Ethnic Relations by Raymond N.
Andrews
I am very concerned about ethnic relations in my country,the United
States of America. Ever since the presidential race, I am noticing
that there is an ethnic divide in USA including especially the
Democratic Party. At times, I wished that Barack Obama never ran for
president,and so the ethnic tension would not be noticed. Sometimes,I
wished that Al Gore would have run for president. He would have been a
good choice. He's not in the presidential race though. Barack Obama
is. The presidential race between he and Hillary Clinton is showing
that ethnicity is a big factor. It's showing that ethnicism is problem
that hasn't gone away. The ethnic divide is so obvious, and I feel
that the media feeds into it. I also believe that the Clinton Campaign
has ethnic-baited people and even dismissed Blacks as not being
im****tant in the presidential race. That has fueled Barack Obama's
backing by Blacks. A lot of people focus on Barack's heritage as a
Black, but he's half White on his mother's side. He's technically a
biethnic Black,White person. Genetically,he's about the unity of Black
and White. The Obama campaign has been bridging the gap between Blacks
and Whites for many Whites have voted for him and not just many
Blacks. He has been running as a multiethnic candidate, a candidate
that represents the meltingpot of America. Unfortunately, the media
and the Clinton campaign keep focusing on the Black side of Obama.
There are some examples. Bill Clinton compares Obama's victory in
South Carolina was compared to the black candidate,Jesse Jackson's
victory in South Carolina. Geraldine Ferraro said that Obama wouldn't
be successful in this race if he wasn't Black. That makes no sense to
me. After all, he's not just Black. He's half White too. Geraldine
just seem to focus on one half and dismiss the other half. She missed
out on who he really is. Also, Obama has gotten far more white votes
than Jesse Jackson could ever have received. Could it be that his
White half also gives him affinity with Whites just like his Black
half gives him affinity with Blacks? Of course, I believe that's the
case. Obviously, Geraldine, Bill,and Hillary don't. A lot of the media
don't. Obviously there are a lot of Americans that don't. The one drop
rule seems to persist in USA. Many Blacks and Whites embrace the rule.
It's a society thing that forces biethnic Black,White people to
acknowledge one half and reject the other half. Many fall to society's
labels, but many defy society and acknowledge all their heritage.
Barack Obama is being depicted as even more Black now since the Rev
Wright fiasco. A lot of Whites are criticizing Obama if he is all for
unity, then why does he go to a Black church. Do they ever stop to
think that Obama wants to get more in touch with the Black in him just
like he is already in touch with the White in him after growing up
with his White family on his mother's side? A lot of Whites accuse Rev
Wright of being a racist. How is pointing out the ethnicism in USA
being ethnicist? All you have to do is remember that President Bush
said to the NAACP about that ethnicism is still a problem in USA. He
said that you can change laws,but you can't change a heart. The
American Civil Liberties Union called out USA on its ethnicism. They
noted the ethnic profiling that exists in USA. A survey shows that
many Americans know people that are ethnicists. Even 20/20 did a show
that revealed that people with Black sounding names get much less job
callbacks than people with White sounding names. These are things that
confirm that ethnicism is a still a problem. Rev Wright refers to USA
as the US of KKK, and people think that's being paranoid. Can you deny
the fact that the KKK still exists in USA? There are 179 Klu Klux Klan
Chapters across the United States,and they include 5,000 to 8,000
members. There could even be more members because independent chapters
has made KKK groups more difficult to infiltrate and researchers find
it hard to estimate their numbers. Some argue that KKK is different
because it's not a violent organization now. My response to that is
"If there is an Al Qaeda organization in USA that is not
violent,should they be allowed to exist here in USA like the KKK?"
Should the Black Panthers for that matter? I don't believe that any
organization that has roots in terrorism should be allowed to exist.
Therefore,I believe that all organizations that have terrorist roots
should be completely banned. Rev Wright criticized American's policy
overseas, and that gets him labeled Anti-American. Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr did the same thing,and even said that USA is the greatest
purveyor of violence in the world. Does that make Dr. King Anti-
American? I don't think so.
Barack Obama had refused to disown his pastor as he refused to
disown his White grandmother. Many Whites criticized him for throwing
his grandmother under a bus. All Barack did was point out that his
grandmother made racial remarks about Blacks. How is telling the truth
about his White grandmother throwing her under a bus? It's okay for
White people to point out a Black person's ethnicism, but its not okay
to point out a White person's ethnicism? I just don't get that at all.
It seems like a double standard. Many Whites criticize Obama for not
disowning his pastor much earlier. Have they ever heard of the sell-
out factor? Obama would have been in a dillemma: please Whites in
America and anger Blacks in America for rejecting a pastor who is
prominent in the Black community and who is known for doing a lot to
help Blacks which would result in being a sell-out by Blacks OR please
Blacks in America and anger whites in America and be called a racist
by Whites. These are issues that bi-ethnic Black,White people deal
with. They are often challenged to make a choice when it comes to
having affinity with Whites or having affinity with Blacks.
Abolutionist,Frederick Douglass was the son of a Black woman and White
man. He was married to a Black woman for a long time until her death.
Later on,he married a White woman. He was given a hard time by both
Blacks and Whites. Blacks accused him of betraying Blacks by being
with a White woman. Today that's being called a sell-out. His response
was that his first wife was the color of his mother,and now his second
wife is the color of his father. He wanted to make a point that he
wasn't all black and that he acknowledge both his White and Black
parents. He believed that being married to a White woman shouldn't be
a problem for he is half White. Frederick Douglass was the embodiment
of unity of Blacks and Whites. Barack Obama has denounced his pastor,
and he still is being criticized by whites for taking too long to
denounce him, but he's also being criticized by Blacks for denouncing
him too. The conflict of the black and white halves inside him and
mirrored by the outside world are very apparent.
