The Dark Side Of White History

The Nation: More Honest History About White Racism Is Needed

(The Nation)  This column was written by Gary Younge.

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Whatever happened to James Blake? He is probably the most famous bus driver ever. And yet when he died at age 89 in March 2002, the few papers that bothered to note his passing in an obituary ran just a few hundred words of wire copy and moved on.

Given that February is Black History Month, it is worth taking a moment to ask how such a crucial figure could be so cruelly forgotten.

Blake was the Montgomery driver who told a row of black passengers: "Y'all better make it light on yourselves and let me have those seats." Rosa Parks was one of those passengers. She made her stand and kept her seat. The rest, as they say, is history.

Well, black history anyway. We know how African-Americans boycotted city transit for thirteen months until the segregationists caved in. We know how the boycott launched the career of a previously unheard-of preacher called Martin Luther King Jr. and made Parks an icon. In schools, bookstores and on TV there is an awful lot of talk about them in February. But nary a word about Mr. Blake. That's because so much of Black History Month takes place in the passive voice. Leaders "get assassinated," patrons "are refused" service, women "are ejected" from public transport. So the objects of racism are many but the subjects few. In removing the instigators, the historians remove the agency and, in the final reckoning, the historical responsibility.

There is no month when we get to talk about Blake; no opportunity to learn the fates of J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant, who murdered Emmett Till; no time set aside to keep track of Victoria Price and Ruby Bates, whose false accusations of rape against the Scottsboro Boys sent five innocent young black men to jail.

Wouldn't everyone — particularly white people — benefit from becoming better acquainted with these histories? What we need, in short, is a White History Month.

For some this would be one racially themed history month too many. Criticisms of Black History Month from cynics, racists and purists are about as predictable as the arrival of February itself. But for all its obvious shortcomings, Black History Month helps clear a space to relate the truth about the past so we might better understand the present and navigate the future. Setting aside 28 days for African-American history is insufficient, problematic and deserves our support for the same reason that affirmative action is insufficient, problematic and deserves our support. As one means to redress an entrenched imbalance, it gives us the chance to hear narratives that have been forgotten, hidden, distorted or mislaid. Like that of Claudette Colvin, the black Montgomery teenage activist who also refused to give up her seat, nine months before Rosa Parks, but was abandoned by the local civil rights establishment because she became pregnant and came from the wrong side of town.

The very notion of black and white history is both a theoretical nonsense and a practical necessity. There is no scientific or biological basis for race. It is a construct to explain the gruesome reality that racism built. But, logic suggests, you cannot have black history without white history. Of course, the trouble is not that we do not hear enough about white history but that what masquerades as history is more akin to mythology. The contradictions of how a "free world" could be founded on genocide, or how the battle for democracy during the Second World War could coincide with Japanese internment and segregation, for example, are rarely addressed.

"I am born with a past and to try to cut myself off from that past is to deform my present relationships," writes Alasdair MacIntyre in his book After Virtue. "The possession of an historical identity and the possession of a social identity coincide."

The purpose here is not to explore individual guilt — there are therapists for that — but collective responsibility. When it comes to excelling at military conflict, everyone lays claim to their national identity; people will say, "We won World War II." By contrast, those who say "we" raped black slaves, massacred Indians or excluded Jews from higher education are hard to come by. You cannot, it appears, hold anyone responsible for what their ancestors did that was bad or the privileges they enjoy as a result. Whoever it was, it definitely wasn't "us." This is one more version of white flight — a dash from the inconveniences bequeathed by inequality.

So we do not need more white history, we need it better told. Settlement, slavery and segregation — propelled by economic expansion and justified by white supremacy — inform much of what the United States is today. The wealth they created helped bankroll its superpower status. The poverty they engendered persists. But white history does not mean racist history any more than black history means victims' history. Alongside Blake, Milam and Bryant, any decent White History Month would star insurrectionist John Brown; the Vanilla Ice of the Harlem Renaissance, Carl Van Vechten; civil rights workers Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman, murdered near Philadelphia, Mississippi, during the Freedom Summer of 1964; and Viola Liuzzo, murdered during the Selma-to-Montgomery march. It would explain why Ronald Reagan kicked off his presidential campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi; why George W. Bush chose Bob Jones University to revive his presidential hopes. It would tell the story of how Ruby Bates recanted her rape accusation in a bid to save the Scottsboro boys from the noose and how the Blakes never did reconcile themselves to the event that brought them infamy. "None of that mess they said was true," said his wife, Edna. "Everybody loved him. He was a good, true man and a churchgoer."

