I have been seeing demands for everyone from people to corporations to educational institutions to “acknowledge white supremacy.”
What those who use this phrase seem to be demanding – based on the wording – is for the person/business/institution to say that they acknowledge white supremacy, i.e. believe that whites are superior to other races, and are therefore guilty and complicit in racism.
Their true desire is for these persons/businesses/institutions to acknowledge the existence of the belief in white supremacy – which is a moot point because most people or people who run these businesses/institutions would not argue against the fact that there are people who are white supremacists. This nuance of language may seem petty, but it is very important.
Here is the thing: Having large corporations and brands, household-name educational institutions, and public figures “acknowledge white supremacy” only lends credence and strength to white supremacists’ cause. By “acknowledging white supremacy,” these figures in the public eye are validating the claims touted by white supremacists.
Do not ask people/businesses/institutions to “acknowledge white supremacy” because white supremacy does not exist. The belief in white supremacy exists, but the supremacy of whites over other races does not exist because whites are not better than any other race.
No race is better than any other.
Only a fool would argue that the belief in white supremacy doesn’t exist, and only a fool believes that one race is superior to another.
Instead, ask people/businesses/institutions to denounce white supremacists and the belief in racial supremacy. Ask them to publicly stand up for equality and justice for all good people, regardless of race, sex, gender, creed or affiliation – and to denounce those who do wrong, regardless of race, sex, gender, creed or affiliation.
The message of standing up for what is right and honorable is a more powerful message, and empowering for both the asker and the askee, than merely acknowledging the existence of something that we all know exists.
And if standing up for what is right and just is what is actually being asked, then say that, instead of asking non-racist white people to “acknowledge white supremacy.” We already acknowledge it and decry it as wrong, and being asked to publicly state the obvious is not helpful to the person/business/institution stating it, or the cause asking it to be stated. In many recent cases, businesses and corporations must “acknowledge white supremacy” and publicly support the Black Lives Matter movement to avoid being “canceled” – it is done out of fear, not because they actually care about the message or support the movement. They couldn’t care less; they just don’t want their profits to dip or their reputation damaged.
I would argue that “racial pride” is detrimental, whether white, black, Asian, Islander, or Native. One’s identity should not be based on one’s race, because our race does not define who we are as people or as humans. We are not that simple.
Instead of being proud of one’s race, we need to refocus to being proud of one’s heritage or ethnicity. The one exception is this: “Black” in the United States is the only race that has become equated with ethnicity and one could argue that this should remain, as historical racism is to blame for the synthesis of the “black” ethnicity. It is no wonder that members of the black community took the term and appropriated it as a cultural catalyst to bring themselves together in the face of the oppression and racism that they faced. The black community have a unity and a collective strength that few, if any, other races have (except perhaps American Indians), and that is a result of the oppression and societal racism in which they have persevered for several generations.
For other races, it is primarily ethnicity that provides the aspects or source of pride for an individual. One’s culture is not dependent upon one’s race, but usually (but not always) on one’s ethnicity – and each race contains multiple “ethnicities” usually born of different geographical areas.
According to the US Census Bureau, the five “race categories” are as follows:
American Indian or Alaska Native – A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.
Asian – A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Black or African American – A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander – A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
White or Caucasian – A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
Notable in the above list, peoples of the Middle East and North Africa are racially categorized as “White or Caucasian,” while most people nowadays would include a person from Iraq or Egypt as a “Person of Color” a.k.a. “non-white.”
“White” is becoming synonymous with “of European descent.” Which, as listed above, includes countries like Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Turkey…all countries with peoples who might be categorized as “People of Color” based on the modern connotation, yet who are, by definition, “White.” The term itself has been criticized as problematic.
This is why, instead of focusing on race and equating race with ethnicity, we must differentiate the two and realize that race is not synonymous with and does not need to dictate one’s identity. Wikipedia’s list of contemporary ethnic groups seems to go on forever. This list is far more representative of the incredible diversity of humans than five racial categories. Just as Americans cannot fit their political beliefs into two political boxes and be accurately represented, billions of humans cannot fit their individual identities into five boxes and be accurately represented.
My favorite quote (aside from this one) from the wonderfully-bad Kevin Costner-version of Robin Hood comes to mind: It is spoken by Morgan Freeman’s character. When asked by a small child “Did God paint you?” and why, Azeem answers “Because Allah loves wondrous variety.” And that, my friends, is truly all we need know.
There is no doubt that we must celebrate and take pride in our cultural and ethnic identities if we feel inclined to do so. Our culture is what brings us together as people – it helps give our lives and our existence meaning, and us a sense of belonging in the world.
However, anything – including ethnic pride – when taken too far becomes a negative and harmful thing. Countless examples of “ethnic cleansing” all over the world and throughout history are proof of why focusing too much on how we are different leads to violence and death – to one group’s killing or harming of another based on the fallacy that their group is superior to the other, or that a group represents a threat and is exiled or imprisoned or exterminated based on ethnicity alone. Examples that come to mind: Serbians and Croatians killing each other in the 90s, the Rwandan genocide of the Tutsis by the Hutus, Nazi Germany’s genocide of Jews, Slavs, the Roma, the disabled, homosexuals, Polish Catholics….the Armenian Genocide, the Holodomor of Soviets against Ukrainians, the Cambodian Genocide, the Trail of Tears, Japanese Internment Camps…and so many others.
This is why we, as humans, must focus on our similarities rather than our differences. It is human nature to hate “the other,” but truly we are none of us “other” because we are all human and we all have common ground to stand on.
Right now, we can all stand on the common ground that racism is wrong. We can stand on common ground that all peoples are equal and important, and demand equality for all and justice for wrong-doers. We can stand on the common ground that no race or ethnicity is superior to another – that we share some attributes and are unique in others but that this diversity is what makes us great.
We must unite in order to continue to prosper
Divided, we will destroy ourselves.
Politics to Potting Mix 