peer review

Slavery and Capitalism

                The pillar of white supremacy that I will be discussing will be Slavery and Capitalism. As I have stated earlier in the quarter, I was born and raised in the south, the very conservative, bible belt south. As a white male growing up in the south, I saw first hand how the history and perception of slavery affected not only the African Americans, but also the white people in the community in a negative and undesirable way.

                Growing up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, we had a pretty well equal mix of whites and African Americans within the city, as having quite a few, almost more African American friends than white friends, I was able to get a sense of their feelings while growing up, of what they considered white supremacy, from their view point. Although it never came out as talking about “white supremacy” we always talked about how they did not have all of the privileges and opportunities that a white man might have and how I would succeed in a greater way than they ever would, solely based on their race. As a young adolescent, I didn’t understand what they were talking about, I didn’t understand how the color of their skin could cause such a negative impact on their lives. One of the things that we always came back to talking about was the building at the center of town, called the Market House, a historic building that has stood since the beginning of the cities history, but also was a place where slaves were sold. How could this monument to slavery still be standing I always heard; why do white people want to protect this racist building so much, I didn’t understand.

                I am starting to gain a much deeper understanding of why there is a lot of resentment among the black community where I came from. As Dr. Kleisath tells us in the Lecture: Slavery/Capitalism, that black boys/men are 20 times more likely to be killed by a police officer than a white boy/man. But what about the arrest rates of black’s vs whites, according to the NAACP Criminal Justice Fact Sheet African American incarceration rate is 5 times that of whites. Also, A criminal record can reduce the likelihood of a callback or job offer by nearly 50 percent. Is this what they have been talking about during my childhood and teenage years? It makes a lot more sense now than it did back then, as Dr. Kleisath explains that the 13th amendment to the Constitution did not abolish slavery as most people believe, it just moved it to the prisons. Not only the Racist policies that the government has enacted over the last hundred and fifty years, but it also includes protecting

                Since slavery never really ended, just moved to the prisons, there is more to be fearful of in the black community, not only where I grew up at, but also across the country. Racism against my black friends have always been there, I just didn’t see it. My friends had grandparents that grew up during the nadir period of U.S. race relations in the 1930’s and 40’s. While my friends did not personally live through these tough times for African Americans, they did hear the stories as told from their grand parents and other family members. As James Loewen describes in Lies My Teacher Told Me, Blacks were greatly oppressed during this time, being prevented from obtaining even unskilled labor jobs such as mail carriers or skilled jobs like carpentry. Having their family history (difficult to process as it may be) passed down to them, the more likely of imprisonment and the constant reminders all around them of the Souths deep dark past of slavery, are all very clear reasons of why there is still a lot of resentment in the south.

                I am still very good friends with several of my friends back home and communicate quite frequently with them on a regular basis. Since I have left my hometown, their feelings of hopelessness and feeling of being oppressed have only grown stronger as the years have past and they have grown older. “Why do you stay?” I ask them, and the same answer is given to me every time, where do I go. I have realized that I have portrayed the Agent skill of distancing in my youth, and even as an adult, this has not really changed. Although I like to think that I portray the inclusion skill, distancing is the skill that most often is portrayed, in my feelings. I seem to acknowledge their feelings, but never really have chosen to really understand where they come or how they feel on a much deeper and personal level, or what I could do to help them overcome their own personal or social struggles. This is something that I must change in order to become a truer friend and really understand. However, at the same time, I find myself unconsciously using the benefits of my Agent Rank in Race as steppingstone to advance myself throughout my life, something that my friends have not been able to do. I also find myself using the technique of “Changing the channel” as described by Dr. Nieto in her book Beyond Inclusion, Beyond Empowerment. Once a subject of race is brought up, I tend to find myself changing the subject, something that we can both relate to, just till the tension of the previous subject has dissipated. Have I been using Agent skills my whole life without knowing it, most likely I have, as a child, most likely without any ill intention, but as an adult, most likely have been doing this more consciously than not.

How is this fair? Is it too late to change a society that has been en-grained to believe that African Americans will always be held back? Is it too late to make a real change in today's society that can actually benefit and level the playing field for all Americans?