Silent Racism: Chapter 3

I am aware that this book is strictly focused on white women and their conscious or unconscious racism towards blacks; however I find myself constantly thinking about within-race racism as well as across-race racism in today’s society. In other words, racism within one’s own race as well as racism that is unbiased of color, social class, age etc. In Chapter 3, “Passivity in Well-Meaning White People” I couldn’t help but think of how prevalent and impactful passivity can be within one’s own race, and more specifically black people. For example, a racist joke within a black group or mixed group may not be actively opposed or resisted by either race, which in my opinion even further perpetuates silent racism and racial stereotypes (more than just white passivity) since the racial joke and its implications are accepted by “all”, both black and white people. In addition, adopting hateful, racial slurs by an oppressed group from the oppressors could potentially be categorized as passivity and hence contribute to the various forms of racism of today.
Trevor also brought up an interesting point. To end class on Monday, he asked the class “How would you feel about “Silent Racism” if you knew that it was a black author writing about these white women?” It made me really think about how I myself portray white vs. black teachers and/or authors on a topic such as this. Though a black author could provide insight through personal narratives, I may have the tendency to believe that her book as a whole is too emotional because of these narratives, hence skewing the facts of her study. Almost like she is too emotionally invested, therefore her telling may be inaccurate. It does not have to do with color by any means, it more has to do with the oppressed vs. oppressor status. But then again, the narratives of these slaves’ lives we have also been reading along with silent racism have been profound and moving, and the last thing from my mind is that the stories are “too emotional and/or bias” and hence ineffective, skewed, etc.