The public has criticised Trump for not condemning the violence of white supremacy groups. And when he did, he U-Turned. But Trump is a product of white supremacy and not just because his father is allegedly a Klansman. Europeans founded America on genocide and slavery. That applies wherever Europeans have conquered and dominated. Trump and white supremacy are the manifestation of the American Dream. Most white people agree with white supremacy to a lesser or greater degree. Without it, racism would not exist. But there is hope. We can tackle racism, whether unconscious bias or not, and white supremacy.
White Supremacy & Trump
Trump’s condemnation of white supremacy was always suspect. He is racist, apparently like his father. And white supremacists hold key positions in his team. People such as Steve Bannon, Sebastian Gorka and Jeff Sessions to name a few.
So, more than Trump, white supremacy is the problem. It is the central ideology that binds white America. It has survived slavery. So, taking down the statues, monuments and memorials, that celebrate the defenders of slavery as heroic will not change that. According to Feagin & Sikes 1994, most white Americans share a common and historical background of racism against black people. White people have racism so deeply embedded that it develops as an unconscious or a half-conscious state of mind. Living largely segregated lives only 43% of white America identifies racism as a problem. On the other hand, the majority of black Americans have experienced racism.
White Supremacy & The American Dream
Europeans founded the United States on genocide and something much more insidious than slavery. White supremacy. It says that black people are less than human, unintelligent and lazy. The black diaspora continues to fight against these labels. However, white supremacy remains America’s narrative. It is the thinking behind slavery, then lynchings and Jim Crow. Currently, white supremacy takes the form of a codified racial hierarchy and segregation. One which finds that 68% of white people only mix with white people.
Meanwhile, Black people are forced into living in ghettos and projects, little better than prisons. The promise of 40 acres and a mule,post slavery, never materialised. Instead, white supremacy continues to treat black people as if we are beneath dignity. It adversely affects education, employment, justice and clinical diagnosis (see video below).
White supremacy, the bedrock of the American Dream, perpetuates racism. But we can do something about it. Dr King called for radical revolutionary ideas. Here’s one: every white person should attend Implicit Association Tests. European researchers found that if people got the chance to experience their own body with different skin colours physically, their unconscious bias against other racial groups diminishes. So here is a chance develop a new Amercian narrative. One of equality. But is there a will? Americans are happy to spend billions on wars that kill but so far little on addressing racial inequality.
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Updated link 2017 08 18
