Note from a reader

Anne Smiley read my column on the “whitewashing of America” in the Fayetteville Observer. I think she and I are kindred spirits in the way we see the current administration tearing up the progress of creating a just society, a world in which all people thrive. I have copied her words and hope you enjoy reading them.

“The “Great Silence of slavery” is the historical and ongoing tendency to avoid, downplay, or ignore the impact and legacy of slavery”. Trump’s attempts to erase and obliterate the true history of slavery and the outstanding contributions made by African Americans in this country is extremely disturbing. Even more disturbing are his attempts to use force and the law to carry out his insistence on continuing the great silence.

“The creation of many diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and policies allowed for the rise of women, blacks, and browns in jobs and opportunities that previously had been held by those who did not have an uphill battle because of their race or gender. The claim of a system of merit to replace DEI is supposedly based on individual dignity, hard work, and excellence. So is DEI. Where was dignity and hard work and excellence when millions of blacks and browns were denied jobs, housing, and education?

 “What this system does not take into account is the centuries of discrimination and legal oppression that prevented blacks from obtaining the same privileges and opportunities as whites. The very recent attempt of DEI to overcome this systemic denial of opportunity is only a few years old. To replace it without this acknowledgement of the sins of the past is a slap in the face to the fight for equality.

 “The “silent majority “of businesses will continue to support DEI programs in spite of the threats and bullying of the White House. In this obviously and blatantly racist regime, in this “great silence” and “silent majority”, why is no one calling Trump a racist? “

 Anne Smiley                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Vice-president                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Organizing Against Racism

 Anne makes a good point. We are giving the racists a pass. Most of them do not wear the white robes and pointed hoods of the KKK, but people of color are mistreated, shot as they walk in neighborhoods, some are rounded up and sent out of the country. We all remember the pictures of George Floyd with a police officer’s knee pressing on his throat until Floyd died. In the current administration, pardons are granted to leaders of hate groups, meanwhile people are being profiled for little more than their skin color.

 When the pot of racism is stirred, people get riled up and act out in ways that harm others.

 Racism the original sin of America. David Wellman in Robin Diangelo’s book, White Fragility, says, “Racism is a system of advantages based on race. These advantages are referred to as white privilege, a sociological concept referring to advantages that are taken for granted by white people, advantages that are not similarly enjoyed by people of color in the same context.”

 People have trouble accepting unearned privilege. Being white or being male is privilege, immediate acceptance. Privilege also exists in families of inherited wealth. The hubris that comes with privilege is given power to create hierarchy.

 Isabel Wilkerson in her book, Caste, says, “Race and caste are interwoven in America… any action or structure that seeks to limit, hold back or put someone in a defined ranking seeks to keep someone in their place by elevating that person on the basis of their perceived category, can be seen as casteism.

 “Caste is insidious and therefore powerful because it is not hatred, it is not necessarily personal. It is the worn grooves of comforting routines and unthinking expectations, patterns that have been in place for so long that it looks like the natural order of things.” Since 1619, America has been built as a caste system.

 We should work intentionally to build an egalitarian system. The US Constitution, especially in the 13^th and 19^th amendments, attempts to create the more perfect union as a level playing field.

 The attempts of DEI training to recognize racism and begin conversations about race have been destroyed by those who want to keep the old systems and hierarchies in place. From the ranks of generals to the Smithsonian Museum, people of color are being dismissed.

 Thank you, Anne, for sharing your thoughts urging us all to work until the work of equal justice is won for all people.

 Lib Campbell is a retired Methodist pastor, retreat leader, columnist and host of the blogsite www.avirtualchurch.com. She can be contacted at libcam05@gmail.com