Obama has been accused of being an elitist for talking to upper
class San Franciscans about blue collar working class Pennsylvanians
about being bitter and that that they could cling to guns and
religion. Obama's opponents made the elitist charge after the senator
from Illinois said some small-town Pennsylvanians are understandably
"bitter" over the government's failure to reverse their economic
decline and, in their frustration, "cling to guns and religion." He
made the statement at a recent fundraiser in San Francisco,
California. Bill Clinton said something similar. He said " When their
economic policies fail, when the country's coming apart rather than
coming together, what do they do? They find the most economically
insecure White men and scare the living daylights out of them. They
know if they can keep us looking at each other across a racial divide,
if I can look at Bobby Rush and think, Bobby wants my job, my
promotion, then neither of us can look at George Bush and say, 'What
happened to everybody's job? What happened to everybody's income?
What ... have ... you ... done ... to ... our ... country?'" So why is
it that Obama says similar things and is referred to as being an elist
and angers the blue collar working class Whites. Could the word
"elitist" actually be referred to as "uppity" which is often reserved
for blacks who stood up for themselves. Many ethnicist Whites believe
that Blacks should "stay in their place" and they can be offended by a
Black person that is successful. Of course, if a Black person talks
about the problems that they have,they could be far more offended than
a White person saying it. If a White person said it, he would be often
viewed as being understanding and compassionate. There is something
patronizing and condescending when a Black person expresses
understanding and compassion for the problems of Whites.
These are some things that I have seen as double standards of Blacks
and Whites that are part of the ethnic divide. The
perceptions,opinions,and views often differ between what a Black
person does and what a White person does. It's always been that
way,and those things have to change. I haven't used the word,"race"
except for saying the presidential race. That's because I don't
acknowledge the concept of races. I acknowledge ethnic groups. We are
all part of the Human Race. In that we are the same. Therefore,we
should focus more on that and less on our differences. Like Reverend
Wright said, being different doesn't mean deficient. People can be
different and equal, but they don't have to be separate. The unity of
differences can bring about meaningful co-existence of ethnic groups
that advance the evolution of the human race.
I have talked about the issues of ethnic relations in our country.
It's not about trying to divide us. I believe that pointing out things
isn't dividing but waking people up. I don't believe that ignorance is
bliss.
We should discuss about our differences and our similarities.
Learning about our similarites can help us find common ground. We
could create a multiethnic,multicultural week which would be about all
ethnic groups getting together, teach about our cultures and way of
life that would even include our cuisine. There could be
multicultural,multiethnic exhibits. We could watch movies with
interethnic theme like "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner","Guess
Who","Soulman","Jungle Fever",and others. There could be books about
multiethnic people and interethnic relation****ps like "Love In Black
and White" by interethnic couple, Mark and Gail Mathanabe. Music based
on multiethnic relations could be played like "Ebony and Ivory" by
Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, "Black and White by Michael
Jackson",and "Take Away the Colour" by Ice MC.
There could be an annual survey in regards to ethnic relations
including questions like how many know people of certain ethnic
groups, how many people go to gatherings,functions that involve
different ethnic groups, things like food. We could also ask things
about interethnic friend****ps/dating/relation****ps. Questions about
negative things should be asked including experiences of ethnic
bigotry and discrimination. We could ask about fears and resentments
in regards to ethnic groups. I also feel that questions of affirmative
action and reparations can be part of the survey. I also believe that
ethnic stereotypes need to be addressed during the survey to see how
many people believe in them. After all,ethnic stereotypes tend to be
offensive and they factor into ethnic prejudices. I also believe that
we should make the June 12 Loving vs. Virginia Supreme Court Ruling
(that struck down all interracial marriage laws in USA) the day that
multiethnic,multicultural week begins. We can discuss the im****tance
of that ruling and how it has impacted interethnic relations.
These surveys can be done anonymously too. I feel that gaining empathy
and tolerance can only be done through actual experiencing. I feel
that you have to walk a mile in a person's moccasins to understand
them. That's just my view. Maybe that's how we can bring ethnic groups
together.
I am the son of a White woman born in Oakland,California and a Black
man born in New Orleans,Louisiana. I had half Japanese stepsisters. I
have a stepgrandmother that is Hispanic who is the mother of my part
Hispanic aunts/uncles. I have half Filipino cousins as the result of
one of my maternal uncles married to a Filipino woman. Therefore I
have a diverse heritage and background. I was even born in the
multiethnic,multicultural city of San Francisco,California which is
where my parents met. I grew and still live in Sacramento,California
which was identified by Time magazine and the Civil Rights Project of
Harvard University as the most racially/ethnically integrated major
city in America. I grew up believe that we should all love each other.
I grew up believing in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's Dream. God bless
the day when the gap between Blacks and Whites is closed.
I end with a poem that I wrote:
U N I T Y
Unity is our ultimate goal
for we are the same
underneath our skins
that come in many colors.
Remember our blood
is the same color.
So keep that in mind.
Don't throw away the dream
which is unity.
There are no separate races
for there is only one race,
and that is the Human Race.
We are all created equal
because we are all human beings,
and so we should unite
on our home planet, Earth.
In order for our world to survive,
we have to stop the violence
and eradicate the hate
which will ultimately destroy us all.
Eternal peace will only be achieved
through love and compassion
as we struggle to coexist.
We should love each other
for we are all related
and should be in unity.
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