Piers Morgan, noted broadcaster and personality, questioned his podcast guest, activist Blossom Brown, of utilizing ‘race-baiting’ during a conversation in February. Brown immediately countered this allegation, asserting that ‘Black women cannot be racist to white women,’ and that, by this logic, she could not possibly be racist towards Morgan. Brown, somewhat ironically, questioned Morgan’s ability to comprehend such a position, explicitly stating his lack of ‘the intellectual capacity to understand’ her viewpoint.
Ryan Clark, a black sports commentator for ESPN, once made his political leanings crystal clear through a video he shared post the re-election of Donald Trump. In his declaration, he expressed his vote for Kamala Harris, showered the Obama administration with praises, labeling it as ‘scandal free,’ and lauded Obama for his ‘grace,’ ‘elegance,’ and ‘decency’ during his presidential term. Furthermore, Clark attempted to rationalize the support for Trump by suggesting that not all followers align with the President’s communication or tolerate bigotry.
Clark recently discussed a prevailing tension between two WNBA stars, Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark. During this discourse, he directed a fair amount of criticism towards Robert Griffin III, former NFL prodigy, who had expressed his support for Caitlin Clark on social media. Clark sarcastically questioned Griffin’s understanding and empathy towards the experiences of black women in America, especially young black athletic women like Angel Reese.
As his critique of Griffin continued, Clark asked, ‘If you’re RG3, when is the last time within your household you’ve had a conversation about what (Angel Reese is) dealing with? You haven’t been able to do that because in both of your marriages, you’ve been married to white women.’ It seemed Clark was implying that black men who are married to white women inherently lack the capacity to appreciate the struggles black women face.
Ryan Clark, the same individual quick to point out the so-called ‘bigotry’ of others, presented his own side of prejudice during this discussion. Although married to a black woman now, Clark previously had a relationship with a white woman, with whom he shares a biracial child. An ironic twist, considering his previous comments pointed at Griffin.
Such a notion was not exclusive to Ryan Clark. Representative Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat from Texas, used similar discriminatory language against Rep. Byron Donalds, a Republican from Florida. During a conversation about the decline of nuclear families, Donalds highlighted the fact that during the Jim Crow era, a black child was more likely to be raised in a two-parent household than today.
Crockett responded with an incredulous remark, questioning Donalds’ knowledge of history and implying his perception might be distorted due to his marriage with a white woman. She asked, ‘is this because you don’t understand history? Or literally it’s because you married a white woman and so you think that whitewashed you?’ Crockett’s use of the term ‘whitewashed’ was unmistakably meant to mock and belittle Donalds.
Crockett’s suggestive query raises a peculiar question: Should this ‘whitewash’ theory also apply to individuals such as Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, or Kamala Harris, the former Vice President, or ex-CNN host Don Lemon? All these individuals, prominent figures in the public eye, opted for marriages ‘outside their race’. This supposed theory implies a fallacy that these marriages somehow dilute or influence their understanding of their own race and its history.
Spike Lee, the renowned film director, once hosted a fundraiser for ex-President Obama in 2017. Lee is no stranger to the controversy of interracial relationships, as he admitted in 1992 to giving interracial couples a fiery look. Lee confessed, ‘I give interracial couples a look. Daggers. They get uncomfortable when they see me on the street,’ and has yet to apologize for these remarks.
Taking Lee’s comments into account, could these sharp ‘daggers’ also be applicable to the interracial marriage of Barack Obama’s parents? It seems the once tough stance against interracial couples has become somewhat flexible for those who align with Lee’s political beliefs.
The term ‘racism’ is differently interpreted by different groups of individuals. A 2020 Rasmussen poll found that 75% of American adults define ‘racism’ as any form of discrimination by one race against another. But when it comes down to identifying which race is the most prejudiced, the poll results reflected something surprisingly different from mainstream assumptions.
According to the poll, 18% of participants believed that most white Americans are racist. However, 25% felt that most black Americans fit that description, while only 15% and 13% respectively believed the same of Hispanic and Asian Americans. This counter-intuitive statistic offers an alternative view of perceived race relations in the US.
But the question remains, just how impactful is racism on the lives of black Americans today? Thomas Sowell, an acclaimed economist and social theorist, believes that the influence of racism on success has greatly diminished. He elegantly stated, ‘Racism is not dead, but it is on life support—kept alive by politicians, race hustlers and people who get a sense of superiority by denouncing others as racists.’
In today’s political climate, we witness figures like Jasmine Crockett using derisive language, akin to the racial slurs used by white supremacists in the past. Yet, it seems the Democratic Party leaders remain notably silent on these instances of rude and divisive rhetoric emanating from their own ranks.