Change the Future

There is a race war happening on social media. The strange thing about it is that the virtual soldiers on this electronic battlefield are all white. It is not a war between races. It’s a thread war of words between white people who are offended by racist ideology and symbolism, and white people who are offended that other white people are offended by the symbols and ideals that they see as history, heritage, and tradition. It is surprising to me that in 2018 that there is not agreement on what is racist and what is not. It is shocking to me that there are many white people who still believe in the “lost cause” theory regarding the civil war. It is unfathomable to me that there are still people who can say “the war of northern aggression” with a straight face.

I read the comments again and again. Lots of white people want us to stop talking about racism. They think that if we pretend it never existed, then it will cease to exist. A true existstential dilemma. I understand though. It is painful to admit to our racist past. It is even more painful to acknowledge that racism persists. It is uncomfortable to recognize our own prejudices that make us complicit in the perpetuation of institutional racism. No white person feels privileged, so how can they embrace the idea of white privilege? And unless someone is a Klan member or a Nazi, most white people do not consider themselves racist. Most of us can somewhat relate to Donald Trump’s insistence that he is the least racist person he knows. We all sort of feel that way about ourselves.

If we really want to move past racism in this country, then we must acknowledge our racist past. The past in which our forefathers could boldly claim that all are created equal, but uphold the legality and morality of slavery. The past in which our ancestors terrorized black people across the south with the spectacle of public lynching. The past that codified the second-class status of citizens of color. The past that denied people of color the right to fully participate economically in our society. The past in which the maids of our grandparents had to use a toilet in the basement rather than the facilities that the white people used. The past in which our own families would raise objections to interracial dating or marriage. It was not long ago when some schools still banned black girls and boys from dancing with their white peers. Recent enough that Natalie Merchant wrote a song about it.

We can never change the past, so we must accept it and acknowledge it. We must face the pain and discomfort we feel so that we can acknowledge that our pain and discomfort is nothing compared to the pain, discomfort, and damage that our white way of life has inflicted on non-white people.

We cannot change the fact that the father of our country chewed his food with the teeth of his slaves. Let that thought sink in.

But not being able to change the past does not mean that we cannot change the future. But if we cling to phony symbols of our glorious white past, we cannot even begin to do the hard work of binding up and healing the wounds that still lay open across this country.