The Roots of Systemic Racism

by, Renee Wood

The situation with the 2020 protests in America change daily, and so therefore do my emotions, thoughts and mood, and therefore how to approach writing this blog on such a heavy and shameful American reality.  Tens of thousands of peaceful protesters took to the streets across the world, to call for change, over the callous death of a black man at the hands of white police officers.  To watch 2 white officers kneel on a handcuffed young, black man, George Floyd, as they squeeze the life out of him, while at the same time seeing 2 other officers just watching, is just abominable!  One officer on his neck, another kneeling on his back for nine minutes – 4 and a half minutes of which this man was motionless and they still didn’t let up.  How much more subdued can one get?  The autopsy said he died between 5 and 6 minutes and the officers were still subduing a dead body for at least 3 more minutes!  Then the police officers pick-up this man’s handcuffed, rag-doll-limp body and throw it on the ambulance gurney, like a mangy dog!

How do the officers explain kneeling on a neck and body for 9 minutes, at least 3 of which the body was lifeless?  No, I’m serious, I really want to know how an officer continues to kneel on a motionless body among the cries of bystanders to “Let him up, you’re killing him”! I want to know what was going through his mind.  As an excuse or defense?  Of course not – those actions are indefensible, but if we want to solve the problem of white officers acting violently and killing young black men, we better inquire about his thoughts in that moment to understand the mentality when engaging with a black male.  I will reiterate, not as a defense, or not even to give credence to any rhetoric, but as a piece of information to help assist with solutions.  If one doesn’t understand (doesn’t mean one agrees) the entirety of the issue you desire to change you’re fighting to correct something without the complete picture.  Pus needs to be exposed before the body can heal, but you also need to find the root cause of the pus.  Can’t just put on bandage on it and say, “The sight of you makes me sick, so I will pretend you (the mentality of some white officers) are not there, and focus on the good parts.  I guarantee, if we do that, it will just fester again.

The Root of Racism

I will start with the premise that there are those who are overt racists in America even today, such as white supremacists.  However, to judge every unjust act against blacks as this extreme type of racism, will not get us anywhere near the underlying roots which feeds systemic racism today.  I’m not implying that unjust acts against blacks don’t stem from a form of racism, I’m saying most Americans don’t view blacks anymore as a different inferior species, which would be the white supremacy type of racism.  I understand that it doesn’t matter what type of racism it is, it all hurts and oppresses the same. Breast cancer hurts just as much as lung cancer.  Granted, they are both cancer, but you can’t treat breast cancer the same way you treat lung cancer – it won’t work. In order to solve the different forms of racism, you need to identify the type of racism, and develop a solution unique to treat/eradicate that form of racism.

White supremacy and systemic racism are 2 different diseases born out of the same root in America.  Most would say slavery was the initial disease that caused racism, but was it?  Or was slavery just the byproduct [the result] of purporting the propaganda that those with dark skin were a lesser species of human, than light skinned people?

The “systemic” type of racism is born out of the fact that, although the average American knows that black skin people are not a lesser form of species than light skin people, the idea that many blacks (not all) are “different” than white folks, has been enculturated into our society.  And to cement this difference in the minds of many whites, one can see this difference in their music, what foods they eat, where and how they live, what types of jobs they hold, etc.  But not too many white people stop to question, “How can two groups of people lived together for 400 years and be so different”?

The answer is; a majority of black people were brought here as slaves from a different continent, and lived as slaves for many years even after the emancipation proclamation was signed.  In theory, they were freed with this signing, but in the ways they were treated, for many years after, they were not free.  Realities don’t change overnight, but people go on with life regardless of their situation.  So black people got what jobs they could (usually ones white people didn’t want – turns out most of which were finding out now during the pandemic, are essential to the health and welfare of this country – but many of these jobs still do not pay as if they were essential), these oppressed black people formed communities where they could take some refuge from oppression.