It would offer white people options and role models and all of us inspiration while relieving the burden on African-Americans to recast the nation's entire racial history in the shortest month of the year. White people, like black people, need access to a history that is accurate, honest and inclusive. Maybe then it would be easier for them, and the rest of us, to make history that is progressive, antiracist and inclusive.

[gwlafayette]

anopinion1 is right, how can america decicate an entire month to any race before the natives?

unfortunately, attention goes to whoever cries for it the most. be loud and obnoxious and everyone will meet your demands just to shut you up. we are essentially teaching people to be loud and aggressive. has La Raza screamed loud enough to get a Latino History month yet? maybe a few more racial superiority marches and we will have one.


btw: why does latino refer to central and south americans and not to latin derived europeans? i still cant figure it out

[bigwhtpony]

Yes, as a honkee mo-fo, I suffer from white guilt complex for all the rotten things we did to our african american b*itches and hos (sp). In fact, I feel so degraded and ashamed, I'm going to turn my wife in to a "N Word" lover in order to do my small part to atone for our sins of the past.

Then I'll go out and buy the "fiddy cent" & "snoop doggy dog" CD boxed sets....maybe even all the Wesley Snipes DVD's I can find. I would by Cosby, but I know he's just an uncle tom and doesn't really speak for the african american community.

Give me a freakin' break!!!!!!!

[bluestardad]

cathaleen; well spoken I love you!

[cathaleen]

Anger can hold anyone back. The best revenge is
success.

[talkingham]

If there is no scientific or biological basis for race then why are their races with obvious physical similarities and differences. Why is the NFL 80% black? Why are virtually all running speed and long distance race records held by blacks from speicific areas in Africa? There are differences and if we ignore those differences we are really ignoring the natural history of men and women. It's politically correct to be historically and scientifically incorrect than ever before. If a scientist doesn't reflect the mantra of there are no differences he or she will not be funded in their chosen fields of study. If there were no differneces then why have distinctly different people "evolved" in specific areas of the world. Most real science is in hiding now or paying lip service science to the highest bidder just like the historians. Just because we are too dumb to celebrate the differences amongst ourselves doesn't mean they don't exist.

[anopinion1]

black history month is a joke!!!!!!!!!
its only here because the blacks cry so much about being "held down".

if their was any race/class/whatever u wanna call, of people that should be given a month to look at their past it would undoubtably be native americans.....

we stole their land, and destroyed the land along with most all of the indians. now these people had it harder and for longer then any black person..
yet where is native american month???

[dflynn52]

A Malabar proverb goes.." Anger is a stone cast into a wasp nest." I must agree with Marcodele who posted on this page. However, I totally disagree with the attitude and impetus of Cmp271 who also posted on this page. The disparities between white and black perceptions of equality are supported by a long long line of prejudiced on both sides of the fence. The natural heterogeneous constructs of the human species necessitates an introspective as well as a retrospective consideration and rumination for us to be better, more tolerant and more understanding of one another. Now at the risk of sounding hypocritical, cmp271- You need a good listen! Somewhere on your lifes road you forgot to use your head and not your emotions when building an ethical or moral compass to live by and teach children or others by. No, I'm not a judge of you! I am a reader whom, just as yourself form opinions based on the comments of others. You are feeding the fire!

[bluestardad]

When will the focus be on a persons content of their character instead of their race? People make money by keeping Race in the forefront of the news. Would the Legislative Black Caucus have a job if everyone were called Americans that lived here? It is OK to remember a fault from time to time as to never let it happen again, but to make a living from dredging up past wrongs is a disservice to all those who actually endured the hardship. I myself will not accept the hate, guilt, or be held accountable for the transgressions of people who claimed to be wronged by people before my Grandfather was born. Do not push your opinions on the rest of us. If you choose to that is on you but do not expect me or millions of others to accept your guilt trip covering up for your own failures. Make your life based on your abilities if you can, not clinging to the sorrows of hundreds of years past in hopes of explaining your own weaknesses, failures, and shortcomings! Take responsibilities for your own actions and choices quit trying to blame your problems on how others were treated!

[olgreyghost]

Do those who hate "Whitey" for being "white" really need more reason to hate him or do they really need another "month" to convince the rest of the population to hate him, too?

[bill1fj]

I think we should study and learn ALL history. Not White, Black, Red, or Yellow. We should learn the good and the bad about our past.
Use the knowledge of what went before to create a better future.
Lets just have "History" month every month without any race in front or it.
Thank You

[gwlafayette]

LOOOK!!!!!!!

WHERES THE MEDIA?!!!!!!!!!

http://ace.mu.nu/archives/215751.php


this is the racism my generation will have to fight because of all the cowards who are afraid to accept reality. why will the media not show this?!!! this is more common racism of today. isnt CBS against racism?!

