My Racist Past
Last night Channel 5 WLWT in Cincinnati ran this story on landlords discrimiating against black people based on the sound of their voice. I know this happens because I've done it. Am I that bad? No. I was a kid.
My mother's side of the family is from North Charleston, South Carolina. My grandparents own a run down trailer park with several lots. The phone would ring often with people asking if there was a vacancy available. As a kid visting often on summer breaks, I was instructed to say no if it was a black person. I didn't have to ask the person if they were black, I could just tell by the voice. I know this was wrong, but as an 8-year old and I was just following orders. Is that an excuse?
Anyway, how do we stop discrimination based on voice? Do we pass some law? Do we demand that landlords track incoming phone calls and whether they sounded black or not (profile them?). I just don't think passing laws helps stop discrimination. Clearly to me, however, discrimination exists. If someone says something racist to me, I just consider them low-class - for lack of a better word - and distance myself from them. Maybe it's the group I hang out with, but making a racist comment is held against you more than abandoning your kids - it's just not done. What I'm getting at is that stopping racism isn't done by adopting more laws but by changing attitudes and that can only be done by society disciplining those who step out of line.
A point more controversial: Do black people increase the chances of being discriminated against? Why is there a "black" voice that can be distinguished? Is that cultural? A black co-worker of mine who sounded "white" said that blacks held that against him. These people can't win. Another point, the wife in the Channel 5 story was named Tewanna Harvey. If this lady had submitted a application to the apartment through the mail, she would have still been discriminated against because she has a "black" name. I can't complain about parents giving strange names to kids (Daugher No. 1 is named Dagny, No. 2 is Harper), but the name Tewanna only draws attention to her being black and doesn't even get her foot in the door to get past any racists gatekeepers.
Solutions? I don't have any. Just complaints today.
BTW: In my later teen years/early twenties, I noticed black people living in the trailer park. When asked, I was told that they are no worse than the white trash they had in there.
Now there's progress in equality!
Stay You.
Back to Main Page
My mother's side of the family is from North Charleston, South Carolina. My grandparents own a run down trailer park with several lots. The phone would ring often with people asking if there was a vacancy available. As a kid visting often on summer breaks, I was instructed to say no if it was a black person. I didn't have to ask the person if they were black, I could just tell by the voice. I know this was wrong, but as an 8-year old and I was just following orders. Is that an excuse?
Anyway, how do we stop discrimination based on voice? Do we pass some law? Do we demand that landlords track incoming phone calls and whether they sounded black or not (profile them?). I just don't think passing laws helps stop discrimination. Clearly to me, however, discrimination exists. If someone says something racist to me, I just consider them low-class - for lack of a better word - and distance myself from them. Maybe it's the group I hang out with, but making a racist comment is held against you more than abandoning your kids - it's just not done. What I'm getting at is that stopping racism isn't done by adopting more laws but by changing attitudes and that can only be done by society disciplining those who step out of line.
A point more controversial: Do black people increase the chances of being discriminated against? Why is there a "black" voice that can be distinguished? Is that cultural? A black co-worker of mine who sounded "white" said that blacks held that against him. These people can't win. Another point, the wife in the Channel 5 story was named Tewanna Harvey. If this lady had submitted a application to the apartment through the mail, she would have still been discriminated against because she has a "black" name. I can't complain about parents giving strange names to kids (Daugher No. 1 is named Dagny, No. 2 is Harper), but the name Tewanna only draws attention to her being black and doesn't even get her foot in the door to get past any racists gatekeepers.
Solutions? I don't have any. Just complaints today.
BTW: In my later teen years/early twenties, I noticed black people living in the trailer park. When asked, I was told that they are no worse than the white trash they had in there.
Now there's progress in equality!
Stay You.
Back to Main Page
posted by Howard McEwen, CFA at Thursday, December 02, 2004
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