Closing The Academic Achievement “Gap” Between African American and White Students: An Historical Perspective (Part 3)
Many people are quick to put forth their beliefs regarding what they perceive as being an important need for African American people to stop focusing attention and energy on past discrimination and inequality. Some insist that for African American people to continue doing so is unhealthy. Others argue that, all that “stuff” happened long ago, and that since those times (as if U.S. slavery occurred in the Dark Ages or ancient times), society has progressed to the point at which, African American people in the U.S., as well as other so-called “minorities” are treated the same as everyone else, i.e., equally. Many backwards polemicists often point to the existence of “successful” blacks as proof positive of the latter, above-referenced argument. Yet, those who hold such views, often have no logical explanation, other than — ‘it’s their own fault; they’re simply lazy’, or some other simplistic assertion — relative to explaining the existence of millions upon millions of African American people who feel hopelessly trapped in ghettos — literally from one end of the North American continent to the other, and beyond. Of course I am not suggesting that there are no poor white people in North America. With regard to absolute numbers, there are many more poor whites than African Americans. However, with the possible exception of indigenous peoples, I challenge anyone to find a racial group anywhere in the Americas that has a higher percentage of poor people in terms of their total population, than African peoples. If it wasn’t so distorted and dangerous, I would consider the “equality” argument mentioned above as laughable. What a silly and simplistic, yet dangerous argument. If we are all treated fairly and equally, then, racism, sexism, and classism must be figments of our imaginations, which of course, they are not!
Some also argue that African Americans want, and receive, but do not deserve, special privileges — based on past deprivation and discrimination. People who support this argument, tend to believe that African Americans have been compensated for past abuses, and that somehow conditions have been created that established real equality. Now (the argument goes), we should just forget the past, and move on. I sincerely hope that we can move on, but African people must never forget the African Holocaust, never! Those who put forth this particular argument concerning so-called undeserved privilege, often label it as being representative of some abstract thing, which they call “reverse” discrimination. Perpetuation of the concept of “reverse” discrimination is nothing more or less than an underhanded, unethical, immoral, bankrupt strategy that is designed and utilized to support entrenched denial, evasiveness, and avoidance on the part of millions of Americans, particularly white Americans, regarding the widespread, devastatingly negative psychological, social, emotional, and economic impact that institutionalized slavery and racism has had (historically), and is having on African American people currently. Perpetuating and attempting to legitimize concepts such as “reverse” discrimination allows white people, especially those in power, to continue avoiding a critical issue that they dread having to deal with. Namely, it is the issue of reparations for African peoples, including African Americans.
Many white people, including many educators, become visibly upset if a black person dares to raise the issue or idea that present overall socioeconomic and political conditions within the African American Community, vis-a-vis the white or Euro-American Community, are greatly influenced by past social, economic, political policies and practices. In some cases, such white people actually have the audacity to ask black people: ‘Why do you keep focusing on the past?’ At the same time (conversely), I have never in my entire lifetime (55 years) heard a person (white or otherwise) ask a Jewish person for example, why their people keep talking about and / or reaping socioeconomic benefits — based on the atrocities of the Jewish Holocaust. The fact that this represents a blatant double standard is a gross understatement. In fact, it speaks to the reality that many non-Jewish people are absolutely, without a doubt, more respectful, and have more empathy for the historic Jewish Holocaust than they do for the Holocaust experienced by Africans — the latter of which was much worst in some ways. It is truly baffling that this is even seemingly true for many black people, i.e., many black people tend to have more respect and empathy for the Jewish Holocaust than they do for their own. This ranks among the most amazing of all human phenomena.
