On: Polarizing
Presidencies and Race Relations
Colleen Rogers
With the inauguration
of Donald Trump as an immediate antacid to the aperitif Presidency of Barack
Obama, we need to ask ourselves what has shifted in the mood of our country,
and try to analyze why we as a nation have taken such a sudden right
turn. In my humble opinion, the central
core to our current polarization stems from the deep-rooted, unresolved racial tensions
that have been walled in repressive captivity, held against an honest reveal.
The
election of President Trump is perceived, and perhaps rightly so, as an
indicator of White America’s “Negro fatigue”, “Blacklash”, or “Black-X-Sauce-tion". With the good faith election of two-termed
President Obama, White America appeared to extend an olive branch of acknowledgement for injustices
and inequities in many positions of leadership at the highest levels of governmental
power. While serving, President Obama’s turn
of allegiance to perceived symbols of Black "criminality" felt like a jolting
betrayal to White Americans, who had used their majority votes to assure the President's election. Obama’s telling statement: "If
I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon" confirmed the President’s alignment
with the Chicago South Side African American community from which he came. In spite of the President’s bi-racialism, it
was his symbolic identification with a core Black culture that shocked middle America,
and revealed his “true colors”. The sudden
mobilization of African Americans as a new generation of activists, (as evidenced
in the Malcolm X inspired Super Bowl performance by Beyonce) enraged a sleeping
White middle America. At the onset of angry
young Blacks’ protests, some of which triggered reactive criminal behavior,
little old White ladies once again began to clutch their purses more tightly while shopping, as they did in the 1960’s.
Many White Americans have
responded to this show of Black racial unity in tax-anger, electing a President
who no doubt will eliminate or minimize minority targeted programs. Entitlement advances, welfare subsidies,
Section 8 housing, etc., will most likely now take a hit. At the center of this lies a frustration and White
sentiment that no matter what is provided to serve as a “leg up”, it will never be enough to cement the inclusion of the Black community into mainstream
America. The "perception" of African
Americans as having a culture of irresponsibility, with an inability to acclimate
or follow the rules of American standards, has heightened. The perpetually
boarded up HUD huts have caused many predominately White communities to refuse federal
funding as an isolating tactic against urban blight.
White
America is done—tired of funneling funds to what is now viewed as an unfixable
state of affairs. Neighborhoods with
high crime rates (and the moral code theme “snitches get stitches”) are
deplorable and cannot really be revised by vocal Black ministers and their
charges. There is no longer a desire to understand and support such communities—isolationism
is currently preferred over inclusion. Any
attempt to even say “some of my best friends are Black…” has suddenly been squelched. It is hard for White America to understand why
other people of color (Hispanics, Asians, Indians, etc.) seem to have no
difficulty excelling as part of the collective in the U.S. It is hard to comprehend, too, why African
Americans broad brush White America as if Whites are from one homogeneous
culture, with no distinctions in diverse ethnic upbringings or trials. There seems to be a lack of recognition by the Black
community of the hard-fought struggles to power exhibited by many other ethnic
groups (i.e., “Irish need not apply” shut outs, Japanese internment camps, etc.). The perpetual perceived slights and “unjustified”
remuneration requirements by African Americans seem to finally be a never-ending
form of “extortion” to the many White Americans. While Blacks insist that they do not receive
their fair share of the pie, much of that is attributable to population ratios in the country, and is not really a result of any prejudicial intent. Additionally, the insistence by African
Americans that they, themselves, cannot exhibit prejudices, but yet make cultural
distinctions between light-skinned and dark-skinned people, is difficult to
comprehend. A race that perpetually screams having been served intolerance over skin color frowns upon gradients of
their own.
The Black
community has had a public relations issue when it comes to promoting success
that is not related to arena of athletics or entertainment. Black contributions in science and medicine,
social service and justice, invention and entrepreneurship are just small blips
on the historic radar, only observed under a microscope during February’s Black
history month. The aspiration of so many
Black young people who desire careers in athletics or as Hip Hop artists belies a
limited world view of role models for advancement.
Perhaps the primitive resurgence of racial slurs and violence is a way of purging our anger as a precedent to dialogue, tolerance and, ultimately, understanding. Right now, I don’t think so.
