Where we are: An indictment

First written February 14, 2015 by Kandin Unger

I spent a long time attempting to write an introduction that gradually and gently settles the reader onto the point. But I decided that there’s no point to that. We’ve already been lulled and gently settled onto this reality. I’m going to just say it. Because America keeps trying to forget.

Whiteness governs the narrative of what it means to be American. And for a non-white American, this means that to live in this country, you can either assimilate or you stand in direct opposition to the principles and systems on which America continues to be maintained. And the perception of successful assimilation is granted to the “perceivee” by the perceiver. It is oftentimes not a choice at all. And because of America’s narrative of patriotism and exceptionalism, to be American in America is to be acknowledged in your full humanity. It is to be understood and recognized as human.

And since the beginning of this country’s inception, America has selectively chosen who is fully human.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.”

To be fully human in America means to vote; it means to have a stake in what this country looks like; it means to live; it means to pursue happiness; it means to be safe; it means to be free.

These are rights not endowed to all Americans. America wrote its declaration of independence omitting women in its declaration of equal humanity. America legally categorized Black Americans as 3/5 human. America jails the highest rate of its minority population than any other country in the world. America kills its minority population at a higher rate than its majority population with its supposed keepers of the peace. America under-educates neighborhoods in lower socio-economic neighborhoods. America selectively and purposefully restricts voting rights. America intentionally and geographically segregates its populations based on race and class. America uses freedom of speech to permit hate. America overvalues whiteness.

America bestows full humanity to those who possess whiteness.

Then. When America was forming. And now. These things happen in a continuum of then and now.

This lie of selective humanity persists in fear and an aversion to discomfort. As people, we greatly desire freedom: the freedom to walk in the fullness of who we are and share it with others. And in this freedom we desire to be recognized. This desire is good. I believe that we are called into walking in freedom. But White supremacy encourages (and in fact produced the lie) that my freedom, that white people’s freedom, is threatened by difference. That someone else’s freedom somehow takes away from mine. Especially someone who is different than me.

It is the catalyst of cultural appropriation: I must now own what another has created. It must be mine; it must be a part of me, otherwise it is not my freedom. Otherwise my freedom is taken away from me.It is the impetus to violence: I forcefully take what is not mine and I forcefully oppress what I do not understand or is not me because it takes away my freedom.

And this is a lie.

In fact, I cannot know freedom until I have freed myself from the fear of rejection. From the fear of awkward laughter and conversations because I just said something that was misunderstood. From the fear of humility. From the fear of being wrong.

From the fear of facing more distinctly who I am. And recognizing myself fully.

That who I am is beautiful and good and…maybe even holy. The righteousness of God! Every piece of me was made purposefully. And I stand alone. And it is not because I am better or more or higher or smarter or more educated or more beautiful or lighter or more valuable or whiter. Who I am persists in its goodness when I am wrong and when

I make mistakes.

Racism is a lie. And it is a persistent one.

Part of our identities as white Americans is intangibly bound up with the founding idea of superiority. Race was an unscientific tool created by and used by White Americans to measure human worth and justify slavery. The impetus to the birthing of race in this country still drives this construct forward into our present and future realities. Its legacy twists and weaves continuously into the American psyche.

We do not and cannot break the influence of the original motivation of a racialized environment with apathy and ignorance.

And as White Americans shocked and broken and helpless in the face of this reality,

As White Americans who feel the heavy burden of guilt and regret for actions we wish hadn’t been committed and ones we’ve committed ourselves, we ask, what can we do to erase the past?

We cannot erase the past.

We face the past.

And we face its existing presence in ourselves.

Its presence will not become untangled until we intentionally untangle it.

We will not be restored until we recognize our humanity and goodness at the same time that we recognize the full weight of our generational and individual iniquity which claims that others do not.

We will not be reconciled until we claim the only thing we should have ever claimed as ours.

Ourselves and our actions.

All of them.

***If this was uncomfortable for you to read and there’s some anger or confusion or disbelief settled in your spirit, I encourage you to take some time and read the following articles and books I suggest and do some of your own research (the library is a great place to start) on the topic. The following are things that I’ve read (or am in the process of reading) that are and have been clarifying and more digestable. I also encourage you to ask yourself why you are angry or upset or in disbelief or confused. When dealing with race in this country, being introspective (and prayerful if that’s your bent) is a prerequisite before engaging with others about it.

What does it mean to be white? by Robin D’Angelo
Research about white racial identity development by Janet Helms
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Why are all of the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? by Beverly Tatum
This or anything by Ta-Nehisi Coates