I doubt it’s so much that blacks are less intelligent as that they’re probably not as good at expressing that intelligence on a standardized IQ test. This may be because of economic disadvantage, substandard schooling, higher anxiety, or a combination of many other factors.
Living in Mississippi, I get pissed off at what I call “pitty-patt white-guilt hand-outs” like the Great Rebel Flag Fiasco. As though a flag is the biggest problem faced by black Mississippians – poverty, illiteracy, racism, underfunded schools aren’t important! A piece of colored cloth is! What the hell? That’s just insulting to the blacks!
A bunch of strangers invade our state, raise a big bruahaha over a piece of colored cloth, blow millions of dollars to publicize the controversy and do a state-wide vote. Then Mississippians voted to keep the damn thing anyway. Everyone I’ve talked to about the Fiasco, black and white, are disgusted by it. Changing a flag isn’t going to do a damn thing to help heal the wounds caused by racism in Mississippi. A piece of cloth with colors painted on it isn’t going to oppress or free the blacks. Only real work will do that, and it won’t be easy or fun or quick.
There is some truly horrifying black poverty in Mississippi – I know, I’ve seen it first-hand. Instead of blowing millions on a friggin’ flag, why not use that money to set up assistance programs for economically disadvantaged rural families? Or use it to revitalize a predominantly-black inner-city school system? Or set up scholarship funds for promising black students who want to go on to college? Any of those things would do a hell of a lot more for black people than whining about a flag.
You want to help blacks? Alleviate some of your white guilt? Then out your priviledged status to good use. Donate money to college funds. Support charities. Give black people jobs. Treat them like human beings, not something you attach yourself to so you can pat yourself on the back over how not-racist you are. Do something useful, damnit.
By LifeOn Wry: "Would that it were that easy, John Carter of Mars. Sometimes the best applicant for the job is a dreaded White Male. "<snip>
True. However, I’ve found that hiring someone into a job they’re ill prepared to succeed at is not doing them or the company a favor. Also, it seems that Mr. Wry’s hands are somewhat tied and “Just hiring the white guy” isn’t always an option.
I’ve no idea if this would work in an urban area like Chicago, but here’s a tactic that’s worked for me.
Develop a relationship with the pastors at black churches in the area. Give them the name and number of a black person that is currently employed by you so they can contact that person and verify that you are legitimate.
When a job comes open, contact those pastors and make sure you are clear about the responsibilities involved and the background that will be required for someone to succeed at the job.
I’ve found a couple of real gems that way. It probably helps that when I do have an opening, the job is above average for this area in terms of pay and benefits.
John Carter of Mars, the pastor suggestion is a great one. I would add that in addition to pastors, almost all of the community organizations in black communities are happy to receive announcements about job openings and to disseminate them. Those who are in HR or other hiring capacities in companies could do a quick phone call and ask, then include the organizations in their usual disseminations of job postings.
Ohh. No, that’s not what I meant, but now I see where you got that. I was using the phrase because a) women - often mentioned as a minority - make up the bulk of the teaching profession; and b) there’s a hefty percentage of non-white teachers in this district, at least. I find the charge of teacher racism (or even sexism) as an explanation for poor test scores among blacks to be suspect only because I would be very surprised if our black teachers were contributing to any system that would ensure the failure of “their own people.” Based on what Zoe posted, though, I can see it as a possibility - something so ingrained that teachers may not even be aware they’re perpetuating it.
SHAKES - yes, it is true that you can “over-think” your way into a box and end up reviewing your every thought to the point of ridiculousness. There are, however, some simple things I personally can do and haven’t done, that do not require me to turn myself into a human doormat. A thread like this one simply serves to remind me that I would prefer not to be part of the problem.
We don’t have widespread systemic oppression of blacks such as was the case 50 years ago. However, we do have fairly systemic economic disparities that largely coincide with race. For example, most cities have a core with residents who tend to be poorer and less educated than residents of the suburbs. New development, and often good job opportunities, tend to be at the outer edges of the metropolitan area. Many inner-city residents don’t have geographical access to those jobs (lack of public and/or private transportation). So while there isn’t necessarily denial of better-paying jobs because of one’s race, it is still often more difficult for members of certain racial groups to get those jobs.
With that in mind, one thing to do is work to effect more geographically even economic development in metropolitan areas. The current typical situation – poverty stricken inner city, mostly blacks; affluent suburbs/exurbs, overwhelmingly whites; disparity growing larger over time – has lots of room for improvement.
Italicising mine. Just out of curiosity, isn’t everything you mentioned before that sentace treating blacks as “something you attach yourself to so you can pat yourself on the back over how not-racist you are”? I mean, if the only reason you’re donating to the NAACP, or volunteering at a after school program for black children is to make yourself feel like you’re not a racist, isn’t that in itself a purpetuation of the same “indirect” racism as noticing how well you match your “skin” colored band-aid?
This is where things get too crazy for me. Everyone starts to focus too much on being a racist, that they can’t get on with their lives and treat others with full respect.
