A new approach linking racism to power and self-interest is needed
NO blows BARRED
Sipho Seepe
Many analyses of racism proceed from an assumption that the eradication of racism and other forms of discrimination is in the interests of all. Yet despite a universal condemnation of discrimination, racism persists. Even the most successful persons of colour are haunted by the plight of less fortunate brethren caught in a cycle of dehumanising deprivation.
A new approach is needed: one that locates racism within the broader context of social and economic exploitation. This approach links racism with power and the politics of self-interest. It explores the connection between white privilege and black oppression by arguing that oppression is necessary to sustain privilege.
This interdependence the privilege of whiteness with the oppression of racism provides a lens through which we can understand the persistence of racism in society. A different lens can make the same point: conditions of male privilege are dependent on the oppression of women. Both concede the existence of unearned privilege.
Victims of the abuse of power perceive power as inherently evil and therefore view the pursuit, possession and application of power on their own behalf as corrupting. A long history of subjugation has undermined their self-confidence. They do not see themselves capable of mounting a successful campaign against their oppressors. They see their salvation as inextricably linked to forming alliances with their oppressors and exploiters. This orientation toward power is a prescription for unending subordination. But without resolving and neutralising the power differential, the oppressed will not be able to defeat discrimination.
The United States, supposedly a champion of human rights and democracy, is a case study of how the dynamics of power and self-interest sustain racism. Despite significant gains derived from the civil rights movement, enactment of anti-discrimination laws and judicial decisions, racial justice continues to elude millions of African-Americans.
The absence of visible signs of discrimination and the existence of legislative equality creates an impression of racial neutrality. However, statistics on poverty, unemployment and income show that the slow advances made during the 1960s and 1970s have been reversed. The unemployment rate for blacks is 2,5 times the rate for whites. Blacks are three times more likely than whites to have incomes below the poverty level.
These realities wreak havoc and anarchy in black communities. They are the bitter harvest of race-determined unemployment in a society where work provides not only sustenance but also status and an all-important sense of self-worth. The fact that few whites identify with blacks has not made matters easier. Neither has the dismissal of allegations of racial discrimination as mere “excuses put forward by those unable or unwilling to compete on an equal basis in a competitive society”.
In his book, Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism, Derrick Bell, a former Harvard law professor, uses fairy tales to explore issues of self-interest and power in a non-threatening manner. Fairy tales provide an engaging way of reaching the truth before listeners retreat into defensive habits of thinking. The Space Traders, one of Bell’s fables, provides new insights and suggests innovative strategies for understanding and combating racism.
Story time: Visualise 1 000 ships from a star far out in space landing in a US harbour. Millions of people across North America wake early to witness the moment of arrival. A sizeable party of the space visitors emerges and begins to move towards shore. To the surprise of everyone, the leaders of this vast armada can speak English.
The ships carry treasures of which the US is in desperate need: gold, to bail out the almost bankrupt government; special chemicals capable of restoring the unbearably toxic environment to its original pristine state; and a totally safe nuclear capacity to relieve the exhausted supplies of fossil fuel. In return the visitors want only one thing to take to their home star all the African-Americans living in the US.
The visitors emphasise that the proposed trade is for the Americans freely to accept or reject, that no force will be used. But the visitors do not reveal why they want only black people or what plans they have for them.
For black people, the space traders can only be bad news. They urge black leaders to take action. Whites, long conditioned to discounting any statements of blacks unconfirmed by other whites, choose to follow their own perceptions. “Will the blacks never be free of their silly superstitions? Here, in this truly historic moment, when America has been selected as the site for this planet’s first contact with people from another world, blacks just revert to their primitive fear and foolishness.”
This offer could also solve the nation’s racial problems. After all, a large percentage of blacks rely on welfare and other social services. Their departure would substantially ease the burden on the budget. The cost of caring for black Aids victims alone has been extraordinary. After agonising over the trade offer, white Americans agree to condemn millions of fellow citizens to intergalactic exile in return for the promise of restored prosperity.
On a promotional tour, Bell asked his audiences whether his conclusion was likely. Most blacks accepted the likelihood of the outcome of the story. White people were certain that in the communities they know best, most whites would support the trade. The outcome of the story, and the fact that the audiences agree with it, is consistent with the historical experience of people of colour. Whatever their ideological differences or economic status, black rights, interests, property even black lives have always been expendable whenever their sacrifice would further or sustain the interests of others. This can be extrapolated to all oppressed people or victims of discrimination irrespective of colour, social origin, gender or sexual orientation.
Without addressing issues of power differentials and the politics of self-interest, debates on racism and other forms of discrimination will fail to provide sustainable solutions. This will require looking at those means that sustain oppression. In particular, we need to ask will the global politics of self-interest and perpetuation of privilege that keep people oppressed and poor be up for debate in the World Conference Against Racism?
Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism, Derrick Bell. Basic Books, New York, 1992