Object-Permanence and the Question of Race

So how do we end racism? Well, apparently, by refusing to talk about it.

This is Morgan Freeman’s view on socio-economic inequality in the USA, and probably why het gets so peeved off about Black History Month (as he evidently was in the interview on CNN in June this year).

I would have expected the Voice of God, a man who could, with the music of his vocal chords, charm a snake, or untie a gordian knot solely with the pure power of speech, to say something of depth and value on the topic of racism. — But no, I was wrong. Instead, he gives a very superficial (typically conservative) argument that runs like this: Individual strength of will is the determining factor of success in life, and race is no longer an impediment to personal life-goals since slavery was a quirk of the ‘olden days’. Therefore by indulging in overtly racial discourse — as Black History Month does by focalising society’s cultural lens on black history — we are only entrenching the categorical racial differences that we were seeking to eliminate — namely, between Black and White communities. In short, we create the problem of racism by talking it into being.

Well, firstly, this is just an invalid argument. Secondly, if this were true, I guess we should just stop talking about climate change, or overpopulation, or global terrorist threats because — well, we just create greenhouse gases and entire populations and armed-terrorists by talking about them. Actually, Mr. Freeman’s excellent turn-a-blind-eye approach reminds of my little nephew who still hasn’t quite grasped the concept of object permanence and thinks that by wrapping his palms around his shut eyes that somehow, miraculously, myself and everyone in the room including the room itself just suddenly ceases to exist.

We are clearly not living in a post-racial world. So many statistical studies reveal a glaring structural socio-economic inequality in British (even more so in American) society wherein black ethnic minority groups are statistically at a disadvantage. For example, a recent study done by the Jobs Economist think tank showed that, in 2013, black youth unemployment was at 45% as opposed to the modest 7–8% unemployment rate amongst the white demographic.

You cannot controvert a fact by refusing to talk about it: and that’s why Black History Month is a positive phenomena.

Change is initiated by conversation. If you look at the progress of the civil rights movement you’ll find that the causes of emancipation began within the cultural domain, the world of discourse and representation. It is within this world that a community identity and solidarity was found. Writers like Aimé Cesare and Frantz Fanon, with their ideas, laid down the historical foundations upon which later leaders like Martin Luther King and Malcolm X stood upon. By dedicating one month in a year to focus on cultural topics of race you are not entrenching a racial division; you are opening up the conversation and debate from out of the academy and out into the wider public, increasing awareness of political and historical controversies, and enhancing cultural integration. I’m not personally and directly affected by the diaspora, but in virtue of being British, this narrative is just as much part of my tradition and historical identity as the War of the Roses is.

Awareness of a problem is the first step towards finding a solution. By silencing the debate, Morgan, you are simply acting out the dialectical ostrich that sticks its head in the sand to win an argument.

Published in the Leeds Gryphon on November 1st 2014