Racist Laws and Human Rights

Racist laws have been abolished in the United States for decades. Before this semester, I thought that meant that racism had been abolished. I knew there were random racists that still made the news, but I had no idea of the extent that racism still exists in the United States today. In fact, even I have unconscious racist thoughts. On the other end of the spectrum, racism allows me to experience privileges I never asked for, but everyone deserves. I now know that the government, the media, and typical 'non-racist' citizens contribute to the racist structures in place today.

The first day I went to 8th and College Connections in the River Bend neighborhood of Des Moines, I found myself having thoughts I am not proud of. As I drove through the run-down streets of the predominantly Latino neighborhood, I was nervous. I often hear stories on the news about shootings or rapes in those types of neighborhoods. Even my parents warned me to be careful.

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I parked just twenty feet from the door, but before getting out of the car I looked all around me to make sure nobody was nearby. I then exited and locked the car and hurried in the doors of the old church 8th and College Connections is located in. I heard kids screaming from downstairs and wondered who would let their kids be so rowdy. Finally, I met Wendy, the VISTA of 8th and College Connections, and she showed me upstairs to the room where I would be helping teach English.

In the first class, I met a few men from Mexico, two women from Guatemala, and one woman from El Salvador. Throughout the class, I was impressed with how eager the students were to learn. Over the break, I had the opportunity to talk to the women from Guatemala and learned that I had stayed in a hotel near where they were from while on my trip to Guatemala last year. They were excited to hear about my trip and we swapped stories about some of the places I visited there. The ladies from Guatemala and everyone else in the class were so kind. We all laughed together when they made mistakes and cheered each other on as each took a turn speaking in front of the class. By the end of the class, I realized I had no reason to be scared in the neighborhood. Everyone was friendly and wanted the best for each other. The Latino immigrants I met are definitely not the same as how the media portrays them to be.

I thought about how unfairly the media portrays immigrants (especially Latinos and Middle Eastern people) and connected their inequality to class. In an article by John Greenberg, I learned that a reporter from Iowa City covered two stories of burglary, but in one three white men are shown in their suits and in the other the mugshots of four black men are depicted (Greenberg). Unfortunately, the unequal portrayal of black people and white people is all too common in today's media.

Outside of the media, I worry about the inequalities the students from 8th and College Connections might face. Many of them do not have a lot of money, but are more than capable of making a difference in the world. They are all intelligent, but they do not get a fair chance to show it. For example, the world's poor, including those from River Bend are not given access to quality education to develop to their full potential. Paul Farmer discusses this issue: 'And so [the poor of Haiti and the United States] and others in their position--globally, this would be hundreds of millions--have fought to construe as a basic human right access to health care, education, and other social services' (5).

Even if they do get a good education, Latinos and other people of color may not have the chance to use it because it is much harder for them to get a job. In the film White Privilege 101, two friends with the same credentials applied for the same position at a company. The black friend had a good interview, but was told that the company did not have any openings. The white friend interviewed after, but was offered a job. The only difference between the two interviewees was the color of their skin. The company simply dismissed the black man without giving him much of a chance. In fact, they flat out lied and told him they did not have any available positions. I now wonder how many other people of color are denied jobs they are well qualified for because they are not given a fair chance.

While poor education and unfair job interviews are just a few examples of inequality, I now know that there is a much broader cause of continuing inequality: the systems put in place within society. Farmer notes that 'Rights violations are, rather, symptoms of deeper pathologies of power and are linked intimately to the social conditions that so often determine who will suffer abuse and who will be shielded from harm' (7). He goes on to introduce the idea of structural violence, the systems in place that allow for inequality, and violence, to occur (8). The economic structures that allow people to starve to death or laws that deny women education are just a couple obvious examples of structural violence. Social structures are less obvious. It is our social upbringing to unknowingly think less of or be scared of people of color or the poor. I find myself nervous in the River Bend neighborhood because it is poor and has many people of color despite my knowing that they are people with kind hearts, and I feel awful about that. These structural violences and unconscious inequalities are what allows inequalities to continue today. Racism, sexism, and other inequalities supposedly ended in the United States decades ago, but prevail in subtle ways today.

