Levels of Racism

I attended the Race, Families, and Milwaukee Summit today at the Italian Community Center.  This was a really fantastic conference dealing with the issue of race in Milwaukee, and in America in general.  One of the things that I think is really important to remember about racism is that we all have racist thoughts or even say and do some things that are racist.  The problem is that many people do not realize their own racism and if something is not a problem, then there is no solution.  We need to get beyond the caricature of a racist as a redneck southerner who uses the N-word.  Those people exist, but unfortunately most of them are difficult to reach.  The people that are reachable are those who have good intentions regarding race, but do not recognize the various forms that racism manifests itself.  I think there are a few different forms.

Overt Racism:  These are the unapologetic racists that see no shame in using the N-word, telling racist jokes, etc.  These are the people generally recognized as "racists."

Covert Racism:  These people enable the overt racists, they do not speak up when the overt racists use the N-word and they laugh when racist jokes are told (though they don't repeat them).  They might tacitly agree with this type of assessment, "Man, if we just took away the government teat then maybe the black people would get to work."  Or, "If black men would just stop doing drugs maybe they would go out and get and education."  Or, "Slavery has been over for a long time so there is no excuse for X"...Covert racists generalize and stereotype black people, but when in comes the source of the problem they look at the particular.  "Personal responsibility" is their mantra, they refuse to acknowledge the social sources of race related problems and their role (or people like them) in perpetuating a system that only exacerbates the problem.  Covert racists do not realize that the way they think is permeated with racism and think that something like having a black friend inoculates them from it.  Most people are covert racists.

Race-aware Consciousness:  These people acknowledge that racism exists at all levels of society.  They are willing to chastise someone who tells a racist joke or uses a racial slur.  These people actively work to prevent racism's pernicious effects.  When there is a problem in the black community, the race conscious person looks at the social causes behind these problem and how these problems came to be.  They do not dichotomize the world into black and white but realize that the white and black communities exist in mutually interacting relationship.  What happens on the "North Side" affects the "East Side" and cannot be solved only on one side or the other.  Race-aware people know that they will always have racist thoughts and impulses, but when they occur they are conscious and introspective about them.  They seek to prevent those impulses from translating into words or action or destructive thought processes.  Race-aware people know that the environment is such that racism will always be a problem, but they seek to revolutionize their own minds and change others.

How can we get more people to be race-aware?  The first, and most difficult step is talking about racism.