These statements seem to fit into a pattern of self-segregation that manifests itself in Harvard's dining halls and racially homogeneous student groups. While I was living in the South I thought the biggest stumbling block to race relations was a handful of older white men who grew up before the enlightenment of the Civil Rights Movement. Now I feel racism is more of a two-way street, which only makes the racial divide that much harder to overcome.
Linked to this mistrust of whites is the desire to redefine African American life so that European influences are eliminated. In AAS-10, the claim that inner city black children should be taught from an Afrocentric curriculum was popular. The problem with teaching a Eurocentric approach is that it ignores part of history. But teaching children an Afrocentric view that excludes Europe is no better than teaching an Eurocentric view. It would be better that all American children be taught that there are seven continents which contain a multiplicity of ethnicities and cultures, none intrinsically superior.
I fear that these separatist views reflect a broader pattern of racial separatism. For example, the segregation in Harvard dining halls seems to be a horrible step backwards for race relations. Some may say black students are just sitting with their friends or that they are coming together out of a common experience. However, I think they ignore the question of how one ends up with friends that are all of one race in the first place. The simple fact is all blacks have not had identical experiences.
I consider all of these practices, accusing whites of crimes they have not committed, wanting to adopt Afrocentric curricula, wanting to socialize in racially homogeneous groups, as racist. I use as my definition of racism views that negate the possibility of the equality and compatablity of races. As the Warren Court said, separate is inherently unequal.
I don't understand where this racial prejudice is coming from. I want to ask students who make statements like, "I hate people who date outside their race," which I have heard both in and out of the classroom, how they arrived at these opinions. Are they children of parents who share their separatist views? Did they experience ugly discrimination when they were young? Or did they come to the conclusion that blacks were better without any basis whatsoever?
The reason racial hate makes so little sense to me is that, simply put, my mother is white and my father is black. The more complex version: two great-great-grandmothers were black slaves. One worked on the tobacco plantations in Virginia not far from where I now live. The other worked on the sugar plantations of Cuba. One great-great-grandmother was a peasant in Southern Italy. Another was a Potowatomy Indian. I feel that I must be integrationalist or else be guilty of self-hatred.
Some mistrust of whites is understandable. Race bears a horrid historical residue in the U.S. because so many crimes were committed on a racial basis, mostly notably slavery. It is reasonable to say, "I am outraged by the physical and mental torture that happened on Southern plantations during slavery," but it is unreasonable to say, "I believe that all whites are capable of committing the same type of atrocities." The first is based on historical fact. The second is a racist supposition.
One glance at African history will reveal that whites have not cornered the market on exploitation. African kings used their power to exploit other blacks, again most notably in the case of selling black prisoners of war to European slave traders. Would the blacks who make universalistic claims about whites also accept that all blacks are capable of extreme cruelty? If they don't, they are using an unacceptable double standard.
I hope that blacks will relinquish their prejudices. Yet, seeing the pervasive white racism that still exists throughout the country, I fear that these biases have become so entrenched that I am hoping for the impossible. For now, I can only suggest that all members of Harvard's student body stop hiding out in racially homogeneous groups and join publications, community service organizations, and performance groups that attempt to transcend the racial divide. Some students may have pursued such activities only to feel racial alienation. What must be questioned is whether it was their original approach to the racially integrated setting, or if they faced real racial alienation due to racial insensitivity in that organization. I am asking that students hanging out only in racially homogenous groups question why they do. This piece is not meant to deny any good that results from the sharing of common experiences based on race. However, to stay only with one's own race would be a waste of the racial diversity that Harvard offers.
I have been told that I do not understand the racial situation. Because I do not blame whites indiscriminately, I have been informed that I am considered "a corporate tool" and "not quite black enough." If being black today means being racist, then being "not black enough" is fine by me.