"...and we cannot let it take hold." Yes, it is and yes, it has or we wouldn't be having this conversation. * Denial and tsk-tsking has never solved a damned thing any more than blaming Southerners for all racism makes it nonexistent north of the Mason-Dixon. Moving forward requires an honest conversation, an acceptance on the part of white people that we must do something, probably something that evolves only after painful introspection about the fact that awareness of racism alone isn't a solution. Trump has laid bare the racism, misogyny, and bigotry at the core of republicanism, but liberals and progressives are not immune.
Earlier this year, Rachel Talbot Ross, a black woman in the very white state of Maine, was running for reelection to the state House after serving for two years when she was challenged by a white male from her own party. A blogger I enjoy very much, blackgirlinmaine.com, wrote about this election, and asked the question we white people must all ask ourselves.
In this moment, many white people are waking up to the reality that racism never went anywhere and that it’s insidious and deeply entrenched into all of our systems. People feel bad and want to do something and yet the work that can truly move the needle seems to elude them. Understand this: Nothing will change until white people realize that the only way we solve our racism problem starts with them asking themselves “What am I willing to give up?” You cannot right the scales of injustice without taking something from one side and moving it to the other in order to get the scales to balance out. You simply cannot. And while it’s bad enough when no white people are willing to step aside for Black people, it is especially galling when they actively try to displace them or diminish them when there is no need to do so.
Change will also require more people of color in the rooms where decisions are made. That means both seats at the tables as well as ownership of some of those tables. Racism is about power and privilege and despite the surface shifts since the 1960s, the levers of power across the board are still operated primarily by white men. We need Black and brown people to operate far more of those levers than is the case right now if change is going to happen. We need white people to recognize that fact and to step back and step down more often to make that happen. It also means calling out other well-meaning (or not so well-meaning, too) white people when they make missteps that are harmful to Black folks and other people of color.
Rachel handily won her reelection, and as far as I know, was not subjected to harassment like Rep. Morris, but she was forced to work harder and longer to keep her seat. Harassment is not the only way to discourage and prevent the taking of power by minorities. We need to commit to giving it up, and transferring it over.
* This is not a Sanders bash; he just happened to be the one making the statement this time. Similar comments are made by many others after every "shocking" event of racial harassment.
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