The Sacrifice of Victor

Fear & Racism

“The Sacrifice of Victor” from the album O(+> (1992)

“1967 in a bus marked public schools
Rode me and a group of unsuspecting political tools
Our parents wondered what it was like 2 have another color near
So they put their babies together 2 eliminate the fear”

Months before he was assassinated in 1967 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was asked to talk to the board of the American Psychological Association to talk about the psycho-social affects that racism and segregation has on African-Americans. Here is a snippet of what he said:

“In the preface to their book, Applied Sociology (1965), S. M. Miller and Alvin Gouldner state: “It is the historic mission of the social sciences to enable mankind to take possession of society.” It follows that for Negroes who substantially are excluded from society this science is needed even more desperately than for any other group in the population. White America needs to understand that it is poisoned to its soul by racism and the understanding needs to be carefully documented and consequently more difficult to reject (King, 1967).”

It is a historical fact that during slavery Black males were pitted against each other in an effort to keep them from revolting against their slave owners (Palmer, 2006). This constant fear of slave rebellions was a real part of American life as our great nation began. After the Civil War that fear of a Black uprising intensified because now they were “free” to compete for land and jobs and Constitutionally had the right to vote. It is another sad fact that the fear of losing land, political power, job, resources, etc. to Blacks that White America unleashed a campaign of terror to dissuade African-Americans from being a part of society. They wanted them to stay in there own towns and shop at their own stores and if they dared try to be a part of society beatings, lynchings and being thrown in jail for made up vagrancy crimes (i.e. staring at a White woman) were commons tools used to get that result (Forte, 1998). The Jim Crow laws replaced the Black Codes (1800-1866). Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 which deemed the Black Codes unconstitutional because of the 13^th Amendment. But then the fear of having Blacks as equals was something White America wasn't ready for that because they feared that freedom in Black hands would pull society into chaos and lawlessness; therefore they rioted all over the nation. Most notably in Memphis and New Orleans (Forte, 1998). Later that year pro-Black Codes politicians won election and the Jim Crow laws were passed in the southern states, the federal government looked the other way so that more White riots didn't break out (Kellogg, 1982). So to be clear the North and South both agreed that they would still be legally able to discriminate against African-Americans even after the ratification of the 13^th Amendment. Take a moment and let that sink in.

I don't want this to turn into a history lesson but Dr. King is right the evil affects of racism needs to be carefully documented so that White America is forced to see the psychological damage that racism has and is doing to a group of citizens. We hear about people playing the race card, how White Privilege doesn't exits and that racism is over. If the people who make such statements, took a look at American History objectivity they would see the nonsense in their words. There is an actual fear of Black people generally and Black males specifically in America. It is not a conscious fear it's more subtle. Whenever you see a group of Black teenagers what's your first thought? Whenever you see a Black male with baggy pants walk by what's your first thought? When you hear a Black person speak loudly what's your first thought? Now in all those scenarios put White people in them, what are your first thoughts? Most racism isn't the intentional Ku Klux Klan variety it's more the under the radar a la, “She probably got this job because of Affirmative Action” variety. The fear that Blacks or minorities are taking over or have an upper hand causes these sorts of thoughts. Their is an inherent non-logical component to racism, how can someone be fundamentally different from me because of their melanin? Are blue sharks fundamentally different from bronze sharks because their skin is a different color? The irrationality that is racism is a taught concept born out of fear and psychological projections of an individuals insecurities (Wright, 2009). We all need to evaluate ourselves mentally and find what is it in us that makes us think less of a person because of something they have no control over. We are all responsible for the scourge of racism we have to be honest with ourselves and do the hard work of dealing with our own issues instead of blaming others.

In the above lyrics Prince tells a story that may or may not be autobiographical but we know the story that is told here took place all over America during the Civil Rights movement. He talks about how parents were using their children to “eliminate” their fear. The United States government (state and federal) were actively fighting to prevent a group of citizens from getting equal rights (for example being paid the same wage for the same work as White people). That subtle fear had come to the foreground and violence was the government's response just like during slavery, just like during Reconstruction and just like now with the epidemic of unarmed minorities being killed by law enforcement. The psychological result of fear is anger and anger almost always leads to violence of some sort. America, the people should heed the advice of Dr. King and carefully chronicle this fear that has permeated our shared history so that we can deal with it effectively. If we don't this fear will continue to tear us apart. Let's stop teaching our children to see themselves as different based on race. Let's stop teaching them to fear others because of skin color because in the immortal words of Franklin D. Roosevelt, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Not African-Americans, not Latinos, not the LGBT community, or any other disenfranchised group. Let's put our babies together to eliminate racial fear so that racism can finally fall.

References

Forte, D. F., (1998). Spiritual equality, the black codes, and the americanization of the freedmen, Loyola Law Review (43) 605-608.

Kellogg, J., (1982). The formation of black residential areas in Lexington, Kentucky, 1865-1887. The Journal of Southern History, 48(1), 21–52.

King, M. L. (1967). Journal of Social Issues 24(1).

Palmer, Vernon Valentine (2006). The customs of slavery: The war without arms. American Journal of Legal History 2 (48): 177.

Wright, D. & Taylor, D.M. (2009).The social psychology of cultural diversity: Social prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination,The SAGE Handbook of Social Psychology, Concise Student Edition. M. Hogg & J. Cooper (Eds.), Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications, pps. 361-387.