Dear Sticky Wicket,
Is it possible for black people to be racists?
~Perplexed in St. Joseph, MO
Dear Perplexed,
In one of comedian Chris Rock’s stand-up routines, he asks the audience who are the most racist people. When he says that it is old black men, the audience lets out a collective gasp of surprise.
For many people, black racism is an oxymoron: It is impossible for blacks to be racists because racism requires power.
We posed the question to a white female college professor, a black city councilwoman and a black male social activist. All agreed that blacks definitely can be racists.
Anastacia Kurylo, a professor of communication arts at Marymount Manhattan College in New York and author of the report “Understanding the Stereotype as a Complex Communication Tool,” said that the very act of saying that blacks can’t be racist actually reinforces differences. “If we can say a black person can be just as racist as a white person, we’re breaking it down to an individual level and not a group level, and we fight against racism by doing that.”
Ramadhan Washington, a St. Joseph, Mo., social activist, said racism is a universal human weakness. “Yes, black people can be racist,” he said. “If the hatred is directed towards another race it doesn’t matter what race it comes from.”
St. Joseph, Mo., councilwoman Joyce Starr said racism is a matter of the heart, not of skin color. “I believe we’ve got a long way to go on both sides as far as honest acceptance.”
Research has shown that centuries of oppression and racism directed at African-Americans has resulted in intra-racial prejudice. Project Implicit, a collaborative effort between researchers at Harvard University, University of Virginia and University of Washington, has found evidence of negative perceptions and attitudes among African-Americans directed at their own race.
Using data compiled from the “Racial Implicit Attitude Test” – an attitude test administered nationwide – researchers found that 48.3 percent of blacks showed an anti-black bias.
The fact is that racism exists among blacks – whether it’s channeled inward or outward. Racism is a disease and no race, ethnic group, or nationality is immune to it.
The Henry Louis Gates-James Crowley incident and its aftermath have sparked a heated dialogue about the current perceptions of racial progress and tolerance in America. How that dialogue will play out remains to be seen. But whether it’s discussed in magazine columns, public forums, or amidst pews and pulpits, it’s a conversation we must all be willing to have.