Since I have ventured back into the world of blogging, a few
friends have asked if I would tackle the task of solving the issue of racial politics/injustice
in this country. I have thought about it, since it is such a large issue, and there
are no easy answers. But I do think maybe I have some suggestions that could
get the ball rolling in a positive direction that might allow some changes to
become permanent. Again, there is no guarantee that these suggestions will ever
happen, but if they do, maybe some good will come. I preface these suggestions by saying that the
timetable on these needs to be realistic. This nation is almost 250 years old
legally and the problems that are now all over the airwaves, social media, and
other multimedia platforms have been brewing for long before that time. Ergo,
it is impossible to fix something that took several centuries to deteriorate in
a matter of weeks or even years. In case no one else has said it, I’ll pull the
cat out of the bag, it will take several generations of consistent push for
racial equity to produce substantial and sustainable change.
Education
I’ll
start with education because it is the field I have the most expertise in and actually
have some suggestions that might help push along the agenda of sustained racial
equality. The American education system is fundamentally flawed and I
personally believe it is flawed is because of an arrogance that we, as Americans,
kind of have about ourselves. In order to try to sustain equality I believe we
need to be honest, particularly in regards to the history of this nation.
The
founding fathers of this country were great politicians and made many
sacrifices to forge this nation. But, many of them were also slave holders and
did despicable acts at one time or another throughout their lives. None of us
are perfect, myself included, but the problem is that there is an overwhelming
desire to glorify some historical figures as if they were secular. Putting
people on pedestals is very problematic. Christopher Columbus has been exposed,
as of late, because it has taken several centuries to finally realize that it
might not be a good idea to celebrate someone who gets credit for discovering
an already inhabited nation and slaughtering its indigenous population. Here’s
another tidbit, Abraham Lincoln wasn’t ever really the civil rights leader he is
proclaimed to be:
I am
not conveying that Mr. Lincoln needs to be erased from history or that the founding
fathers do not deserve recognition for their contributions for the creation of
the United States but let’s be very honest about the history. Not just the supposed
glorious battles and victories in the Revolutionary War, World War I, and World
War II. But let’s educate people on the Trail of Tears, Japanese internment camps,
anti-immigrant legislation, McCarthyism, the failure of Reconstruction, and the
centuries of systematic and legal rape and murder of minorities (Black, Hispanic,
Asian, Native American). Also, we need to be VERY careful of how slippery a
slope lies between perception and reality. Example:
Some might
be reading this and thinking that the advent of Black History Month, Hispanic
History Month, and Women’s History month is enough. I think that those months
are very positive and their intents are noble. But Black History Month usually
is dismissed arbitrarily in most schools as Dr. King/Malcolm X/Rosa Parks week.
And those figures are important but African-American history is composed of
hundreds of figures and stories that have relevance. The same goes from
Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Middle Eastern Americans, and other
cultures. If it becomes acceptable to put those achievements in a designated
time frame, I believe those cultures that are meant to be highlighted, are
actually being marginalized. History should be all encompassing and classes
should be able to cross curriculums and build off one another to reflect that.
Politics
In this
era, where America is supposedly making its triumphant return to greatness, I
do think it is readily apparent that bi-partisan politics are not working and a
viable third party and possible fourth party are needed in order to give voters
more options. I will confess that in the political spectrum I lean towards to
the left. But I have never voted a straight ticket and if anyone does any
research on politics at all they will see that both major political parties are
flawed and feature candidates that may not represent the best interests of the
country. Also, political parties usually have agendas and those agendas might
not always be for the benefit of their supposed constituencies.
What do
politics have to do with race? A lot. Many people unfortunately align their
ethnicity with a certain political party. I know I was told at an early age
that only African-Americans voted democrat. And I’m pretty sure my household
wasn’t the only one that had similar conversations. Which led to my confusion when
I voted for the first time in the 2000 republican primary for John McCain, who
I thought was the best candidate. He didn’t win, but it was the first
experience I had actually thinking for myself and seeing the confused look at
the polling place when I walked in. My point is that bi-partisan politics is
affecting the information we receive, our perception of said information, and
leaving us in a position where we are choosing between the lesser or two evils
and that results in voter apathy and I believe 2016 has shown the consequences
of said apathy.