On the opposite end of the spectrum of racism, I am able to enjoy the benefits of white privilege. Peggy McIntosh describes many examples of white privilege. The fact that 'I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance, or feared' or 'I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time' are things I take for granted (10-11). What is dangerous about white privilege is that it is easy to forget that it exists. It is not fair that we enjoy these privileges while others do not. The first step in fixing that inequality is acknowledging we have them.

Despite the fact that I did not create these inequalities, I feel guilty about them. However, because of my privilege, I can definitely work to make sure I do not contribute to them and instead lessen them. Unfortunately, changing social norms is very difficult; they do not change overnight. However, through this class, I have learned about the technique of nonviolence. Nonviolence has been a successful tool in many social movements, including the Civil Rights Movement and the movement for women's suffrage. Holmes and Gan explained, 'commitment to nonviolence may assume the form of nonresistance, passive resistance, or nonviolent direct action' (xviii). Nonviolence was used even in Biblical times; Jesus does not say to turn the other cheek so that you are struck again. According to Walter Wink, 'By turning the cheek, then, the 'inferior' is saying: 'I'm a human being, just like you. I refuse to be humiliated any longer. I am your equal.'' Nonviolence was successful in the Civil Rights Movement with the lunch counter sit-ins and the freedom rides. People who protested knew they would face violence, yet protested anyway and did not give in to the desire to be violent towards their attackers ('Nashville'; Freedom Riders). Because the protesters were peaceful despite the violence towards them, the movement gained national attention. Society realized that racism was prevalent and wrong, and finally did something to change it because of their courageous actions. If the protesters were to be violent, the media would only depict them as animals and would set the movement back. I truly think the only way for social change to occur is through nonviolence. Thus, to change the inequalities that still exist, we need to form unified, nonviolent movements to capture the attention of both the government and the rest of society.

While nonviolence is effective for social change, it takes a strong will to commit to nonviolence. Currently, my mind would not be prepared to continue acting with grace despite the harsh words or physical violence I would face. To have any hope of making social change, it is necessary to find or train a group of people to have the courage and will to act nonviolently. Because this is a difficult thing to do, many movements often fail in the beginning until they can succeed in acting gracefully. If we can gather these people though, any movement to end a certain inequality will be unstoppable.

In the future, I hope to help end the blatant bias towards immigrants of color. Now that I am aware of the inequalities they face, I notice them often. Currently, I am most upset about how our president treats people of color. He has tried to prohibit people from the Middle East from entering the country and has declared a national emergency at the United States-Mexico border because they are supposedly these monsters coming to the United States to commit violence and steal jobs from Americans. Despite the fact that there are way more crimes committed by white Americans and plenty of jobs, many Americans take Trump's word for it. By helping at 8th and College Connections, I have put faces to some of these 'horrible' immigrants and learned that they are really kind people and have the potential to help our society if we just give them the chance. By dedicating myself, I can use nonviolence to lessen the racism towards the immigrants who have a lot to offer.

Works Cited

Farmer, Paul. Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor. Univ. of California Press, 2009.

Freedom Riders. Directed by Stanley Nelson, Firelight Media, 2010.

Greenberg, Jon. '10 Examples That Prove White Privilege Protects White People in Every Aspect Imaginable.' Everyday Feminism, Everyday Feminism, 26 Nov. 2015.

Holmes, Robert, and Barry Gan. 'General Introduction.' Nonviolence in Theory and Practice, Waveland Press, 2005, pp. xvii-xxii.

McIntosh, Peggy. 'White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.' Peace and Freedom, July 1989, pp. 10-12.

'Nashville: We Were Warriors.' A Force More Powerful. Directed by Steve York, narrated by Ben Kingsley, York Zimmerman, 2000.

White Privilege 101: Joining the Conversation. Produced by Eddie Moore, Jr., White Privilege Conference, 2005.

Wink, Walter. 'Jesus' Third Way.' The Powers that Be: Theology for a New Millennium, Dobuleday, 1998, pp. 98-111.