the evolution of a charge: from white privilege to white supremacist

[alarimer]

11. I agree, generally, but I think people are much more racist than they believe they are.

The last two episodes of This American Life about schools are extremely revealing in that regard. In the first, it was about white parents who didn't want to integrate their predominantly white school district with students from a failing one (mainly African American) in Missouri. Actually the school district Michael Brown went to. Some of the rhetoric from the white parents was blatantly racist, asking "When will the metal detectors be installed?" That sort of thing. But all under the guise that the schools would suffer if "those" students would go there. When in fact the opposite occurs. Integrated schools are better for everyone.

But the second episode revealed even deeper strains of racism. In this case, it was how difficult it was to get people to voluntarily integrate schools. They had to market it, sell it to the white parents, without once using the term integration. They had to include white students on the flyers because otherwise parents would not even consider it. In a way, it was brilliant marketing, but oh so disheartening that it was even required. In this case, in Hartford, CT, the schools took the form of magnet schools, often in what white people would call "bad" neighborhoods. People use that term, "bad neighborhood" when they really mean "black."

So I do think you have a point. Almost no one (well a few fringe types) truly believes any one race is inherently better than the others. But when you talk to white parents about schools, in particular, you certainly get a lot of code words for racism. "Bad" schools, "bad" neighborhoods, etc.

Obviously there are a lot of issues surrounding education; integration is just one of them. Some of the problems schools have is funding inequalities. Rich districts have more money. Poorer districts have less money are dealing with a lot of issues the others don't have.

Yes, certainly, if you want people on your side, you should probably avoid loaded terms. In activism, there is always a divide between people who want to work within the existing system and those more radical elements who want to tear it down and start over. I don't think Code Pink, for instance, ever accomplished much, except to get people to start thinking more critically about the Iraq war, which is something at least.