• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Skip to footer navigation

  • Calendar of events
  • 687 Larch Av, Teaneck NJ
  • 201-836-5187
  • Contact Us
  • DONATE
Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County NJ

Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County NJ

  • Home
  • About
    • Platform
    • FAQ
      • How does Ethical Culture make a difference in society?
      • What social life is there in Ethical Culture?
      • How is Ethical Culture religious?
    • Ethical Brew
    • Ceremonies
    • Philosophy
    • Constitution & Bylaws
    • Contact Us
  • Ethical Kids
    • Sunday School
      • Primary Class
      • Elementary Class
      • Junior Class
      • Senior Class
      • Sunday school FAQ
    • Youth Group
  • Leader
    • Leader Curt Collier
    • Leader’s Talks
    • Joe Chuman, Retired Leader
      • Talks by Dr Joseph Chuman
      • Speaking of Ethics: Living a Humanist Life
      • Wedding Officiant
  • Social Action
    • All Social Action Articles
    • Battling Racism
    • Environmental Action
    • Healthcare
  • Adult Ed
    • Job Club
    • Socrates Cafe
    • Ethical Culture Review of Books
  • News
    • President Column
    • UN Report
    • Platform Addresses
  • Events

Continuing the Conversation on White Privilege, Part Two

March 1, 2016

Click here to read Part One

A veteran activist, wizened and white, recently gave me this advice:

I used to think I needed to understand how black people suffer from racism. I thought, if it’s really that bad, then explain it to me — when it happens, how it works. But then someone asked why it matters what I understand… the truth is, it doesn’t. Feeling that we’re entitled to an explanation is a facet of white privilege. When black people talk about racism, you just need to believe them!

The Separate Obligations of Belief and Understanding

Among my various privileges is a college education, and I was raised a skeptic. I am trained to question, challenge, and demand proof. While excessive police violence, mass incarceration, and similarly overt outlets of racism make ready talking points, its more daily and permeating elements can be less obvious for a white person to identify and describe. Such a comprehensive experience must be anecdotal; by nature it is “just a story.”

But among the few requirements of Humanism is faith in humanity. To be an Ethical Culturist, I must believe that an entire demographic is not lying. To fight everyday racism, I must fight the instinct that I am owed incontestable proof of its existence.

Of course, educating ourselves on those less obvious aspects is just as necessary as trusting our fellow humans, and understanding any societal problem is a vital step to solving it. To that end, and although there is no dearth of good literature on this vast issue, I offer two engaging, accessible books in particular: Black Sexual Politics: African Americans, Gender, and the New Racism by Patricia Hill Collins and The Secret Epidemic: The Story of AIDS and Black America, by Jacob Levenson, both published in 2005.

The Tools of Racism and Two Short Book Reviews

[swm_image src=”https://ethicalfocus.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/41TWHV3NMDL._SX331_BO1204203200_.jpg” align=”right” link=”http://www.amazon.com/Black-Sexual-Politics-African-Americans/dp/041595150X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1451174519&sr=8-3&keywords=the+new+racism” alt=”Black Sexual Politics” title=”Black Sexual Politics, by Patricia Hill Collins“]Black Sexual Politics takes us through American racism through the lens of sexism. Collins uses as a premise the idea that contemporary racism will always be inscrutable, even to its victims, until our society recognizes that we are lumping together two separate paradigms: racism against black men and racism against black women.

Since few people experience both paradigms and also wield a public voice, the dramatic difference between them has gone largely undiscussed for centuries. When it is acknowledged, it is often confused with general, mainstream (i.e. white) sexism, which is again different. Collins uses accessible and mostly familiar examples in a cursory overview of racism against Black Americans from this intersectional perspective. It is an enlightening read, and tackles questions that are rarely asked in the public forum, such as how the different gender roles in black and white American cultures cyclically reinforce the segregation between those two cultures, and why the massive differences between the stereotypes and expectations of  “ladies” and “Black ladies” are both fundamental and infrequently voiced.

[swm_image src=”https://ethicalfocus.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/41pTJ0QRhqL._SX326_BO1204203200_-197×300.jpg” align=”left” link=”http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Epidemic-Story-Black-America/dp/0385722346/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451182913&sr=8-1-fkmr2&keywords=hidden+epidemic+aids+black+america” alt=”The Secret Epidemic” title=”The Secret Epidemic, by Jacob Levenson“]The Secret Epidemic is more journalistic than academic. In a curriculum of anti-racism, this book can be used not only for the story it tells, but as an example of how marginalization writes legislation and history. When AIDS decimated America, black people seemed to simply disappear. Their story was not told. Middle-class, educated, white, gay men made headlines, and had the resources to fight for and win government funding for their disease research and public health endeavors. But black Americans died quietly, typically uncounted, but at least by the tens of thousands.

This silencing is marginalization, and it is exactly the point. When stories are told in America, about Americans, Black Americans are rarely the protagonists. I’ve heard it commented that “racism is all over the news” lately. But we still don’t hear about it enough, at enough times or from enough perspectives. Racism is not a separate topic from medicine, sexism, or anything else, but a systematic, foundational erasing of people and their voices and stories. The problem is far from simple, but solving it must begin with seeking out and hearing other people’s stories.

Primary Sidebar

Recent News

  • Society Gets Grant to Explore Concept of ‘Sacred Spaces’
  • Church-State Separation: Who Stands to Lose if the Wall Fails?
  • Two Grants Help Fund ‘Great NJ Science Show’
  • Meet Our Newest Members, Andy and Deborah Krikun
  • Struggle over Church-State Separation has Deep Roots in America

Sign up for our newsletter.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

We believe in ethics. We believe in people.

Please believe in us.

Ethical Brew

Being White And Its Hidden Assumptions

‘How Race Impacts Conservation’

About Us

Ethical Culture was founded to focus on community and good works, rather than personal salvation. Read more…

Archives

Footer

Connect with Us

Address: 687 Larch Ave, Teaneck, NJ 07666
Phone: 201-836-5187
Email: [email protected]

Sign up for our newsletter.

 

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Society Gets Grant to Explore Concept of ‘Sacred Spaces’ January 31, 2023
  • Church-State Separation: Who Stands to Lose if the Wall Fails? January 30, 2023
  • Two Grants Help Fund ‘Great NJ Science Show’ January 29, 2023
  • Meet Our Newest Members, Andy and Deborah Krikun January 29, 2023
  • Struggle over Church-State Separation has Deep Roots in America January 28, 2023

We believe in ethics. We believe in people.

Please believe in us.

Topics

atheism atheist church book review children church-state separation civil rights climate change community compassion death democracy Doris Friedensohn Elizabeth Warren environment Ethical Brew Ethical Culture ethical education ethics family Felix Adler gender global warming happiness healthcare humanism humanist humanists human rights Israel Joseph Chuman meetinghouse Middle East politics racism religion Robert Gulack Secular Humanism social action Socrates Cafe Sunday School technology Trump unemployment world health youth

What We Do For Fun….

There's always time for play: celebrations, discussions (some in Spanish -- find Conversemos on our calendar on the fourth Tuesday of the month), hikes, picnics, cultural outings, and more. Come join us!
Kids get into the act
Diane running the show

Important Links

  • Member of the American Ethical Union
  • Ethical Brew
  • Sanctuary Committee
  • BC Gun Violence Prevention
  • NJ Website Designer
© 2021 | The Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County NJ

Copyright © 2023 · Kreativ Pro On Genesis Framework · The Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County · Log in

  • Calendar of events
  • 687 Larch Av, Teaneck NJ
  • 201-836-5187
  • Contact Us
  • DONATE