With regard to the issues outlined above, in the final analysis, millions of people in the U.S., especially, but not exclusively white people, do not want to, or cannot find it within themselves to come to grips with some very important basic, historical facts, which educators, if no one else, should understand, or at least attempt to understand (as opposed to wallowing in unnecessary guilt, fear, and acute denial). Those basic facts are as follows:
First, there is a continued, real, negative, and in many cases profound, social, emotional, psychological, economic, political, and cultural impact on every single African American person born and raised within U.S. society, which results from: 1) The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, and all of the atrocities that came along with it; 2) following dejure outlawing of slavery as a centuries-old institution, another one-hundred (100) years of de facto, systemic oppression under the Jim Crow “justice” system; and 3) the current, overall socioeconomic and political reality, under which most major U.S. institutions continue to harbor and perpetuate racism. Secondly, the impact of historic socioeconomic, cultural, political oppression; psychological, emotional, physical brutalization, and destruction of African people en masse, was not, and could not possibly have been eradicated via so-called Civil Rights Legislation, and / or so-called Affirmative Action policies. Within the United States of America, it has not been, and probably never will be possible to produce, and certainly not enforce, a form of legislation that can eliminate the cumulative (throughout many generations), degradation and dehumanization, which African American people have experienced, and are continuing to experience in many ways.
Since the achievement “gap” was systemically created and maintained over a long period of time (centuries), if the problem is ever to be resolved, it is likely that the solution will come only as a result of people working consciously, consistently, diligently, and systematically to reverse the conditions that have caused, and are causing the problem. In other words, the solution will come only as a result of people, particularly those who are most negatively affected, working consciously, consistently, diligently and systematically to solve the problem.
Where African American people are concerned, it is not likely that a solution will be forthcoming anytime soon, unless a way is found to reverse the serious and definite trend, in which massive numbers within each new generation of African American youth, are becoming less and less educated, equipped and / or committed to working for collective, socioeconomic, political, cultural change and improvement.
To be Continued….
August 9th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I agree with the facts and the reasoning in this writing. My only reservation (I won’t say objection) is the use of the word “Holocaust.” I get the idea, and it is not innacurate, but the word entails a system of destruction that was in its manifest form different. My suggestion is that we find another, perhaps even more compelling, title to the dynamics you describe regarding Africans and their decendents. Since you mention “Holocaust,” as a history student myself, I ought to tell you that Hitler (the actual Hitler) in devising methods to eradicate the Jews looked to the USA and marveled at how we exterminated the Indians, and I am sure that he consciously emulated many USA practices. I only say this to reinforce what you suggest, and that is to remain true to what has happened in the past and to actual survivors and family of the Jewish Holocaust you discuss. I would think that “Holocaust” is ok for now, but a word or phrase that somehow depicts the scope, breadth, and length of oppression of Africans and African Americans would be best.
September 29th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
I just want to say I wish there were a nation wide activist group against racism. People that aren’t racist really need to step up and stand up for equal rights especially with racists using the economy’s down fall as a chance to exploit racism. Everyone needs to stick together through these tough times not be torn apart. There really should be more unity in our country but for some reason everyone seems to be out for themselves these days. There needs to be a change. I’m actually a white girl, I have a white husband, and a white child but I have grown up with people from all walks of life. I’ve never looked at the color of someone’s skin and thought that defined them as a person. Every human being is an individual. I wish racism wasn’t an issue. I don’t know why other people’s existence would bother someone else it doesn’t make sense.
October 14th, 2009 at 1:00 am
Since I said this thing about the term Holocaust, if I were going to write something about it to be made public, I’d refer to it as: “the African Holocaust: under the chains of cost cutting.” My reason is that whatever you want to say about racism, the psychology of racism, the system of oppression: the whole way through the bottom line of it all is “the bottom line” (to quote a cultural slogan). I think of Robert Johnson: “If you live by the nickle, you’ll die by the dime” and Big Bil Broonzy: “I owe my soul to the company store” and tons of other references by blues artists to labor in the post-Civil War South. Richard Wright and Malcolm X describe people in non-South urban settings suffering under the same spell, only it’s not as easy to define without raw Jim Crow segregation. So that’s my answer to my question, for what it’s worth. Nothing new but perhaps some words that help give clarity to the “peculiar institution” (another old national slogan).