Tough conversations after Ferguson

For many students, going home or visiting relatives for Thanksgiving meant avoiding controversial topics like the events in Ferguson, Mo., only a few days before. This tact may be necessary on one special day of the year, but as harmful racial attitudes continue to persist in all circles of society, those of us who are not black must break the silence and challenge these attitudes in our hometowns, as well as at the University.

I believe that the biggest factor preventing more people who are not black, Princeton students included, from becoming active allies is the cognitive dissonance of recognizing the attitudes and comments of friends, family and oneself that reflect or perpetuate racism. We feel that those whom we love and respect cannot be guilty of racism. Ultimately, we may all give in to and perpetuate the racism that is woven into the very fabric of society — but these mistakes, both macro- and micro-aggressions, are harmful and destructive, and must be responded to as such.

We need to challenge the racist assumptions not only of strangers or acquaintances, but also of those close to us as well. We should respond to racist attitudes with sensitivity, even though I have recently come to believe that while the sensitive, civil approach is important, it is secondary to the urgency of the anti-racist message. In response to the horrific injustice faced by African-Americans, we cannot be overly concerned about appearing self-righteous or argumentative.

In order to have these conversations, we must identify those ideas that are legitimate, if different from what might typically be considered progressive, and those ideas that are not legitimate, but reflections of deeply ingrained societal racism. It is useful to take a closer look at some of the talking points that have been used extensively in the wake of the grand jury’s decision last Monday.

One such talking point is the idea of “personal responsibility,” which the Brookings Institute defines as “the willingness to both accept the importance of standards that society establishes for individual behavior and to make strenuous personal efforts to live by those standards.” This idea, which often comes from a more conservative perspective, is valuable in discussions about education, employment, etc. However, the belief among many that a lack of personal responsibility is to blame for issues like urban poverty and police brutality is highly problematic and only perpetuates racism.

To begin with, it is one thing for blacks to advocate self-empowerment through personal responsibility and another for whites to preach responsibility as if completely unaware of their own white privilege. Furthermore, the implication that a black teenager is personally responsible for profiling, targeting and brutality by police, in a country where in recent years young African American males were at a 21 times greater risk of being shot dead by police than their white counterparts, simply because he dresses a certain way or acts “threateningly” is as absurd and incredibly harmful as blaming a victim of sexual assault for dressing “provocatively.” And in a nation where African Americans make up 13% of the population and 14% of drug users but 37% of the people arrested for drugs and 56% of the people in state prisons for drug offenses, the idea that personal irresponsibility among blacks is to blame for the high rates of incarceration is simply bald-faced racism. One cannot speak of law and order without first recognizing the countless daily failures of a justice system that has been failing for centuries.

An even more insidious and offensive talking point that I have seen is the concept of the “Real Black American.” Those who use this phrase act as though they are simply acknowledging the already quite obvious fact that the vast majority of blacks are peaceful, law-abiding citizens. Instead, this phrase is a way of justifying the exclusion of African-Americans, often the urban poor, from mainstream society, implying that victims of police brutality are not “Real Black Americans.” It is an extension of the arguments made for disenfranchising blacks. In a country where, in 2011-12, black students were suspended or expelled at triple the rate of their white peers, this widespread, systemic marginalization and exclusion cannot be allowed to continue.

As allies, we must assume the role not of leaders, but of vocal, active supporters in the movement against societal and individual racism. This means that we must challenge racist attitudes expressed not only by strangers and acquaintances but by those close to us as well. Until seeing the reactions to Ferguson and reading the excellent op-ed written by Destiny Crockett ’17, Khallid Love ’15, Briana Payton ’17 and Sol Taubin ’16, I was too reluctant to engage in conversation on race, unsure of what role I should take as a white student and how to contribute sensitively to the conversation.

I recognize that this column is only echoing what wiser, more eloquent people have said already, black and white. But sometimes urgency trumps originality, because certain things need to be repeated. We must all recognize that, although we may make mistakes in our efforts, we must engage as self-aware, self-reflecting individuals in the complex process of understanding and combating the shameful presence of racism.

Max Grear is a freshman from Wakefield, R.I. He can be reached at mgrear@princeton.edu.