Yes, We Have An African-American President. What's Your Point?
By George Alexander
Black is sometimes black, and that’s that. Well, maybe. Recent news events have pulled the focus from the economy, healthcare and Iran to the horrible practice of racial profiling. On the positive side, this forces us to examine the notion of black privilege. Just what is it anyway? Does it exist at all?
For starters, it’s hard not to see that a black man with Ivy League credentials, national prominence and wealth can escape many of the ills facing black men in America today. Let’s face it, being a black man in America today—notwithstanding a black man at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue—ain’t easy.
Let’s see, where shall we begin? Black people in general, and black men specifically, are hard hit by everything from the unemployment gap, health disparities, and the HIV/AIDS crisis to the educational achievement gap, disproportionate incarceration rates, and the income/wealth gap.
It’s easy to see that blacks with higher incomes and levels of education have many advantages over less fortunate blacks when it comes to access to good schools for their kids, health insurance and the ability to live in low-crime areas with access to good quality grocery stores, with fresh fruits and vegetables.
Highlighting my point, a 2007 Pew Research Center survey indicates that African Americans see a widening gulf between the values of middle-class and poor blacks, and nearly four-in-ten say that because of the diversity within their community, blacks can no longer be thought of as a single race. So even we blacks see differences within our race.
And what we find in the recent high-profile example of racial profiling is an opportunity to examine just how far the notion of black privilege goes. The very fact that a black man could be arrested at his home for what the officer called “disorderly” conduct (though charges were dropped), underscores the point that black privilege, in spite of its inherent benefits, is still a dicey game. Are some blacks privileged? Yes. Immune to bias? Absolutely not.
Many black leaders and opinion makers, who have weighed in on the matter of Prof. Henry Louis “Skip” Gates being arrested at his Cambridge, Mass., home weeks ago, strongly contend that a white person in that situation would never have been arrested in his home after it was determined that there was no burglary or other crime being committed. It’s debatable, but I concur. This scenario happening to a white person is rather hard to imagine, given the history of racial profiling in this country.
But whatever you think about the issue, I argue that the recent Gates incident has to be examined in context of our racial radar. A new study, for example, recently reported in a story in ScienceDaily, validates the findings of the Implicit Association Test, a psychological tool created by Prof. Anthony D. Greenwald Ph.D. of the University of Washington. The test found that 70 percent of those tested have an unconscious, or implicit, preference for white people compared to blacks.
Not good.
The harsh reality is that racial bias is alive and well, rearing its head when many of us are not even aware of it. This becomes particularly tricky when you’re standing in front of a guy in blue who has a badge, a gun and preconceived notions about you. What you have are the dynamics of power coupled with—if the study’s findings are correct—intrinsic racial discrimination. No amount of privilege can necessarily combat the bias if someone is subconsciously predisposed to preferring white people, or believing that white is right.
With such latent racial attitudes, you never know when your blackness will be the issue that lands you behind bars or in the cemetery. Given the dismal fates of Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo, Oscar Grant and the countless, nameless, faceless African Americans who ended up dead at the hands of law enforcement—having committed no crime whatsoever—I don’t even want to think about it. The fact that a Boston policeman has been suspended for referring to Gates as a “jungle monkey” in an email after the widely-reported dispute, only serves to tell you what you’re dealing with here.
The fact of the matter is that blackness—well-to-do or otherwise—in America is an evolving, increasingly nuanced phenomenon. Add a black president to the mix and what you have is downright status schizophrenia on the part of some blacks. We’ve made progress. No, we haven’t. We’ve made progress. No, we haven’t. The dual nature of this reality can become confusing. What’s certain is that progress can always be put to the test. Cops are a particularly good litmus test if you’re ever confused.
Let’s see here, you’re sitting at home in your nice digs in a tony part of town watching your black president conduct a White House press conference and it makes you proud. You feel good about yourself. You feel good about America. You feel good about the world! You may even know the president and consider him a friend. You are, by all accounts, privileged.
After watching CNN or MSNBC, you enjoy a glass of organic orange juice you bought at Whole Foods. Then, you put on your $200 jogging shoes and go out for a jog in your neighborhood. At mile 2, on a route you run regularly, you’re stopped by the cops and asked if you live there.
Yes, you might be insulted, but when encountering a cop in such a situation, it’s still a good idea to err on the humble side. Chill out. The idea is to make it back home safely to your lovely wife and kids. It’s not exactly the time to show your Ivy League credentials to a man who may never have even walked on a college campus in his life, except perhaps to break up a disturbance after a Final Four game. So you will yourself to relax and remember that while it’s still not a perfect world and black privilege isn’t necessarily white privilege, you will, with any luck, probably be okay.
In other words, black privilege has limits.
Sadly, you don’t know when those limits will be put to the test. Thank, God, most encounters are not deadly. It might be a Madison Avenue store when you are followed around by a clerk (remember Oprah in Paris at Hermés? She didn’t even get in the store); it might be at a bank that steers you toward an unfavorable mortgage product despite your income or credit score; it might be at a New York co-op building whose board refuses you without explanation. It should be predictable, but it still feels cruelly random when it happens to you.
When it comes to dealing with the police, the big issue for blacks of privilege is that you can never get the idea in your head that you have “arrived.” When it comes to dealing with the police, some experts underscore the importance of always using caution.
‘It is unwise for anyone of any race to raise their voice to a law enforcement officers,” Al Vivian, who is black, told the New York Times last week. Even though there is no evidence at this point that Gates raised his voice at all, I could not agree more.
The point is that when dealing with law enforcement, privileged or not, it’s best to be prepared. That, and keeping a cool demeanor, will hopefully prevent you from ending up in the morgue.
Here’s my Black Man’s Police Survival Guide:
1.Pray.
2.Know your rights.
3.Keep your hands visible at all times.
4.Don’t argue with the police.
5.Don’t get attitudinal with the police.
6.Watch your tone of voice.
7.Don’t resist arrest.
8.Don’t curse out the police.
9.Don’t talk about the policeman’s mama.
10.Remember that less is more.
11.Smile but don’t shuffle.
12.Be polite.
13.Say “Yes, officer” and “No, officer,” but don’t shuck and jive.
14.Stay calm.
15.Avoid sarcasm.
16.Don’t say you know Barack Obama or voted for him. This is particularly the case if you are in a red state.
17.Don’t tell the cop, “You will regret this day” or “Do you know who I am?” Trust me. He doesn’t.
18.Get home safely.
George Alexander is the author of Why We Make Movies and Queens: Portraits of Black Women and Their Fabulous Hair. He also wrote the VH1 series Black in the 80s.
Originally published on The Defenders Online blog -- an online outlet of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.