I’m another one of those middle class white males, and never have I ever discriminated against someone because of their race. I’ve gotten in many arguments with friends for tossing the N word around, and I can’t stand it and won’t tolerate it. Still, I can’t help getting the feeling everytime I see an underprivilaged black person that they’re looking at me and expecting me to treat them like shit because of who they are, and in turn, are going to treat me like a racist bigot. And this does prevent me from reaching out and helping others, because I have also been in situations where I’ve reached out and had my hand slapped. I hate myself for thinking so ill of others that they’d judge me based on my skin color…how fucking stupid is that? As non-racist as I’d like to think I am, here I am perpetuating racism.
If it weren’t for “White Man’s Guilt”, I think I’d be a lot more charitable, and I’m sure others would too. At the same time, though, I don’t make any appologies for being white, and I don’t think I should have to go out of my way to help others just so I can say “See, look at me, I’m not a racist.” If I want to help people less privilaged than myself, I should do so out of the goodness of my heart, not because I feel I can use it as a defense the next time someone cries “racist”.
My job doesn’t include hiring or managerial duties. If that changes, this is definitely helpful, though I may gravitate more towards TeaElle’s suggestion. Being agnostic, I think it would be a bit disingenuous for a non-believer to get involved with churches.
Nichol_storm
Donating money to college funds and charities. Check. Treat them like human beings. This is a point that is worth talking about. I have trouble applying the concept of “them” in practice. Meaning: when I am talking or working with a person with whom I have things in common (music tastes, profession, behavior) of any color, treating a person like a human being comes natural. If however, I share very little in common with another person (white included) I’ll be as polite as is normal, but I won’t feel as natural. It has more to do with “do I get along with this person?” I think it’s dishonest and therefore counterproductive to extend false friendship to someone of a different race if I wouldn’t do so if they were white. I don’t think that’s neccessarily what you implied, but it is a related subject for which I would appreciate feedback. And I DO want to do something useful dammit, that’s why I posted the topic.
Zoe
Great real-world examples (though I’ll skip the religious-related ones). Thanks.
White Women, Race Matters by Ruth Frankenberg. One compelling point is that there’s really no discursive space for white people to be anti-racist. What can we do? It’s not fully correct for us to take responsibility for being “racist” because that would be an inaccurate adjective for the enormous majority of us. However, since there is so much racism still in the world, it seems that we don’t fully understand the mechanism of it, so how can we say “I’m not racist”? Are we really willing to give the KKK and other white supremacists the credit to say they have the power to keep the black man down? We can’t stop being white or erase the legacies of racism. As Cathy says:
Another point is her discussion of racism. Basically there have been three broad ways of looking at “race,” historically, and we still see all three.
The first was that racial difference is biological: Black people are stupid, Asians are good at math, Indian people smell. Etc.
The second was that racial difference is entirely social: we’re all the same under our skin, I don’t care if you’re black/white/yellow/purple etc.
The third is that race is socially constructed: a Black person is Black because they have been treated all their life as a Black person (same goes for every race, obviously) and this has implications for the way they are now. As a trivial example, if you are a Black guy, people probably don’t respond well when you approach them in deserted areas to ask for directions. (As a White woman I have never had this problem.) Therefore you will think twice about approaching people in deserted areas. Add this up over thousands of social interactions, media representations etc and you will see that “race” is much more than skin colour.
My favourite website is Colours of Resistance, a group of feminist anti-racist activists who talk about race in a way that a lot of people aren’t accustomed to.
Hey, I interned for Dr. MacIntosh for a summer at Wellesley! Nice, matronly-looking woman. I helped with research on the treatment of male and female students in the classroom(conclusion: not THAT different, with some jaw-dropping exceptions).
I do know that on my subway excursions every morning and night, the proportion of black folks reading books and newspapers is usually much lower than whites or Asian folks doing so. Little kids riding the trains with their mothers might have Gameboys but rarely books or homework to do. If there’s not a culture of reading in some homes, that’s gonna hurt. A lot. And it’s not money, my grandpa never went to college but read voraciously, from the public library near his Brooklyn home in an almost entirely poor ‘minority’ neighborhood, until his eyesight went.
Well, probably not much all by yourself. But one could help by joining an organization working to address and improve the situation. Perhaps one of the entities listed in the link could direct you to such an orgagnization in your area.
So H&M have determined that the IQ test is not culturally biased, and there is nothing more to say on the matter. In fact, they made the argument so conclusively that Taxguy needn’t waste his time defending it here.
Come on. Give us something more. Believe it or not, people have read the book, and people do have reasonable critiques of it. If you disagree with the critiques, it’s probably better for your position to defend it, rather than appeal to a book that has been discredited by many people more informed than yourself.
You don’t have to “get involved” with churches to network with them in the same way I recommended for community and social organizations. Churches are hubs in communities, and the ability to connect with people is often greatest through them – the one place that many are guaranteed to visit at least once a week.