Tom Matlack asked his friend Steve Locke to write for us about race. He declined. Here’s why.
Dear Tom,
Thanks so much for asking me to contribute something to GMP. It has been exciting to see how this project has gone from an idea to a reality.
As much as I enjoy reading GMP and as much as I’d love to be a part of it, I don’t think I am able to write about race.
It’s not that I don’t know anything about it. I was on a social media site and I was looking at the post one of my friends shared. He was lamenting the fact that PSYCHOLOGY TODAY had printed an article saying that black women are “objectively” less attractive than other women. Others of his friends posted on his “wall,” saying that attractiveness was relative and that it was based on symmetry of features and the like. I posted a “sigh” and said that it was sickmaking, in 2011, that someone would even create a study to investigate humans in such a way, that the creation of the study was evidence of a bias, and the notion that peoples’ “tastes” and “preferences” are not affected by 300+ years of racialized bias was ignorant. Also, I have been told that black people are somehow deficient for most of my 48 years and that PSYCHOLOGY TODAY was passing this crap off as research was sad.
A poster responded that he didn’t see any racism in the research and that it was like comparing apples and oranges. He also told me that too many people say things are about race when they aren’t, and that maybe I was upset to be on the “losing” side of the article. He wanted me to explain why I thought the article was racist.
I told him that it is not my job to educate him about the experience of race in his own country, although as his darker countryman, I am called on to do just that. I told him that like most ostensibly white people his age, he wanted to locate a reason for thing in his own experience, probably so he would not have to have bad feelings about history, or have to acknowledge the privileges and benefits that he has received for nothing that he has have done.
I am a college professor, however, so I gave him some texts that to read that would take him from Reconstruction to the current moment in culture and history. I told him that these would help him develop an understanding of how the caste system of the United States is racialized, and that the understanding of the American experience is structured through the creation, implementation, and sustenance of the racial boundaries through policy and culture.
Here’s the list:
W.E.B. DuBois BLACK RECONSTRUCTION
Ronald Takaki A DIFFERENT MIRROR
Eric Lott LOVE AND THEFT
Noel Ignatiev HOW THE IRISH BECAME WHITE
Ward Churchill and Jim Vander Wall AGENTS OF REPRESSION: The FBI’s Secret Wars Against the Black Panther Party and the American Indian Movement
Alexander Saxton THE RISE AND FALL OF THE WHITE REPUBLIC
(B)ell hooks BLACK LOOKS
Douglas A. Blackmon SLAVERY BY ANOTHER NAME
Andrew Hacker TWO NATIONS: BLACK AND WHITE, SEPARATE, HOSTILE, UNEQUAL
The poster advised me that I was being racist by saying “most ostensibly white people.” I advised that I was going solely by his phenotype, which is what people do with me. I also told him to look up “ostensibly” and “racist.”
So you see, it’s not that I don’t know anything about the subject.
Tom, I don’t want to talk about race because it gives weight to a fiction that was created to oppress. It has no basis in biology and is a social construction in this country that was engineered to maintain access to free labor. The fiction created by race distorts the reality in which we live.
Plus, as a black person, I am called on often to speak for my “race.” I can never give an opinion without it being assumed to be that of a multitude. So when a white person asks me my opinion about an issue that can be related to race, I suspect that there is going to be a moment later when that white person is going to say, “Well, I have a black friend, Steve, who says…” And that will be the black authority on the subject.
Black people can’t talk to white people about race anymore. There’s really nothing left to say. There are libraries full of books, interviews, essays, lectures, and symposia. If people want to learn about their own country and its history, it is not incumbent on black people to talk to them about it. It is not our responsibility to educate them about it. Plus whenever white people want to talk about race, they never want to talk about themselves. There needs to be discussion among people who think of themselves as white. They need to unpack that language, that history, that social position and see what it really offers them, and what it takes away from them. As James Baldwin said, “As long as you think that you are white, there is no hope for you.”
When you went to Africa, you said “you were the minority for the first time in your life.” That’s not true. You have been the only adult in a room full of children, the only man in room full of women, the only non-incarcerated person in a jail. In America if you were a minority at a hip-hop concert in Compton, you would still have the privilege that accrues unbidden to persons designated as white, with all of the political, social, and economic access that comes with it.
What you experienced in Africa, Tom, was that the apparatus that supports the dominance of white skin was absent. It has nothing to do with being a minority someplace, you were free of the prison that is whiteness in America. You could have brought all that privilege with you and manifested it when you saw Cole with Protus, but you didn’t. Letting go of that allowed you to show Cole that he can connect with another person independent of the color of their skin.
