The unspoken social order and racial healing through Afrocentric values.
Successful Black people violate stereotypes.
I received an unprecedented firestorm of feedback after my recent post about
colorblind ideology being a type of racism.
The point of the article was to show how colorblind thought is a
deficient philosophy that fails to see the value of people of color,
implied by the very word "colorblind" itself.
Many Realize Colorblindness Does Not Work
My
article went on to become one of the top five most read entries on the
Psychology Today website, followed by ascending to the number one most
emailed article. Something about the subject matter resonated with many —
so much so that they felt the need to share it with others in their
lives. I like to believe that I put words to something many have felt
but did not know how to articulate.
Feedback Steeped in Controversy
For those of you
who sent positive feedback, I thank you. It always feels nice to be
appreciated and to know that others have been helped by something I
wrote. There were, however, a surprising number of negative comments as
well, most of which were posted anonymously to the comment section of
the article. I did consider leaving the remarks there to illustrate the
widespread nature of racism in our country, but because of the obscene,
anti-Semitic, and distasteful nature of the postings, they had to be
removed. (I did save a copy of the posts in case any one would like to
view them —
at their own risk.) I don't have the time to
answer each remark individually, but I will summarize the remarks and
comment on the major themes and interesting psychological dynamics at
play, followed by suggestions for racial healing.
Wake-Up Call: Racism is Alive and Well
For those of you who believe that racism is a thing of the past,
think again.
I received dozens of notes from anonymous posters who felt the need to
trumpet their hate for Black people, Jewish people, and other oppressed
groups — freely using the n-word and any other insult that came to
mind. Safely hidden behind the Internet's opaque digital wall, the
negative sentiments that most people are socialized to keep to
themselves spilled out for all to see. Good old-fashioned racism is
alive and well, as many cling to the passé notion of a social order
where Whites alone are at the top. In today's world, old-fashioned
racists can no longer run around in white hoods, but they can spread
hate from their personal computers. This type of attitude underscores
the need for new ways of approaching our society's wounds surrounding
race and ethnicity.
Anger Over Affirmative Action Programs
Many
writers expressed anger about affirmative action programs, under the
pretext that they personally have been unfairly discriminated against in
hiring practices. What makes this so interesting is that there was no
mention of affirmative action or any political policy in my article at
all. People read into the article something they expected to see.
Clearly,
affirmative action is a sore spot for many, which I do believe calls
for a revisiting of these programs to make them more fair and useful.
However, I do also understand that when one is passed over for a job,
it's easier to blame affirmative action than acknowledge that your
minority competitor may just have been a bit more qualified than you.
It's hard to make sense out of being bested by someone who is considered
to be on a lower rung of the social hierarchy. It doesn't fit the
stereotype — what we all
think we know — which brings me to my next interesting point.
Many
people who sent hateful feedback made reference to my academic
qualifications. When you consider stereotypes about Black people as
unintelligent victims and drug-addicted criminals, it seems unfathomable
that a Black woman could have an engineering degree from MIT, a Ph.D.
in clinical psychology, and have been employed as a faculty member at an
Ivy League school. My achievements sparked anger and jealousy in many
because they are seen as a violation of the stereotype, or the proper
social order. There is no way that a racist can imagine I might have
earned all this from just a good brain and hard work. For that reason,
many tried to make this "right" by addressing me in a disrespectful
manner, using demeaning and sexist language, and expressing disbelief
over my achievements. It's a broken logic that perpetuates hate: by
pulling down successful people of color, racists think they pull
themselves up.
An Afrocentric Perspective Can Facilitate Racial Healing
The 7 principles of Kwanzaa
Everyone who expressed hate and negativity over my last post
could benefit from learning something new − the seven principles of
Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa is an African American holiday that takes place in the
seven days after Christmas and celebrates positive Afrocentric values.
These principles run counter to racist ideology as they both celebrate
the African American culture and embrace unity. It is not a religious
holiday, so it can be celebrated by people of any faith. And although it
is an African American holiday, people of all races may celebrate it
too.
Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the following Afrocentric principles, as follows:
- Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain oneness in the family, community, race, and nation.
- Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To assert ourselves in self-defining and dignity-affirming ways in the world.
- Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community, share our problems, and solve them together.
- Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain businesses utilizing fair business practices, and to profit from them together.
- Nia
(Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing
of our communities and foster the possibility of great achievements
through doing good in the world.
- Kuumba (Creativity): To always do as much as we can to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
- Imani (Faith): To believe that we can truly transform ourselves and the world for the better.
1st Kwanzaa US postage stamp in 1997
Embracing some of the best elements of African American
tradition is an example of how our society can benefit from
multiculturalism to overcome racism and hate. All cultures have
im
The 7 principles of Kwanzaa
portant values that can contribute to a better society, and it is in
our communal best interest to discover and implement these hidden
insights.
Learn more:
The Official Kwanzaa Website: www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org
Dr.
Maulana Karenga, Professor and Chair of Africana Studies, California
State University-Long Beach; Executive Director, African American
Cultural Center (Us); Creator of Kwanzaa; and author of Kwanzaa: A
Celebration of Family, Community and Culture and Introduction to Black
Studies, 4th Edition, www.MaulanaKarenga.org
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