Denying That America Is A Racist Country, Doesn't Make America Any Less Racist
We cannot forget that racism lives in politics, too, and to tackle this system, we cannot be gentle with the beast of white supremacy.
On April 28, 2021, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., delivered the Republican Party's rebuttal in response to President Joe Biden's speech to Congress. Scott's rebuttal discussed the nation's current state following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and declared some egregious statements on racism in America while denying America as a racist country. In his speech, Scott said:
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... "When America comes together, we've made tremendous progress. But powerful forces want to pull us apart. A hundred years ago, kids in classrooms were taught the color of their skin was their most important characteristic. And if they looked a certain way, they were inferior.
Today, kids again are being taught that the color of their skin defines them, and if they look a certain way, they're an oppressor. From colleges to corporations to our culture, people are making money and gaining power by pretending we haven't made any progress at all, by doubling down on the divisions we've worked so hard to heal.
You know this stuff is wrong. Hear me clearly: America is not a racist country. It's backwards to fight discrimination with different types of discrimination. And it's wrong to try to use our painful past to dishonestly shut down debates in the present."
Vice President Kamala Harris supported Scott's remarks, who agreed that "America is not a racist Country" but said, "it's key, to be honest about its racist history." Their rhetoric on America not being a racist country enacted a firestorm leading among many thought leaders.
Following his remarks, Scott was trending on Twitter under the hashtag #UNCLETIM in reference to the modern-day #UNCLETOM, which refers to a Black person who is over-eager and subservient to win over the approval of whites.
After giving myself some time to reflect on his speech and harris’s response, I've concluded that denying that America is a racist country doesn't make America any less racist or Black elected officials more passable.
Scott's remarks were rooted in the erasure of America's racism and how this country essentially was born out of the genocide of indigenous people and has been sustained by racist policies, white supremacy, and the systems of chattel and neo-slavery. Harris agreeing with his statement is just as problematic. She doesn't get a pass simply because she was "playing politics ." This was a crucial moment to lead with the truth because no matter how much people try to avoid it or not ruffle feathers, racism is embedded in America's framework.
Today, Black newborns more likely to die when looked after by White doctors. Black women are far more likely to be killed by police than other groups of women. Racial and ethnic disparities continue to persist in the sentencing of Black people within our carceral system as African-American adults are 5.9 times as likely to be incarcerated than white people.
Our education system fails Black and Brown students, pushing them into the school-to-prison pipeline, and the racial wealth gap continues to expand. There is no way around avoiding that we live in a highly racialized society. The pandemic alone has shown us how vulnerable Black Americans are living through the horrors of the COVID-19 pandemic and managing life in America as a Black person.
Scott and Harris are simply wrong, and they exemplify one critical problem with our political system: Black elected officials sometimes play the fence and don't address white supremacy head-on. Although they are Black leaders, they are a part of a political system that forces them to be respectable and "politically correct" even when it's at the expense of their community's liberation. We cannot forget that racism lives in politics, too, and to tackle this system, we cannot be gentle with the beast of white supremacy.
SOURCES: CNN, THE SENTENCING PROJECT
