In various forms we are tied up, politically, socially, economically and about every other kind of “ically” with the subject of race.
It provokes anger, fear, and uncertainty.
Am I racist? Is someone else a racist, too, although they don’t look the same way I do?
Am I a victim? Am I a perpetrator?
What should I do? Admit it? Feel guilty about it? Demand something from somebody? Be afraid of somebody? Organize and try to stamp it out or stamp out discussions of it?
And where did it come from?
There are those who prefer not to discuss this issue. They have turned the word “woke” into a pejorative describing disparagingly those who are, as the Oxford Old English Dictionary tells us “originally (were) well-informed, up-to-date” but now “chiefly” means someone “alert to racial or social discrimination and injustice.”
A few weeks ago (July 25), we wrote about “Two Popes and Christian Nationalism.” Recently we listened to a talk by John Biewen, the director of Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies, a podcaster, and an author. He called his remarks, “The lie that invented racism,” and offered suggestions for solving racial injustice that began about 170 years before 1619, the date cited by a much-attacked New York Times article that (erroneously, we think) sets the date for racism in America.
Biewen’s talk supplements that July 25th exploration. We do not fear being called “woke” by recommending you watch Biewen’s presentation. Frankly, we are more likely to take it as a compliment, which might only make an accuser more angry. Too bad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIZDtqWX6Fk
I jotted down three quotes while listening to his talk—-not a speech, mind you, a talk. Racism “is a tool to divide us and to prop up systems.”
“It’s about pocketbooks and power.”
“White guilt doesn’t get a lot of anything done”
His presentation is one of many TED Talks posted on the web. Talks such as these began with a 1984 conference on Technology, Entertainment, and Design (thus, TED). The program focuses on “ideas worth spreading.” The talks, limited to no more than eighteen minutes, cover a huge range of topics within the broad fields of science and culture.
Some famous people have made them. There are many whose names are meaningless to most of us—but whose words are worth hearing. This is a forum for people unafraid to think outside their personal box, not for those who prefer to box out thoughts different from theirs.
There is afoot in our land an effort to ban discussion of race. Some say discussing race is an effort to make white people feel guilty about being white. The greater danger is from those who find no guilt in continuing to consider people of another color as lesser people.
We cannot escape history and we do not serve our country if we try to hide from it, obscure it, or ignore it.
The mere fact that we are discussing this issue as much as we are is proof enough that race remains one of the greatest overarching problems in our society and in our country. It remains a problem and a problem is never fixed by denying that it exists or denying there never was a problem.
I hope Mr. Biewen’s remarks make you think.
(Photo credit: TED talks/youtube.com)