Hollywood
This
one is tricky. I love movies/tv. Always have. But I have to be honest, the
perception of minorities hasn’t always been the most positive. If you don’t
believe me watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s and look at Mickey Rooney’s depiction
of an Asian-American man. It’s pretty awful. Amos and Andy featuring two
Caucasian men dressed in blackface was immensely popular. Stepin Fetchit was a
very popular African-American character, but he invoked thoughts of mental
weakness, laziness, and unrefinement. There weren’t many jobs for
African-American actors so many had to portray roles that were beneath them.
Let’s
skip ahead to my lifetime. I was born in 1980. Guess how many black romantic comedies
I have seen in my lifetime? Nine. (The Best Man, Best Man Holiday, Love
Jones, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Love and Basketball, The Wood, Brown
Sugar, About Last Night, Think Like a Man/Think Like a Man Too) I guess I should consider myself lucky that
Sanaa Lathan and Taye Diggs got work in the late 90s/early 2000s. I never
thought about it until my father went to go see The Photograph and
explained how he rarely sees romantic movies with two black leads. I had to
think about it myself. There are hundreds of romantic comedies and movies that
are normalized into the consciousness of the viewing public, but it’s kind of alarming
when in almost 40 years I can’t remember maybe seeing about 10. I’m sure there
are other films but off the top of my head, there aren’t many.
Moreover,
look at roles which have garnered award recognition. Hattie McDaniel in Gone
With the Wind, Denzel Washington in Glory and Training Day, Octavia
Spencer in The Help, Halle Berry in Monsters Ball, Lupita Nyong’o
in 12 Years a Slave, and even Mahershala Ali in Green Book. There
seems to be an overarching belief that “white guilt” movies and “white savior” films
always do well at the Oscars. And there does seem to be evidence of that. I’m
not discrediting the actors or their performances. They are all excellent and
all are worthy of their recognition but when that recognition represents a
theme of marginalization that begins to be problematic. There are exceptions of
course: Sidney Portier in Lilies of the Field, Morgan Freeman in Million
Dollar Baby and Louis Gossett Jr. in An Officer and A Gentleman come
to mind. But there are a lot of roles and films that portray minorities in a
positive light that seem to go unrecognized and unlettered.
It’s not just blacks in film, in which
there is finally just a glimmer of diversity. Millennials and Gen Z don’t know
how lucky they are to see a movie like Black Panther. All I had growing
up was Meteor Man, Bruce Leroy, and Action Jackson. I loved them all but
it was a different time. It is important to be able to see a reflection of
yourself on screen. My dad got that with Shaft and Superfly. Where
is the next Indian hero? Native American hero? Hispanic hero? I liked Crazy
Rich Asians but I hadn’t seen a movie like that with an all Asian cast
since Memoirs of a Geisha and The Joy Luck Club (great movies but
not really “feel good” stories). There seems to be a conscious effort to try to
diversify movies and television but it needs to be consistent and not just a “black
movie for February” or an “Asian movie” or a “Hispanic movie”. I hate when
people have to label movies based on ethnicity. We need to get to the point
where a “black movie/tv show” can just be a movie or tv show.
Stereotypes
Stereotypes
are a slippery slope because they have the potential to be non-threatening. I
heard a comic recently say the he thought stereotypes for black people were
great. He said this based on the stereotype that black males are well endowed
and are excellent athletes. While I can see how, from the outside, those seem
to be some great stereotypes. Who wouldn’t want the reputation for being well
endowed or to be athletic? But there is a flip side to that. That being the reputation
that black males have for being “hood”, lazy, and shiftless (hence where the “n”
word came from). And sexual prowess and athleticism don’t have to apply to
people. The same compliments are usually made towards animals for breeding and
mating. Just saying. There is also
stereotype that black women are difficult to talk to, consistently moody, and
unsophisticated. Or the really painful one that an articulate person of color
isn’t REALLY a person of color and they are “talking white”, which simultaneously
insults two ethnicities.
