Reverse Racism: Word Distracts from the Big White Elephant of Systemic Racism

As posted to RaceWire: http://www.racewire.org/archives/2009/07/reverse_racism_word_distracts.html

Ever since Sonia Sotomayor, a Latina woman, was first mentioned as a contender for the Supreme Court, weve heard a lot from some quarters about how her success has been nothing more than the result of reverse racism. ARCs Terry Keleher digs into the term and explains that reverse racism is nothing more than a way for those in power to change the subject away from systemic racism, a system that puts people of color at a disadvantage from birth until death.

about the WORD! series:
Words. You cant escape them. They headline the evening news, buzz around the water cooler and blow up your cell. They invoke powerful images that convey values, beliefs and an understanding of how the world works. And when repeated, words shape how problems are defined and which solutions are pursued. Words. They whitewash. They blindside. They leave you seeing red. In this series, ColorLines Magazine looks at what we talk about when we talk about race.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• sonia
• sotomayor
• jeff
• sessions
• supreme
• court
• scotus
• reverse
• racism
• systemic
• race
• gender
• discrimination
• wise
• latina
• obama
• arc
• racewire
• colorlines
• applied
• research
• center
• terry
• keleher

[earthsprite]

It's the word "reverse" that is the problem. There is no reverse. Racism is racism.

[TheDaddyDank]

@crowberry321 I agree with that, I was simply pointing out a very common misunderstanding in the U.S. The assumption is made that we are descended from slave owners and racist simply because our skin is white. Yet they know very little about our backgrounds and ancestry, and most white people have no relationship to such racism.

[alfathree]

This guy has got  it!

[flipgood89]

@ITHEREONETHATHASNT ...'64 wasnt the sins of ur great, great, great, great, great grandfather, dummy....'64 was my parents lifetime and yours. In '64 Blacks had to fight for basic human rights. And here in California, Affirmative Action has been outlawed since '96, so fuck you and ur charity case talk. Perhaps if you weren't spending ur energy being such a hateful, ignorant racist, you could get some basic facts right for a change. Ur passed up on jobs because u are dumb. Dont blame blacks..

[ITHEREONETHATHASNT]

@flipgood89 HAHA I was born in 1990 moron. So yeah i dont feel I should be paying for those sins. Plus im irish/american after the civil war we were paid less then african americans and discriminated against just as much. And Yes college campuses and board are filled with underqualified african americans because of affirmative action it does a disservice to both me and the hard working african americans who get viewed as charity cases. Agree to disagree my friend have a nice day.

[flipgood89]

@ITHEREONETHATHASNT Lol....yeah, corporations and college campuses are just teeming with underqualified Black people, huh? Poor whites cant catch a break in this country! From day one, you guys have gotten the short end of the stick. I really feel ur pain and your whining...BTW, you said u shouldnt have to pay for the sins of your Great, great, great....Grandfather". Hmm, civil rights bill for Black people was passed in the mid-60s. The facts of history are at odds with ur whining.

[ITHEREONETHATHASNT]

There are no such statistics because any researcher trying to prove that point would be ostracized from scientific community. You bring up affirmative action and you and i know that the result is black people getting jobs ahead of whites. You can claim this is OK but I KNOW it is racism clear as day. You can justify it how ever you want but the fact remains it is racist. You do not cure racism with racism! The stats that prove otherwise SHOW me! I have a felling the NAACP is the publisher! FU!

[platinumgrade]

@ITHEREONETHATHASNT prove to me, with statistics, that its easier for an equally qualified minority man to get a job. because most statistics still prove otherwise, EVEN with affirmative action.

[MultiSmartass1]

@dutytocareforothers WP Hegemony is simply part of the power structure of America.

The country was set as a politic body (as oppposed to body politic) that of course would be run by and for the benefit of white males.

Religion wasn't a huge issue in terms of rulership in terms of so-called founding fathers, if anything they wanted to avoid state-backed churches and religious litmus tests for rulers.

The rights of non-whites have always threatened the overall power structure of the US.

[liverpoolfcxx9]

@dutytocareforothers i never said it was mandated but the point is it is an unfair practice that is still common. It should be based on economic class not ethnicity

[dutytocareforothers]

Where are the white Protestant riots if they are being so oppressed?

[dutytocareforothers]

@MultiSmartass1 White Protestant hegemony is a powerful force that is being challenged by civil rights policies and laws and activists.