Do you remember how Clinton was vilified for wanting to have a national conversation on race? People thought it was unnecessary, that he was a “race traitor,’” that it would lead to reparations for slavery, that it would make white people feel bad for things that were not their fault. White people don’t want to hear about race because the don’t want to be called “racists” or they cannot see how they are responsible for something they didn’t do. That report talks a lot about white privilege. It was no surprise to me that it was not widely read and discussed.
Whiteness to me is oppression. And it oppresses not just black people, but people who think it offers them something other than dominance over their fellow man. Poor white people have been sold a bill of goods that offers them white supremacy and takes away jobs and economic growth.
Tom, I have never, not once, thought of you as white. I think of you as a father, a husband, a brilliant businessman, a feminist, a Quaker, and most of all as a friend. You have never treated me as whiteness demands that you treat me. I don’t want to talk about race because if I do, I stop being an artist, an educator, a godfather, a gay man, and most of all, human.
So I appreciate the offer, Tom, I really do. I just don’t think I can write about it. I can write about art if you like. I know a lot about that.
Love to Elena and the kids, and to you, my man.
Steve
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Reprinted with permission
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More articles On Race:
White Boy in a Black Land
Black Boy in a White Land
‘Why I Don’t Want to Talk About Race’
Eating While Black
Facing Mecca
Beautiful on All Sides
Race is Always a Parenting Issue
The Race Walk
Poetry In Motion: A Story of Hardship and Hope in Crow Country, Montana
How Travel Made Me Confront White Privilege
I Prefer My Racism Straight Up, Thank You.
Whiteness Is Not the Absence of Racial Identity Any More Than Maleness Is the Absence of Gender Identity
I Ain’t No Whiteboy: A Reflection on Hip-Hop, Misogyny, and Racial Identity
Why We Need to Talk About Race
When Do I Get To Stop Apologizing for Being White?
Tourism Black and Blues
How Basketball Helped Me Realize I’m Not White
I Talk About Race Because I Don’t Know How Not To
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Read Sarah Jackson’s response piece on why she does want to talk about race at Role/Reboot here.
Image credit:
“the neverending story” 2007
oil and acrylic on panel
12 x 16 inches
Private Collection.
About Steve Locke
Vocalyze
Great article. I’m still digesting it. And thanks for the reading list.
Wow! Thank you Steve for you poignant words.
Ridiculous babble from the college campus.
Whites have it better than blacks. It is not for a lack of attempts to help blacks. We prefer not to acknowledge uncomfortable truths. Tortured mental gymnastics ensue to construct alternate explanations.
Tom, I cannot thank you enough for such a brilliant letter and Steve, I cannot thank you enough for reprinting it. I AM moved. Enough said. Enchanted Empress Blessings, Robert Alvarez, the Psychic Witch, and the Empowered, Wild and Free Afro-Cuban Gay Man.
Outstanding.
Hear hear…
“the privilege that accrues unbidden to persons designated as…” (Emphasis added)
A privilege that was not asked for, and cannot be refused, obligates someone to educate themselves about the origin of such privilege. Why is it not the case that the hard-won advantages of the educated caste do not contain the obligation to make education accessible to those who are oppressed through ignorance?
I’m sorry, I’ve been a bit foggy lately… could you please elaborate? I’m sorry if I’m the only one here who’s not getting this and/or it’s super entitled of me to ask.
I actually kind of agree with what I think Decius is trying to say. (Is it a correct interpretation to read that double-negative in the question as an accident? Is it meant suggest something along the lines of “the educated caste is not currently obligated but maybe should take some responsibility to make education accessible to those oppressed through ignorance”?)
And I think, to answer the question, the reason is because for a lot of people, that’s tantamount to socialism: the idea that some authority can take MY resources and tell me what to do with them. And they believe any hint of socialism must be avoided at all costs. They see it as punishment for their success.
Then add to that the attitude that those less fortunate should “pull themselves up by the bootstraps.”
And the fact that even social-justice-minded people, who feel a personal responsibility to make things better because they believe we’re all in it together (rather than following some kind of mandate from on high), have to choose how best to apply their efforts and resources and necessarily neglect some injustices they might like to address. Especially with something like this, where it’s over-arching and systemic and no one really knows how to fix it, though many continue to try in whatever tangible ways they can find.
