The Conversation We're Not Having About Race

Sphere: Related Content The focus of the current conversation about the statements made by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) suggesting that then Senator Obama could become the first black President because he was “light-skinned” and because he did not speak with a “Negro dialect” has been entirely on whether or not that statement was racist or just insensitive. Of course the focus of the conversation in the politic discourse is preventing us from having a meaningful conversation about the actual content of the statement. That is because if you want to have a meaningful conversation about this statement and race and racism in American then we have to talk about it in the context of white racism.

First let’s take a look at the context statement. This statement is insensitive and it is racists, actually not necessarily because of the content but because of the context. Senator Reid made this statement from the white racial frame. The first problem is that Reid is saying that then Senator Obama could become President because of his blackness, when in fact President Obama was elected despite of his blackness. Then there is the idea that President Obama is “light-skinned” and therefore more appealing that a black person that is dark-skinned. In this frame white skin is the standard of aesthetic appeal, and the less white a person is the less appealing they are. There is also the notion that President Obama does not speak with a “Negro dialect.” Put aside the debate about the word Negro, this suggest the notion that the vernacular that some blacks use is not as intelligent sounding as the vernacular that some whites use. Once again this reinforces the idea that the way some whites speak is the norm in society.

What about the content of the statement that then Senator Obama could become President because he was “light-skinned”? In reality it is true. Sociological research shows that people of color with light skin are overrepresented in public office, that it is more likely that light-skinned people of color are more likely to receive votes from whites. So, why is this particular content not the subject of the discussion? Because it shows the deep racism that still exist in the white electorate. In fact this racism manifests itself in how an individual views people of color. Another study found that when shown photos of President Obama that had been altered to be either darker, lighter, or unaltered those you did not support Obama identified the darker image as the correct image of the President, while those that did support Obama identified the lighter image as the correct image. As much as commentators like to quote Martin Luther King, in America that color of your skin still matters, not just the content of your character.

What about the content of the statement about then Senator Obama not speaking with a “Negro dialect”? Once again, putting aside the debate about the word Negro, it reality this is also true. Sociological research also shows that when lease applicants where perceived as speaking with a black vernacular they were less likely to secure an appointment than those who were perceived as speaking with a white vernacular. This again is not the content that is the subject of the discussion because it also shows the racism that exists in the white electorate. In fact it is not only evident in how whites perceive the speech of people of color, but even in how whites perceive the names of people of color. Another study found that job applicants that had names that where perceived as being black where 50% less likely to receive a call for an interview than applicants whose names where perceived as being white.

So, let’s look at the part of Senator Reid’s statements that has really made the most amount of people uncomfortable; the Senator’s use of the word Negro. Why is it that words like this made so many people uncomfortable? Mainly because whites are uncomfortable discussing the different words that people of color use to self-identify with, in fact many whites are uncomfortable with the term “people of color” because they identify too closely with the term “colored people.” Why are white so uncomfortable with these term? Why do people like Glenn Beck ask why someone would identify as black or think that African-American is a “bogus term”? Because whites don’t have to come to terms with what to self-identify as racial, in the white racial frame white is neutral.

Republicans have called for Senator Reid to resign and have claimed a double standard, although neither political party has dealt with race and racism in a real way. The reason that Democrats do not have to deal with race and racism in an effective way is because the Republicans are so far behind in dealing with race and racism. When Republicans actually progress in dealing with race and racism then the Democrats might be forced to actually deal with it as an issue. However, for now the Republican Party will continue to use race, gender, and sexual identity as a way to divide Americans and attempt to win elections. In fact the Republicans brought up disgraced former Senator Trent Lott as a comparison to Senator Reid’s remarks, as if saying that then Senator Obama could be elected because of his blackness and not in spite of it was at all similar to Senator Lott saying that American would be better off if a segregationists had been elected President. Several prominent black leaders have accepted Senator Reid’s apology, including the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA). Republicans would suggest that if a Republican Senator would have said similar remarks that not only would the media be critical but that Democratic lawmakers would be asking for their resignation. So why the double standard? Reid has actually worked to improve the lives of the working class and people of color. When you have positive effects on peoples’ lives they can be much more forgiving.

What this incident illustrates is much less about Senator Reid, or President Obama, or the Democratic Party, or the Republican Party, and much more about America’s inability to engage in a meaningful dialog about race and racism. It is going to take more than forty years to repair four hundred years or racial oppression.