Honor Thesis Broad Abstract

Rain Christi

Honor Thesis Abstract

What “Racism” Means in 2015?

Since the Civil Rights Movement, we would like to believe we have made large amounts of progress when it came to ethnic inequality in this country. Some believe we have and others would say we may have even travelled backward. With the ability to record and share information in this digital age, many stories of violence against Blacks in our communities all across the United States have come to the forefront in the last couple years. Ferguson especially has made its way to our headlines mostly due to the reaction of that town and the media coverage their story received. Meet Lennon Lee Lacy a seventeen year old football star recently believed to have been murdered in a small town in North Carolina. The story is being released to the public as most likely being suicide; however, the story told from the perspective of the family is quite different. The KKK is still present in many states in our Union, North Carolina being one of them. There are “white” people who feel that “black” people have no reason to be angry any longer. There are “black” people who feel that “white” people obviously do not realize how alive and present the struggle still is. There are extremist stances of “Black Power” who believe the scales will not be even till the power is in their hands. Since the beginning of recorded history we have seen power struggles, slavery, and the thumb of oppression served on many indigenous peoples. Christianity when taken over by the Romans left a wide river of blood in its wake. The foundation of our very country rests on the bones of the indigenous people now called “Native Americans”. Biology is our witness to the inequality in every species population. Why should the human race be any different? However, with all the wealth that is in the world, why do people still starve till their unfortunate deaths on this planet? How did Hitler raise his arm and have millions follow his lead in the slaughter of anyone not believed to be of the Aryan race?

            Uhuru is a Swahili word for “freedom”. Under the direction of the African Socialist Party, “white” people who feel that reparations are owed the African people work together to educate the general population seeking to “change the narrative” and raise funds to make right all that was stolen from Africa. Under their leader, Omali Yeshitela, ideas like Capitalism and Socialism and people like Lenin and Marx are discussed and analyzed. The systematic accumulation of wealth at the expense of indigenous peoples is what Omali Yeshitela believes to be the culprit of the state of our black and white relations.

            I stand in solidarity with all indigenous people. I believe that any system built off the rape, pillage, murder and theft of indigenous lands is incorrect from its very foundation. However, are reparations truly the answer to fixing thousands of years of power hungry greed? Do all people deserve an equal chance at this life? Of course. Does America have the right to take whatever it wants from around the world? In my opinion, no. Does biology show us that species only survive through the fighting success of the fittest? Yes. Is it not common for the strongest in the pack of any animal to be toward the center so that the weakest are picked off by prey? Yes. Where does this leave us?

            Statistics would represent that blacks and whites are not yet equal in this country. Much has been adjusted since the work of those that fought in the Civil Rights Movement. Where do we go from here? Much of the problem that I see is a lack of information. Ignorance in this case is not bliss. Those that are crammed into tiny houses in small city streets of mostly blacks that have crime and poverty to face every day would perhaps cast daggers of hatred at a rich white person driving by. White people segregated in their big fancy houses may not realize what is actually still occurring. There are poor people in every ethnic description as well as rich people of all types. Yes it is still predominantly a white man’s world. There are many layers to this story and many perspectives to entertain.

            I will design a template of set questions related to the nature of racism and the perception of it in this country. I will articulate them clearly and in the same fashion every time. I will record (anonymously if so desired by the participant) the answers without interference from the interviewer. I will travel first my USF campus, then, the area surrounding it, branching out into multiple demographics always asking the exact same set of questions. Furthermore, I will fortify it by sharing statistics that relate to the narrative and stories of prominent focus around the country today. What I hope to attain is a grassroots view of how America perceives “racism” in the year 2015.

            I am reading “An Uneasy Equilibrium” where Omali Yeshitela is expounding on the evils of capitalism, the plight of indigenous peoples, the need for reparations to the African people and many other tributaries. I am digesting it slowly as he is clearly well versed and quite the scholar. I am curious as to how he feels that reparations are the answer to the social inequality and yes, ethnic inequality as well. By the end of my thesis I hope to agree or disagree with him and state clear and scientifically-backed reasons as to why.

            The African story is significant. The fact that the KKK still exists and there are still young men being hung to death for the color of their skin troubles me deeply. To know many “white” people in my own life that do not believe there is still an issue disturbs me greatly. I wish through this work to expose stories, ask questions, raise thoughts that may lead us to the next level of development in this matter. Like Martin Luther King, I too “have a dream”.