After watching the movie Bamboozled in class on Monday, I was not sure if I could be more surprised with how blatant racism has permeated our American culture for centuries. However after reading Ta-Nehisi Coates's article The Case for Reparations, I am shocked at how manipulative and systematic racism was in the 20th century.
Pairing the movie I watched this week Selma with the reading, I was able to realize how ignorant I was when it came to understanding the African-American struggle in America. The movie Selma focuses on the Selma and Montgomery marches. The movie predominately focuses on the prominent members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and specifically on Martin Luther King Jr. This movie was able to portray how violent the local government, townspeople, and police force were in reaction to the Civil Rights Movement. I have always known racism was really bad in the Deep South, but watching this movie made me realize how big of a target blacks had on their heads. They weren't safe anywhere. These marches led by the members of the SCLC and Dr. King are still tremendous examples of courage in the face of great evil.
Furthermore, even though the movie Selma is just a movie, it still was troubling for me seeing how much hate, violence, and pure evil that members of the Civil Rights Movements and blacks in general had to endure. I realize the footage wasn't real, but seeing how someone could murder 6 or 7 children in cold-blood just because of their race is just incomprehensibly evil. Then learning about how the housing market, economy, and local governments from Coates's article blatantly persecuted and oppressed blacks to such an extent made me realize how greatly racism has permeated and impacted our culture. The ripples of racism are still felt today in America.
Reading this line from Coates's article, "One man said his black neighbor was “probably a nice guy, but every time I look at him I see $2,000 drop off the value of my house” caused me to do a double take. From my own personal experience, I feel this is still unfortunately the case in many affluent white neighborhoods. I grew up in an affluent white neighborhood, and I remember people discussing how the city is trying to keep blacks out. People were upset at how more blacks were moving in, and how the public schools have begun to bus-in students from poorer black neighborhoods. I also remember growing up, and seeing black people being regularly pulled over by police officers routinely. When I was a teenager, I never really thought about it, but as I got older I realized how the neighborhood I grew up in was actively trying to intimidate and keep blacks out.
The personal experience I had of systematic racism and active oppression against blacks caused me to realize how true this line from Coates's article is, "Negro Poverty is not White Poverty." Poor whites driving in my neighborhood growing up wouldn't have to worry about being pulled over by the cops, however poor blacks would. So even if a poor black family does their best to support their themselves, history has shown that they have significantly more hurdles to overcome than a poor white family. These hurdles are often times deeply embedded in our society as a result of long-held racist beliefs. This, in turn, causes a systematic oppression to take place.
Ultimately, after watching Bamboozled, Selma and reading the assigned readings for this week, I learned how ignorant I am, and how deeply racism has impacted our culture .
The points and experiences you bring up in your post are exactly why it is so important that our class has a whole week to studying the dynamic of race in America. So many Americans grow up with the same ignorance, myself included, until we are presented with the blatant truth that was being hidden and played down to us for the sake of 'convenience'. Therefore, we must also take it upon ourselves to continue such education to make sure that past wounds of our country can finally heal.
ReplyDelete