RACISM
Why Do White People Expect Black People to Forgive Them?
Unpacking unrealistic expectations for Black people
In March of 1965, Black Americans were fighting an uphill battle to secure equal access to the ballot box. Even though the 15th Amendment prohibited states from discrimination based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude" and the 19th Amendment bans discrimination "on account of sex," many Southern, formerly slave-owning states refused to play ball. Instead, White Americans used literacy tests, poll taxes, violence, and intimidation to stop Black people from exercising their right to vote. Yet, despite their inhumane treatment, Black people are often encouraged to forgive transgressions, even by those who refused to show a lick of remorse.
For instance, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke with protestors on the eve of Bloody Sunday, he said, "If you are beaten tomorrow, you must turn the other cheek." As King suggested, the officers became violent that day, attacking John Lewis, Hosea Williams, and other Black activists, but their scars were more than physical; they were also psychological since they were conditioned to accept violence and offer forgiveness in return. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s brand of peaceful protest effectively distinguished some racist, violent White people from…
