Why Us?
By Phillip Thompson, Esq.
I have always wondered as to whether racial discrimination and white supremacy was something embedded in a person’s DNA or a learned behavior. In my four years as the President of the Loudoun County NAACP and over the course of my life, I have had plenty of cause and circumstances to ponder this question.
Anyone who knows anything about the actual history of this country knows that white Americans have consistently practiced a seemingly pent up and at times pathological form of prejudice, bias and racism. This phenomenon except in limited circumstances seems to be a purely American construct. The questions that I have also pondered is not solely where it comesfrom, but also, why it seems to manifest itself so much more openly during every election cycle?

This brings me to my point; recently while watching TV apolitical ad came on which featured the current Lieutenant Governor the Commonwealth of the Virginia as the antagonist of this ad. Ironically, the Lieutenant Governor is not on the ballot in this election cycle. At the end of the ad stood a white candidate who proclaimed proudly that he “approved” of this ad. His election day opponent was a white male. However, the Lieutenant Governor is Black.
Immediately I asked why white politicians continuously feel the need to use ads that impinge negatively upon people of color in order to get elected. We have seen it for many years. The ubiquitous welfare queens; the criminal; the immigrant waveand busing. The theme always seems to revolve around something negative about a non-white person or group. Many times, the ads are not tied to facts, just the promotion of fear and anger in white Americans.
I wonder if the genesis of these ads or campaigns is tied to something in white Americans’ DNA? Or is it just another opportunity to use white anger and fear to prop up fledgling campaigns? Regardless of the ignorance or silliness that spawns these ads, I truly wish white politicians could find something or someone else to run for or against in their political campaigns.
Here in Virginia, we are commemorating the 400th yearanniversary (1619 to 2019) of the first Africans brought to the shores of Virginia, in chains, and sold as human chattel. One must ask, isn’t 400 years (longer than that for Native Americans) enough? I believe it should be. So I will ask the next politician who thinks about running a political ad featuring a person of color as their shill to think about slavery, discrimination, rape, family separation, Jim Crow, lynching, property theft, reservations, diseased blankets, internment camps, chain gangs and the like and ask themselves; maybe these people have had enough. Please give it some thought the next time white fear, or the racist dog whistle impulse arises because soon white people will be in the minority in this county and then…????
Phillip E. Thompson
Past President
Loudoun County NAACP
