US Christian Roots

Just a simple question...

If you can acknowledge the existence of racially based policies such as slavery, the near extermination of Native Americans and their removal from "their" lands, the super-exploitation and degrading utilization of Mexicans and various Asian groups as contract laborers, Jim Crow and any number of other degrading practices that were a part of US history from at least 1776-1960's... ...Can you still laud the Protestant religious foundations of the US as pure and true?

I love America and I love Jesus, but if I hear one more person talking about the Christian roots of our forefathers without acknowledging the bigotry and discrimination that excluded even most white men and all white woman from the rights of citizenship as part of the development of a liberal nation-state, I'm gonna throw up.

Holla Back!

Written by Frederick A Hanna

Race is A Social Reality

Race can be defined as, a socially constructed category, which implies that depictions of racial difference are human creations rather than external, essential categories.

A few months ago a classmate of mine, who's opinion I greatly respect made a statement regarding race that kind of threw me. We were discussing racism in urban schools, which is a primary aspect of what we do as educational anthropologists, sociologists, philosophers, historians, and practitioners—we all get a good slice of the race issue—when my colleague said something to the effect of, "I think this whole race as a social construct conversation is overused, and getting too much play." Now this struck me because as practitioners of social science and race theorists, we rely on this definition of race as a cornerstone of our understanding of racial dynamics and discriminatory practices; nevertheless, there was something in his comment that resonated with me. Every time I teach race as a "social construct" which makes complete sense to me and helps me to explain a number of racial dynamics that have played themselves out over a vast history of racism and discrimination in America, I see the image of myself as a black man and I know beyond a shadow of doubt that essentialist characteristics of race (phenotype, skin color, biological characteristics) still matter and still impact me wherever I go. Whatever the term or the logic we use to define race, when I walk into a department store, the stereotypes still apply; when I show any kind of emotional response to anything, the stereotypes still apply; when I walk down the street or drive down the road in a white neighborhood, the stereotypes still apply; even when I demonstrate academic excellence it seems to be posed as a matter of exception to be marveled at—Why?—because when people look at me, they don't see a social construct, they see a black man. Because of that, a big part of my life story involves shaking off those stereotypes.


Race, along with class, gender, etc. Are socially constructed, but they are also a social reality. "This means that after race—or class or gender—is created, it produces real affects on actors racialized as 'black' or 'white.' Although race, as other social structures is unstable, it has a 'changing same' quality at its core” (E. Bonilla-Silva). That is to say that while race does have dynamic elements that change and are reconstructed over time, there are also essentialist categories of race that remain fixed.

To ignore race as a social reality, which seems to be what many Americans want to do as we push towards a post-racial society, is to deny an entire history of racial exploitation which includes the near extermination of the Native American, the victimization of the Mexican, the exploitation of Asian contract laborers, and of course the dehumanization of the African which extended overtly into the Jim Crow era. The vestiges of this racial social order continue to manifest themselves in our country both materially and ideologically. The history of America is based upon a doctrine of white supremacy which gave rise to a racialized social system. This system bestowed privilege upon Europeans, and assigned deficit to non-Europeans. The result was systems of social relations that reinforce white privilege socially, economically, politically, etc. The tendency of actors racialized as white in this system is to actively struggle to maintain, or passively receive the merits of white privilege. Those assigned to the subordinate race have 2 choices: 1) struggle to change and challenge systemic and structural racism, or 2) become resigned to their position. Thus, the social reality of race and racism continues to play itself out regardless of what the "social construct" is doing. One must then conclude that while these social constructs are defined and redefined, inhabited, transformed, and reinvented, there are certain realities that remain fixed. Simply explaining them away as a social construct can’t work. This would only amount to justification of the status quo by pointing out that certain “races” need to “get over it” and move beyond their racial baggage. A justification which does little more than to affirm the social reality that the “get over it” argument attempts to dismiss.

