Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in his Letter From Birmingham City Jail, “I guess I should have realized that few members of a race that has oppressed another race can understand or appreciate the deep groans and passionate yearnings of those that have been oppressed and still fewer have the vision to see that injustice must be rooted out by strong, persistent and determined action.”
Martin Luther King Jr. was a great leader and one of the first race philosophers. King had a vision for America and he knew that he would need help from the majority white population to free the minority populations.
The question remains as to how much freedom minorities have in the United States. Charles W. Mills argues in the Racial Contract, that minorities are not free and are under the oppressive political rule of the White majority. (Mills, 1)
Mills continues by writing that the Racial Contract “is not a contract between everybody (‘we the people’), but between just the people who count, the people who really are people (‘we the white people’). So it is a Racial Contract.” (Mills, 3)
It is Mills argument that the Racial Contract should replace the existing social contract because it is more in-line with the realities of the modern world. (Mills, 120) The modern world is a world in which racism prevails on a global scale. Every nation and state has a minority race that is oppressed in one way or another. The United States is no exception, the racism may not be as vocal or apparent as with other areas of the world, but it is still there.
Will a black person ever become President of the United States? What about the growing Hispanic population, will they have fair representation in politics? Mills would argue that Whiteness will overwhelm and will continue to be the dominant force in politics. Today it seems that white people are overrepresented and minorities vastly underrepresented. How will change happen? It seems very unlikely that white people will voluntarily give up their position of preferential treatment.
Mills argues that the problem of racism is ingrained in the social structure of Europeans. (Mills, 80) He uses the example of the Irish being treated as second class citizens by the British, until recently when the Irish were upgraded to the white category. Racism persists on a national level as well as on a personal level. The Brit will hate the Irishman as long as it is convenient for him to do so, if his fellow Brits stop hating the Irish, he will most likely follow suit.
Similarly, if the racist Brit were to be alone with the Irishman, the Brit would most likely be civil and respectful, because this would be the most convenient route to take. Racism existing on a personal level is a problem, but not as large of a problem as systematic racism. The underrepresented minorities are faced with a form of systematic racism that attacks them at work, school, and home, even while driving. Coworkers suspicious of a minority getting a promotion, a student mad because a minority friend got accepted to a college and he didn’t, every day the minority is subtlety oppressed and the majority doesn’t even know they are doing it.
So, how will change happen? Change will happen when the minorities speak loud enough to rattle the cages of the majority. The majorities help is needed in bringing about progressive change. Mills would argue that the White majority would not help in bringing about this change, and he may be right, but I would like to believe that some of the White majority would be willing to sacrifice for the common good.
Racism is a problem that is institutionalized and ingrained within our social structure. It pervades into everyday life in ways that only affect the oppressed, so that the oppressors remain oblivious. It is ugly and it may never go away. The civil rights leader Medger Evers summed up social racism by saying, “When a black Jacksonian looks about his home community, he sees a city of over 150,000, of which 40% is Negro, in which there is not a single Negro policeman or policewoman, school crossing guard, or fireman.” (Quoteland.com)
Author’s note: This article was written in 2006.
Works Cited
King Jr., Martin Luther. A Testament of Hope. Ed. James M. Washington. San Fransisco: Harper Collins, 1986. 299.
Mills, Charles W. The Racial Contract. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1997. 1-133.
“Racism Quotes.” Quoteland. 12 Oct. 2006 <http://www.quoteland.com/topic.asp?CATEGORY_ID=303>.
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