At the heart of reverse racism

How has Reverse Racism impacted the way certain people see the world?

Reverse racism, or the concept that portrays affirmative action as anti-white racism, ignites a great deal of dialogue today. Some of the questions around this idea are: Does social status have an impact on someone’s belief of this topic and can a person of color (POC) truly believe they are superior in the sense of social power? Finally, and maybe most importantly, is reverse racism real?

What role does reverse racism play on the relations between blacks and whites? People are very afraid to confront this topic head on, but we as a people must accept the fact that everyone’s opinion matters. No matter who you are, or how uneducated your opinion is, your opinion is valued and should be heard. With this topic in hand, I believe that the idea of reverse racism definitely creates its tensions between the two races. However, I believe that this topic hasn’t been regularly brought up in the recent years as much as it should be, because this idea has truly only been created and popularized by social media in the last decade. All in all, it is something that definitely stands as a divider of the Black and White community. Do I believe it is real? Well, let’s get into that.

What Reverse racism is to others

I interviewed Sam McKenzie Jr, a freelance writer in Baltimore, MD, who has written over 80 essays on race and has a great perspective on what reverse racism really means. His writing is phenomenal and truly encapsulates what it means to be a black person in today's society. This is what he had to say about the topic:

First off, can you distinguish the difference between racism and reverse racism?

Racism has three definitions per Merriam Webster which is the most comprehensive and up to date on racism. Racism is the belief that a race is superior, it is a political and social system, and it is racial prejudice and discrimination.

Why do you believe the term reverse racism was created?

People coined the term “reverse racism” as a response to affirmative action and the overt responses to counter white supremacy. It may be as old as the 50s and 60s. The term appears in a few dictionaries, some authoritative dictionaries, but it is not in Merriam-Webster which is the most comprehensive in its definition of racism. Dictionaries add new words every year. Since reverse racism is not in all English dictionaries, despite its length of use, it suggests that some English scholars doubt it is a distinguishable word.

Do you believe a POC’s social status may have an impact on what they believe reverse racism is and their reality of racism?

If one definition of racism is a political and social order, then right now it is impossible for POCs to operate any reverse racism since POCs do not control political and social systems.

But, even if reverse racism is real, are we supposed to believe only POCs can be reverse racists? White people in the dominant group can also be critical of whiteness and oppose whiteness. Can the dominant group be racist against itself and it still be reversed? If there is a political and social order of reverse racism, white people operate it, which contradicts parts of the term.

What experiences do you believe may have occurred in an individual’s life that makes him/her believe that people of African descent can or may be racist?

POCs can be racist, under two definitions of racism, if they believe in the superiority of their race, or if they hold racial prejudice or discriminate. White people have experienced racial prejudice and discrimination from POCs, although in a recent survey about discrimination 55% of white people believe there’s anti-white discrimination, but less than 20% said they’ve experienced anti-white discrimination. Most whites who say they’ve experienced anti-white discrimination were those in the lower income brackets. https://www.npr.org/2017/10/24/559604836/majority-of-white-americans-think-theyre-discriminated-against

Do you believe that POC can truly have the mindset that Caucasians are/can be inferior in the sense of social power?

Yes, POCs could hold the belief that Caucasians are inferior with and related to social power.

Finally, do you believe reverse racism is real?

As a political and social system, reverse racism is an impossibility - if reverse racism comes from non-dominant groups - because POCs do not control political and social systems. If white people enact “reverse racism” on themselves as the controllers of social and political systems, we could consider that an auto-correction. Affirmative action, inclusion, and the selective exclusion of whites are not reverse racism because those policies and initiatives do not convey racial superiority or inferiority.

One definition of reverse racism per the Oxford dictionary is “antagonism toward the dominant group.” Again, the dominant group can critique itself. Critiques can happen within a dominant group. If critiques happen within a dominant group those critiques are not toward a dominant group since the critiques are internal. As a Black person, I distinguish critiques of whiteness, as a superior social construct that America defined, from critiques of white individuals in general. “Reverse racism” should be a verbal phrase that’s a call-to-action to end racism.

What I've learned in my research of reverse racism

Through my extensive research, I've come to the conclusion that there is no conclusion. When I say this, I mean that even if we believe that there is a definitive answer to this long discussed debate, there will always be people on the left or right supporting either side. At the end of the day, the main thing we can conclude is that racism as a whole seems to be something that won’t go away for a long time. Instead of trying to find the root of all racism, I believe we should be trying to find the root of the solution. I believe that root lies within the youth.

As each generation matures, there is a great impression that is left by the adults of the previous generation. When adults put sick, twisted thoughts into these children's minds, we start to realize that in order to make a change, we must start the change somewhere. I truly believe that if we were to get rid of the negative connotations that we have towards some races, slowly we would be able to change the direction in which this world is going. That's why I believe that at GWC HSES students are advancing the furthest and accepting the most. The environment that the school creates for its students is welcoming and calming, which allows people to get out of their comfort zone and experience new things without the fear of ridicule or contempt. People of all colors are accepted here, which is why it is so diverse in its student population.

In the future, I would like to investigate deeper into the topics of race and it's impacts on not only America, but the world.