[marcodele]

I guess I found all the padded rooms.

This article claims "But, logic suggests, you cannot have black history without white history" and that is sadly true. Unfortunately, neither American history taught in high schools nor black history taught in many schools gives the big picture. There were plenty of whites opposed to black oppression, and many who helped try to eradicate it - to this day.

But I think the pendulum of racism has swung too far to the right these days. Just read the posts in this section to see people equate black with "free government money." The only people I know ripping off the government these days are my con artist lily white cousins who all collect SSI for their mis-behaved children and disability for their aching 25 year old backs.

There is no amount of undeserved entitlements that could ever equal the mammouth mountains of billions of dollars that has been squandered by our current president and his oily friends.

[cmp271]

We need to eradicte black History month...all it does is give blacks an attitude all month long.

Blacks are are moe bigoted than white. Blacks hate whites. I just had a bad experience with a black woman who only wanted to wait on other blacks, am I turning her in? You bet, it is racist behavior and shouldn't be allowed.

Affirmative action needs to be done away with. Why should someone get extra points for not studying as hard as anyone else.

After the Civil War the blacks should have been shipped back to Africa-OOPS I forgot the Africans didn't want them either and still don't even today!!!

[olebd]

These days, the term racism is often used against someone when they have a different opinion. It's often the ace in a black person's pocket thanks to articles like this that help create a false sense of entitlement.

[theusa1st]

truth_reason and dogsoul

nice to see some discussion without the ***...people with reason that look for solutions rather than a shouting match. So, does anybody have a count on the number of whites killed in the Civil War trying to free the blacks and end slavery ? Or are they to be forgotten and only the victims remembered..kind of goes back to the top of the story doesn't it.

[truth_reason]

You know its all about hummanity. Its about how you treat those around you. Slavery does not extist (legely) in America but still whites take the blame for the things there ancestors did. I am both white and of German ancestory and have taken bull from both blacks and thos "Nazi haters". My white ancestors did NOT own slaves and my German ancestors HELPED the Jews leave the country. I feel that people need to stop holding grudges, let the past be the past and work on the future. You can only learn from the past you can not change it. Oh and as a side note white people were inslaved first and for longer then the blacks (ie.Jews, the early British, and even the Greeks, if you count them as white.).

[anopinion1]

And, oh yea, all racist are not rich. Racism, like most things goes both ways. There are lots and lots of racists AA. Lots.
Posted by janem4 at 11:43 AM : Feb 22, 2007

agreed and like i said earlier blacks are more racist then whites nowadays

[anopinion1]

black went through a hard time yea with slavery and all but look at the facts now............

would they rather be living in africa right now??
or in the us???

then again maybe slavery and ganking people from their cause africa to be the &#%& hole it is today.


stop this nonsence anyway where is native american month???? we screwed them over 100x worse then any black person so move on...........

[dogsoul]

"I mean..is my 9 year old white son still going to have to take the hit over slavery, is his son?"

I would say yes - after all, nobody alive today - or for that matter many many years was either a slave owner or a slave... and yet people who were never slaves claim that other people who never owned slaves have somehow done them wrong because of slavery.

Sure, I think slave owners engaged in horrible behavior... I think slaves were subjected to terrible treatment... and if either were still around today - I'd be sure to condemn the slave owners & offer my sympathy & assistance to the slaves. And hey - maybe if we ever get the ol' time machine working... we'll get that chance - but until then, you can't substitute the victims & perpetrators of a crime on the basis of race just to satisfy some desire for historical justice.

Yes, racism is wrong - yes, it exists today - yes, it should be combatted - but not by using racism.

[skyk-2009]

I treat people the way I'm treated. I've sat and read line after line of the most vile and hate filled garbage from you "blame the Liberals' jerks but when someone points out the to spew hate at a group of people then make anyone who doesn't agree with your point of view one of that group, that's called Fascism. That is the most basic fact you learn when you study Political Extremist. Now IF you do not want to be a FASCIST then you start giving other American's the SAME respect you want. You either are doing something about the Right Wing Hate Groups who are growing at a rate that is VERY scary or you aren't, but don't come on here and PRETEND that folks who point those facts out are trying to stir up trouble or as you losers have done so many times in the past, call us Communist. WE stopped Jim Crowe. WE stood up for the RIGHTS of Indiviuals. Now you don't have to agree with our solutions but you could at least stop taking the position of those who fought us with Water Cannons and Attack Dogs. THERE WAS AND STILL IS A MAJOR PROBLEM, calling you Sparky is to get your attention.