress on one syllable words, like “white” and “black.” There is no noise when a white man is shot or beaten by a cop; in fact, nearly twice as many whites were killed last year by police than blacks. It is also true that black cops, as well as white cops, were involved in the deaths of both whites and blacks. White police are not assassinating black men the way that they were when J. Edgar Hoover was running the FBI, and the Black Panthers marched through Sacramento and took over the state capitol, resulting in a days long stand off and a shoot out. I think that history has made society sensitive to any situation involving different races that may not be amicable, and sadly, racism seems to be a dark cloud hanging over white America.

IV

1968, The Black Panther Party

A Corrupt Government, and the Future of Humanity

There is rage in the streets

Tangible as the blood that marks the pavement

There is a revolution at hand

To be free or see the grave

Even children march the town

Young, proud, and brave

To be released from oppression

Police brutality and a government depraved

Men are captured and tried

Imprisoned and locked in a cage

Sentenced for no sin except to be black

Proud warriors wear shackles and chains

“Liberty!” is the cry in the streets

The march for change

Fight to topple this totalitarian pseudo-democracy

Corrupted and deranged

Come together now people

And witness the end of a dichotomy

For if they could bind and gag Bobby in the courtroom

Surely they c ould do it to you or me

Fight!

Not for black

Not for white

But for the future of humanity

Works Cited

I. David Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky, “E`ntering the Serpent.” Ways of Reading, An Anthology for writers, 8th Ed. Boston, New York” Bedford/St. Martins, 2008 29-41 Print.

II. Shakur, Tupac. All Eyes on Me, “Only God Can Judge Me.” Death Row Records, 1997

III. National Review, Police Shootings Black vs White, n.p., n.d.