Taking a While to Get It

Growing up in Northern California my perception of racism was that it was a largely a Southern problem. I took a lot of pride (and still do) in the open-minded culture in which I was raised. During my adolescence, I became friends with people from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, China, Taiwan, and the Philippines. I dated a girl from El Salvador and another from Mexico, but I never met anyone from the South until after I graduated from high school. At this point in my life, if I would have been asked, I would have stated although racism can be found in all walks of life, and all parts of the United State, the biggest fault with racism lies within the South. In my ignorance, I pushed the blame for the embarrassing legacy of racism onto the South.

I have since come to realize the facts do not support my naïve adolescent view of racism. Scholars have pointed out the late nineteenth century saw a national acceptance of a stepping away from the equalitarian ideals of Reconstruction. This national acceptance, scholars state, is partially responsible for the rise of white supremacy, not only in the South, but all across the nation. The national acceptance can be seen in such actions as the 1896 Supreme Court decision Plessy v. Ferguson which permitted the “separate but equal” policy. These actions by our nation are what helped usher the counter-revolution in the south which eventually led to the establishment of the so-called “Jim Crow” laws.

It was eye-opening to discover the problem with racism was not just a southern problem. The problem with racism was a national problem. Yes, it was in the South that some of the more infamous discriminatory social practices took place, such as in education and voting which led to gross inequalities. However, the hard reality is that none of these discriminatory practices would have been able to last as long as they did if the rest of the nation had not looked away, or, sadly, agreed with what was going on.

I see this national problem with racism being carried on with Black farmers. African Americans have left agriculture at a higher rate than white Americans. From 1920 to 1997 African American farms declined by 66 percent. The Pigford case determined that Black farmers were discriminated against by the USDA. Unfortunately, the majority of the claims have thus far been denied. Therefore, even though they won in court, Black farmers are still losing. Black farmers are slowly becoming an endangered species, while the nation seems to have taken a blind eye toward their plight. It is sad to think how little our country has done in adequately dealing with our national problem and shame of racism.

Brian Wingfield
Social Justice Team III