Written by Frederick A Hanna

Black Boy

I am listening to Richard Wright's, Black Boy on audiobook for the 2nd time. I think it is a piece of American literature that everyone should read at least once. It is an insight into the mind of an African American man that is unmatched. The chronicling of the realities of black life, the psychological dysfunction created by a world that has taught you that you are hopelessly inadequate, the troubling knowledge that you are one in a long line of those grappling with a reality that is far from what you hope for, and far less than you could ever accept. As I listen to Richard Wright's struggle with bending his humanity to fit into a space that cannot be occupied by the expanse of his personal hopes and dreams... I feel at one with him, and in this identification I also have a feeling of emptiness. A feeling of inadequacy, of being less than, and this... This is what compels me to continue forward.

As Wright dialogues on the his interactions with whites in the south in the late 1920's, and his internal struggles with simply wanting to be treated like he was a human being, and not having to play the part of a simpleton in order to avoid upsetting whites... its obvious why there is so much black on black violence. Being stripped of one's manhood, and having only one place where aggression is accepted, gives one but a single outlet and often leads one to act out in ways that are self destructive... ...I recall a verse from a hip hop recording called, Getaway,

9 out of 10 are black on black crimes, 4 out of 9 are killed before their time, the other 5 wanted vengeance, so now 5 out of 5 are doing a jail sentence. Ask me I've been through it, so when I reach for the top, I'll say the ghetto made me do it. I know how to strive, born and raised in the ghetto, so you know I can survive.

Has an heir of hopelessness, but ends with hope...

I once heard someone say, I think it was Anderson Cooper, that

Hope is not a plan

And while this may be true, hope gives birth to faith and faith is the substance that drives one forward even when one is unsure of what the future holds... "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen..." Faith is what drives me even when I feel like, as Richard Wright says, "this is not a civilization... its a culture, and you have to figure out a way to navigate it... as he struggled to learn... to force himself to behave in ways that seemed to defy his personhood..." Faith pushes me forward... Faith gives me a reason to rise in the morning... Faith...

Studying racism, listening to Wright, and living are like a BIG collision for me!

I'm glad that I have learned to respond to something greater than my humanity... something that binds humankind together regardless of how we "act" out our roles in society.

Interesting Dialogue on Black Male "Otherness"

Robert: I read an article last week called Beyond love: A critical race ethnography of the schooling of adolescent Black males.

Please take 5 minutes and read my quick reflection.

This article is important to my topic because it investigates the ways that African American males experience distancing between themselves and those who could become a source of social capital for them. While I found this article to be an excellent read, it was yet another painful encounter for me. If I can be transparent, this article carried me up and down emotionally. The highs were identification with the things I see and feel, as were the lows. Solidarity feels good, even when it is painful. This article discusses the otherness of being an African American male. It attempts to dissect the way that African American males are categorized and marginalized in American society, and it concludes that we are "beyond love." It makes this determination based on the "otherness" of the category we occupy.

According to critical race theorist Richard Delgado, "we cannot identify with or love anyone who is too different from us." For one thing, we perceive the strange "Other" to have little to offer us; we regard the "Other" as something that disrupts and destroys whatever it comes in contact with. The strange Other is essentially different and ontologically separate from those whom we consider to be normal.

Duncan sites that most of the research and literature about black males, posits them as other. It speaks of black males in such a way that contributes to a "perception of strangeness" and to the "further marginalization of the group in school." The end result of this perception of "strangeness" is the estrangement of African American males. This estrangement colors every encounter that black males have with the world. When a black male has an authentic encounter with someone who does not appear to perceive him as strange, or is at least making a determined effort at color blindness, it often creates an awkwardness that forbids authenticity.

As I read this article, I heard echoes of my own voice saying, "What's wrong with them? Why do they act that way? Why don't they care? What were they thinking?" The strong critique I have on not objectifying groups of people and individuals by making them something "out there," makes thoughts and comments like this almost sinister for me. Its like I am failing to have an authentic encounter with myself, when I fail to have an authentic encounter with the boys (the boys I work with in an inner city church). Funny thing is, when I get passed my attempt to critically analyze the boys I work with, I forsake my "technique" and just practice being "with" them. ---To be "with" someone, anyone, requires giving of yourself. It requires stepping into a world that may be foreign, or even familiar. The one thing that it is not, is "yours."--- Entering their world and affirming their "somebodiness" is how I gain trust and access. That's when we realize that we have a lot in common.


