“Racist” wasn’t always a dirty word

Last week, Steve Bannon told a bunch of French nationalists to wear being called racist like a “badge of honor.” Here’s how Phillip Groff, a professor at John Jay, responded:

“Racial progress in this country and others takes a winding path. Racism is often economically advantageous, so folks who suffer need to make it cost. Folks need to break down the barriers to seeing vulnerable peoples’ humanity. But most important for defeating racism: We need to forge a shared cultural norm making it plain that racial oppression is bad.

The U.S. Civil Rights Movement is a master class in this. King and SNCC’s non-violent protest made it increasingly clear that racial segregation and exploitation were monstrous. In other words, among our greatest accomplishments as a nation is turning “racist” into a bad thing to be. Because this didn’t happen overnight — and because folks don’t read history books — some folks forget that “racist” wasn’t always a dirty word. Consequently, many don’t really give weight to considering what would happen if that protection went away.

HEADS UP. THAT PROTECTION IS GOING AWAY!

This isn’t new. A mix of concerted efforts and accidental activism have chipped away at the definition of racism for some time. These attacks narrowed the definition from “the historically rooted pattern of social stratification and exploitation rooted in race” to “mean people.” They have belittled the consequences of racial violence and focused cultural attentions on small slights to one’s identity.

That said, what Bannon is doing here, and neo-Nazi’s all over have been doing globally, is different still. They are extending the popular tropes that suggest claims of racism are really rooted in “excess sensitivity” and “weakness.” And that extension says, “See. To be called a racist ONLY means that you are angering the sensitive and the weak. That’s all racism really is!”

This perversion of our moral compass is not just nauseating. It is dangerous. It is how we lose the moral authority to name racism for what it is. Importantly, the solution is not to stop calling things racist (lest the word lose its meaning). The solution is to insist on the right definition. And to pair the murderous rhetoric these ideologues use with their historic consequences.

This stuff is not just politics. It’s not a joke. This stuff kills whole groups and generations of people. Just because it’s not happening yet, doesn’t mean it’s not the same as before.”