Author: Jeff Pecaro
“As long as you think you’re white, there’s no hope for you.”
-James Baldwin
Let me begin by clarifying the language I will be using henceforth in this piece: I don’t believe in white people. When I use the word White, or address White students, I will be referring to an ideology and the word will be capitalized. This does not necessarily refer to all students or people with pale skin, so slap on some sunscreen and try to bear with me-I’m not necessarily accusing you of anything. I seek to address a way of thinking, not a color of skin, but one that is deeply tied to beliefs about the importance of the color of that skin.
I can appreciate what White Students for Racial Equity are trying to accomplish-so-called “White” students who attempt to embrace an open and critical study of race theory and history cannot help but realize their own implication in the crimes that have been done to so many peoples by apparently White societies. However, these students-well-meaning in many ways-are still capable of doing an enormous amount of damage to the status of race relations. The language you choose, not to mention your motives, can be just as effective in perpetuating racist myths and misconceptions as overtly white supremacist rhetoric. In fact, sometimes it can be more effective, permeating the public mind with half-truths and politically correct double speak that reinforce divisions in our society.
This is what I mean about the importance of language-there is more than enough baggage behind the word “White” to warrant its removal from anyone’s definition of self, and yet, there it is in the title of your auspiciously progressive group. Even as you begin your effort to become better allies, you are “unconsciously perpetuat[ing] racial inequality,” in your own words. You have clearly demarcated the difference between yourselves and others, and your letter to the editor last week was couched in terms of separation, delineating “white students” and “people of color.” These terms drive yet another wedge between us.
Additionally, I need to address a couple of the basic assumptions present in the creation of your group, namely the radically liberal beliefs that a) “If white people do not choose to confront and address racism, nothing will change significantly” and b) that someone out there needs your help. Let’s get the second out of the way first: it’s demeaning to suggest that anyone needs your help. I understand you’re concerned about your role in the racial stratification, but riding in on your proverbially white horse only perpetuates the belief that you and your kind alone are powerful or situated to fix things. In fact, you’ve said it yourselves-“If white people do not choose to confront and address racism, nothing will change significantly.”
Whoa-let me repeat that one more time for emphasis: “If white people do not choose to confront and address racism, nothing will change significantly.” There is too much wrong in this statement for me to address here, so-skipping over the glaring snub of all racial movements to date (Marcus Garvey, Stokely Carmichael, MLK Jr., Malcolm X, and César Chávez weren’t significant?)-can you please reconsider the role to which you’ve just appointed yourselves? Who decides what’s significant anyway? The world will keep turning without White people, and while I can’t deny the importance of racist people, you know, stopping, your club would do well to start at home. This suggestion that any change that occurs without your White help will not be “significant” is so offensive that I struggle to put words to it. I don’t think you could do much more to deny the agency and power of the people you claim to support.
It is a characteristically White assumption that you must be present and accounted for before anything can get done. If you want to engender change, start with your name-“Colonizers in Crisis” or “Latent Racists Anonymous” would both be still clearer than the current tag, which could just as well describe a White Power club (which would sadly not be an Oxy first.). Once you’ve reconciled your language with your beliefs, please take a moment to consider who you’re really going to “help.” If this is an (other) exercise in assuaging so-called “White guilt,” you’ll help only yourselves. I know it can be hard to deal with the history of your race, but I can think of some that are harder to bear.
Jeff Pecaro is a senior Religious Studies major. He can be reached at jpecaro@oxy.edu
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