And the fact that a lot of less-privileged people are insulted by the idea of being “saved” by those with more power.
So, it’s complicated. I see what you’re saying though, and I kind of wish more people would at least ask those questions and try to do what they could.
There are tons of white people talking about whiteness, unpacking its history, whiteness as a social position, whiteness as a social construction, etc…
You even cited a book by a white guy, talking about the history of whiteness (“How the Irish became white” by Noel Ignatiev).
Try searching “whiteness” in google scholar next time before accusing “white people” of never talking about race.
I think he’s right about the vast majority of whites. There are a few white people who are willing to discuss race, but most do not, or do so dishonestly and/or dismissively (which I really doubt actually counts as a discussion). So I don’t think it was an uncalled-for generalization. Do you really think that the whites you’re talking about represent the majority of whites, or even a substantial fraction of the majority? And that’s [very optimistically] assuming that all the ones you’re talking about ARE discussing race and whiteness honestly in the first place.
Also, very disturbingly, you seem to be implying that Mr. Locke’s decades of personal experience do not count for anything.
* Also, you’re implying that Mr. Locke has not done any additional research outside of his own experiences. I don’t think it’s reasonable to assume that, either.
Why do so many people act like everyone must specify that “oh not ALL [members of privileged group] are like that”? White people are not oppressed in the US for being white, so please don’t act like saying “white people [do this]” is some sort of oppressive stereotype.
I think you missed the point of the James Baldwin quote.
I thought this was a lovely and heartfelt letter, and it made me feel good to read it. I was surprised to hear a number of other people respond as though they had been personally attacked by what you said. It goes to show how sensitive the subject matter still is. Nonetheless, I for one enjoyed this very much. Thank you for writing it.
This has some answers to some of the questions that have developed for me over the past two years here: I’m from Britain, where, though racism exists, it is much less acceptable and much less prevalent (though perhaps on the upswing with certain nationalist movements). Here, what I experience is people who would loudly deny being racist and yet subtly maintain white privilege through the way they talk about race, community and stereotypes. Not only that, the media, especially TV is, to my eyes, strikingly supportive of this subtle, yet very real racism. It’s something that I want to talk about with everyone I meet here, and I wonder if the reticence on the part of white people to engage with it, is the fear of exposing shame. I would love to see something of a restorative movement based around the question of how to begin to make things right.
That non response was a great response.
Wonderfully articulated and joyously appreciated. Thank you.
White privilege does not exist. Most whites came to the U.S. poor but managed to reach positions of relative wealth through hard work. Other groups who came to the U.S., who have practiced the same determination (such as East Asians), have attained the same degree of wealth. If whitey is what kept blacks down, parts of Africa would now look like Europe (considering the goldmine on which they sit, namely its mineral wealth).
Hullo Joe,
I’m afraid the whole “if whitey is what kept blacks down, parts of Africa would now look like Europe” notion is very faulty. Speaking truthfully, Africa’s problems are the making of African societies and African leaders. But to speak historically and factually and with perception Africa’s problems are also the making of the Europeans or the “whiteys” as you so eloquently put them. I would explain why but just like the brilliant man that wrote this brilliant article I won’t bother. Google “Richard Dowden”; Google “The After effects of Colonialism”. Google whatever you want but please just go and educate yourself.
As for the idea that Africa is just sitting on its mineral wealth- well it just proves that you know little of our goldmine of a continent. You sure do sound pretty confident though and that’s really funny. By the way you are right- whites reached positions of wealth via hard work. They also reached those positions by oppressing and enslaving others. So again, your historical accuracy isn’t quite…accurate.
Well said! I’m going to print this out and give it to some of my friends!
President Obama said we need a national conversation on race. He did not however say a national lecture on race.
For a guy who doesn’t want to talk about race, the gentleman seems
to have a lot of strong opinions on the subject, and he has written volumes>
I am glad he declined the invitation.
Awesome, thank you. And thanks for the reading list… I would also add to it “Learning to be White” by Thandeka.
I think Steve Locke is part of the problem. Cro Magnon and Neanderthals existed at the same time and interbred so there is no reason to doubt it won’t happen again with the human race. People need to acknowledge the differences instead of pretending they don’t exist. The intellectual honesty prevents Steve from discussing race while he blows smoke up your ass knowing you will accept his piss-poor excuse without complaint. Unless you’re a condesending racist, you will see through his bullshit and demand that a dialog be opened. If not, you just don’t ever see black people being up to the task and allow them to always claim incompetence.