Mary: That is very good. I see that you are bringing in different concepts to your work now. You are developing your thought processes and refining what you are passionate about. That is pretty evident.

Robert: Thanks... I really wanted you to focus more on the concepts than me though. Isn't this whole idea of the "otherness" of the African American male fascinating?

Mary: I did find the concept of otherness interesting. I would think though that white females (who are often teachers) would find black males most at the “otherness” end of the spectrum. I would think that male teachers would somehow find something in common with black males. Black females would be able to relate on some level of them being “the sons, brothers, etc.”. It is interesting…. Your own journey through the topic was interesting as well.

Robert: What was interesting in the study that produced the article was that teachers, administrators, students, and black males themselves had all internalized in value and practice, this otherness of the African American male. The "otherness" is in many cases normalized, which often renders the black male to be "beyond love."

Mary: Very sad if it is true…well, I guess not if it is true but if it is widespread.

Robert: Research indicates, and experience indicates... that it is very true. We (AA males) seldom feel understood and truly loved... And we do not want to discuss the depth of our feelings because the things we share become "evidence against us." This was also a recurring theme in the research for all marginalized groups (Native American, black women, black men, Puerto Rican girls, white women). Individuals in marginalized groups often used silence as a form of protection... repeatedly. The fear is that if you share your feelings, then people will use what you share as an excuse for your situation (why you are the way you are), and in a sense, devalue you even more... making you even more "other" by labeling you with negative characteristics and or qualities that do not enhance your self worth.

Mary: I feel you. That is the case when you make yourself or allow yourself to be vulnerable to people that you don’t trust. It is similar to the point that there are things that black folks can say to one another that would not be able to be said around “others’ because it could be used as validation of some things.

Race Matters

So lots of data came out this week suggesting that the achievement gap is closing between black and Latino children and white children. When looking at statistics on achievement gaps, it seems safe to say that empirical data at its best, is subject to skepticism. This is because there is always data beneath the data. Empirical data is stratified; therefore, we are always forced to look at the underlying reasons for the concluding data. If this new data is the result of children being taught to take a standardized test, then the data is contradictory and ambiguous. It fails to prove or disprove anything. The continued racial stratification of the data leaves me confused. Do they believe that race does play a role in education from a perspective of genotype, or do they believe that there are underlying sociological factors that contribute to the way that different races are educated and ultimately affected by educational practices in the United States? We need to do a much better job in presenting data that is conflicting. We should be sure to point out the contradictions and affirm the limitations of the data.

What empirical data fails to capture is the stigma of racism and the achievement deficit it carries. Racism has created a legacy of false expectations and failed hopes that haunt those on the receiving end of negative stereotypes, and it colors the lens through which we view the world. When a people have been failed over and over again by a system, whether the system is education, health care, religion, or economics… people tend to lose hope. They tend to expect the worst, or at the very least, they do not expect the most favorable outcome. They learn to live with disappointment and futility, and sometimes, to expect the worse just represents a shorter fall from disappointment. Racism seems to overpower the majority of criteria that we might otherwise deem pertinent to success. "Researchers Christopher Jencks and Meredith Phillips say that reducing the black-white test score gap 'would do more to move America toward racial equality than any politically plausible alternative'" They presuppose that smaller classrooms and better trained teachers are an answer to overcoming some of the ills intimated by the data. Grace Kao and ­ Jennifer S. Thompson site the heterogeneity of students in America as a reason to believe that there is no single quick fix and no one model that would suffice to close the achievement gap. Personally I fight against these issues day in and day out. I don’t always want to see the world as tainted, but so often the world seems to see me as tainted. Racism-racial ideology, is just that powerful, and that is beyond my control. What I can control is my desire not to give in, not to allow internal oppression or “oppositional identity” to prevail. I still believe in that now cliche adage, “each one, teach one.” I believe that we can all still make a difference “in spite of” not “because of” the empirical data.