There
are other seemingly positive stereotypes. Asian people are great at math and
science. Jewish people are good with money. Italian people are great cooks.
Mexican people are great gardeners/laborers. There is nothing wrong with having
a skill. We all have something we are good at. The problem is that those
supposed compliments come with a consequence of marginalizing an entire
ethnicity an also conferring other stereotypes that are negative and probably
not true. My mother is one of the kindest people I have ever met, my college rugby
coach was a Mexican and a scientist, some white people are great athletes as
well (not just “sneaky fast”), my pediatrician was a native American man, and I
can neither sing, dance, nor dunk. Sometimes we need to be very careful about
what we assume about people before getting to know them. Jokes are great. It is
great to have a laugh. Blazing Saddles is the funniest film I have ever
seen and the genius behind Mel Brooks masterpiece is that he took the racist stereotypes/archetypes
present in the old west genre and flipped them by having a black man as the
hero and exposing the fundamental idiocy behind the racism in the stereotypes.
Media
It
is an old cliché but there is a media bias. Is there “fake news”? Don’t know. But
is there skewed news? I certainly think so. Depending on the news outlet that
you prescribe to, the stories that you receive do have a degree of editorializing.
The days of Edward R. Murrow/Walter Cronkite are over. There are plenty of
respectable journalists who go to work to present the news in the best way they
know how. The problem is that news stations/media outlets usually have agendas
and are concerned with revenue streams through their sponsors. I hope that
there is more oversight and accountability for all media outlets to attempt to
bring a more accurate depiction of daily events. If you don’t think there is editorialization
just revisit the Duke lacrosse case in 2006, the depictions of Travyon Martin, the
riots in Ferguson, MO or Los Angeles in 1992. Or you can listen to Sublime’s
epic song “April 26, 1992”. Perception is not reality. That’s all I’m saying.
A requiem for Jay Bullworth
We, as
a nation, need to be very careful about how we are move forward from this
moment in time. My mother in law said history has a way of repeating itself.
She lived through the 60s and 70s and saw the Civil Rights movement, rise/fall
of the black panthers, the LA riots, Watts riots, Rodney King upheaval and
Ferguson riots. Will Smith said it best when he said racism hasn’t changed, it’s
just being filmed now. The point being is there have been moments of unrest in
this country over racial politics before. This is nothing new. I hope that this
is a movement and not just a moment in history, and that movement, as I have
said, requires commitment from people
for generations. This is not a 1-2 year fix. This is a 100-200 year fix, and that
will make some people disillusioned because we will all be deceased by then,
but that does not negate that the potential prize is not worth trying to
attain. Racial equality, even if I never see it in my lifetime, is a victory
that I want someone from my familial line to truly experience.
Think
about how relatively new we are as a nation in trying to get equality. Women have
only had the right to vote for barely a century. In the grand scheme of things,
that’s not that long ago. Women have not been a large part of the workforce for
more than 80 years. Again, not that long. The civil rights acts of 1964 and
1968 are not that long ago and in the wheelhouse of my parents. That’s why the
problems that we are seeing really shouldn’t be unexpected. We are still
relatively new in trying to have racial and gender equality.
Even if
none of my prescribed suggestions happen, and there is a chance they won’t, I am not too pessimistic about the status of race relations in this country. As
I was thinking about what I wanted to write, I was reminded of a movie that I
once saw called Bullworth. Those reading this might not have seen it or
even heard of it. It’s a 1998 political satire starring Warren Beatty as Senator
Jay Bullworth and he is involved in several scandals and decides that death is
better than getting caught and that way his family can collect the insurance
policy he has on himself. He puts a contract out on his own life and he decides
to have some fun before his demise by finally telling the truth. One particular
scene sticks out because he gives a clue to how racism is eventually going to
end itself.
So, as you can see, either by revolution or by human nature
things are going to change. I hope for better because the country does deserve
to actually be great. As we look forward to our July 4th weekends/plans
I hope whoever reads this takes time to consider the concept of America and if
it truly lives up to our current reality.