I think Steve Locke is part of the problem. Cro Magnon and Neanderthals existed at the same time and interbred so there is no reason to doubt it won’t happen again with the human race. People need to acknowledge the differences instead of… pretending they don’t exist. The intellectual honesty prevents Steve from discussing race while he blows smoke up your ass knowing you will accept his piss-poor excuse without complaint. Unless you’re a condesending racist, you will see through his bullshit and demand that a dialog be opened. If not, you just don’t ever see black people being up to the task and allow them to always claim incompetence.
I will talk about race. But, there is always a but. Most people, at least the white people I know won’t discuss racism with me. They insult me with verbal racism, and threats, but will not sit down and talk wit me about it. I am white, and my son is bi-racial. I have gotten it from both sides since the birth of my son 26 years ago. I have moved, and moved, to get a way from it. I am a terrifying situation right now, because of white racism. When will this country and these people stand up and try to solve some of these issues. I am so tired of bearing the brunt of their hatred, from both sides. all I want to do is live my life in some sort of peace, but, I have come to believe, I never will have any peace, because of the difference in my beautiful son’s skin color, and mine? Thank you, Vicki Showalter.
Steve is a man I respect.
For a person that doesn’t want to write on race you sure wrote a lot on race.
The Psychology Today study was a scientific analysis of beauty among the races. Beauty can be measured in one respect through symmetry and all that. I’m not an expert on it but I do think it’s legitimate.
So this person looked at the research and found that black women had lower marks (via this scoring system) than white women or asian women or hispanic women. Presumably he didn’t start out looking for ways to prove black women were ugly, he just crunched the data and wrote the article.
I’m not saying you should automatically agree with it but you have explain why his methodology is faulty which you didn’t do, you just refused to believe it, got mad then cited “300 years of racialized bias”. The study was based on symmetry of the face and all that it wasn’t a survey given to men on which race they thought was hotter so how can it be “biased”?
“I don’t want to talk about race because it gives weight to a fiction that was created to oppress. It has no basis in biology and is a social construction in this country that was engineered to maintain access to free labor. ”
Then why are black men as a whole better at certain sports like basketball or running? Why are chinese people shorter on average than africans? There is a basis in biology on differences among the races. The reason nobody wants to talk about it anymore is because it was used for evil things like colonization, racism and ethnic cleansing. That doesn’t mean the science is invalid but it was misused to justify evil things.
“Black people can’t talk to white people about race anymore. There’s really nothing left to say. There are libraries full of books, interviews, essays, lectures, and symposia. If people want to learn about their own country and its history, it is not incumbent on black people to talk to them about it. It is not our responsibility to educate them about it. ”
Never was it claimed otherwise. I’m not sure what the context of this statement was. Do white people constantly ask you questions about race or are they disagreeing with a statement you made? Because if you’re going to say something about race that somebody disagrees with you have to back it up with reason and logic, you can’t just go “go read 20 books from authors that share my point of view”.
‘Tis the problem with most correlative studies done: People read it, don’t understand that correlation does not equal causation, and draw a ton of their own conclusions supported by only their own biases, just like the OP has done…
This really echoed with me. I would never first and foremost define myself as a woman. The label ‘woman’ comes far down on my list of things that I am. I’ve had many an argument about gender quotas being introduced in government elections. I am strongly opposed to the idea, much to the bafflement of some of my feminist friends. However I would never vote for someone on the basis of something so superficial as genitalia. Just because a politician and I share the same gender does not mean she represents me or shares my views on the economy, international relations or even feminism and women’s rights. Human’s seem programmed to divide people into groups. These groups, unfortunately, are usually based on insignificant traits such as race, gender or age. These particular traits usually come top of the list when defining a person, yet they tell us absolutely nothing substantial about that given person. I think it is counter productive to look at a group of politicians or workers in a firm and seeing a certain ratio of male politicians to female or a certain proportion of white workers to black, even if it is only to point out inequalities. I feel we should try to take every human at face value and ignore labels that make no difference to the type of worker or politician someone is. I feel the more heed and attention given to these labels the more pronounced the gaps become. This is why “affirmative action” repels me so much. This is probably naive of me and I know it is impossible sometimes to ignore the inequalities between different races and genders. However these inequalities first came about by the segregation of these groups and I feel further discrimination and segregation, even to counter past discrimination, does not help. If we are ever to get to a stage where all humans are truly equal we must first obliterate unnecessary and insignificant labels.
Sorry that turned out to be a bit of a rant. Great article though!