In those communities came forth their own music, art, good food from the stuff white people didn’t want.  These places were in poverty, started as a protection, somewhat, from a world that treated them as sub-humans.  When the heaviness of oppression started to lift, there were other ways to keep black men “in their place”, not so much because white people thought they were inferior species, but they looked and live much different than the average white man, so therefore are seen as a threat to the white man’s world.  Many whites do not see how the history of slavery created a different life for blacks, a different culture, that they created from dregs of poverty and oppression, alongside privileged whites, not by “choice”, but out of the absence of choice.  In white people’s minds now, the way black people live is by choice, but it’s not.  It was developed by the history of living as slaves, and by design to keep them poor, under educated and without a voice of credence (easily dismissed as not valid) – the design of white ancestors.

I believe white supremacy was the initial disease, and slavery set up the systemic way of thinking of, and treating blacks in substandard ways. Most Americans know that black and whites are biologically the same, but yet the systemic unjust treatment of black people still exists, Why?! What’s the cure?

A country should punish those who kill, maim, or impose harsh realities on blacks purely out of white supremacy ideology.  Of course, if one intentionally does these things, whether from white supremacy or not, they should be dealt with under the law, but things done under white supremacy need to be treated as a higher level of crimes.  Harsh realities for blacks from systemic racism, need policy changes and an educational approach to change this.  If policies are not implemented by States to change the unjust treatment of blacks, then, after a certain amount of time, appropriate penalties should be imposed on States.

What fuels the continuation of systemic racism?

Basically white laziness!  We know the unjust way black people are treated exists and are not isolated cases here and there.  Yet, until recent protests, there was no urgency for us, even though black people have continued to stress the urgency of the situation.  We, as honest white people of good conscience, get fired up every time we see one of these unjust killings of black people, especially when the killer gets off free, which is more often than not!  Then after the fury settles, what happens? We go back to our white life of privilege until it happens again and again and again!  Systemic means it’s ingrained in everything, housing, education, health care, employment as well as the criminal justice system!  Some more, some less, but systemic means it’s widespread racism.  It touches every aspect of life to one degree or another.  Systemic is also unseen for the most part – just the way it was always done, habit, status quo.  You don’t just say “Fix systemic racism” – it takes work, and a lot of work to undo what has been the way we’ve done it for centuries!

That’s why we must understand that these protests are not just about justice for one black man named George Floyd.  It’s about change.  Changing the unjust practices of how white people have treated black people since the day we drug them over here, and made them slaves to build this beautiful country that many white people have enjoyed and profited from – while many black people still struggle for a good education, proper housing, decent dignified jobs with fair pay, and to be able to just walk/jog down the street, or drive a brand new car, without being held suspect merely for the color of their skin.  If you’re not working on change in between these atrocities, then you’re part of the problem!  It takes a nation to rebuild its broken communities!

All these burned out shells of buildings, looted or vandalized, are a reality of our lives now.  Although I understand the emotions that caused this destruction, it was still wrong.  If and when caught, perpetrators should face penalties under current laws.  The reality is, we can repair/rebuild the damaged to the buildings, at a cost, yes, but remember they are just buildings, rather than a person having their actual breath choked out of them.  How much would one pay to restore the life of a loved one?  We can restore buildings, we can’t restore a life.  It happened, these burned out, looted, vandalized buildings aren’t going away soon.

When you see these burned out, looted, vandalized buildings, instead of being upset and angry at the few who did this, let these buildings be a symbol to the masses, of how empty, broken and burned out the majority of black people have felt from centuries of inhuman treatment for just being born black.  They told us how difficult it has been for them.  They told us of their pain.  We either didn’t listen, didn’t take it seriously or placated them with words.  If cries to be released from bondage go unheard or unfulfilled, then people just have to tear it down to free themselves!  We didn’t hear them, so they are showing us what they feel.  What they deal with daily.  As we rebuild these buildings and our communities, let us also build equality, acceptance of cultures, and difference into our structures.  Let the rebuilding begin with love and healing.

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