King's Theory of Racism: An Essay
King’s
Theory of Racism is one that is often overlooked. The theory of racism
accurately encompasses every experience of a black person in a white
supremacist world. We tend to see Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a reverend, a
conservative activist, and a promoter for unity rather than a radical or a
philosopher. In his theory of racism, he lays out three components which are
irrational fears, sociopolitical, and cognitive and empathetic failures. These
not only serve as a why but also a how. Why is there racism and racial
domination with whites acting as the dominators at this era and how can this treatment
be broken. If we separate King, the philosopher, from his popular image we are
left with a deeper understanding of racism and how it is reinforced not only by
whites during the time but also government institutions. King’s theory of
racism can help us analyze even the smallest of actions by white supremacists
and evaluate the successes of resistance and activism by blacks while
understanding their downfalls. The ideas King presents aren’t completely
radical compared to other black activists, but they do support his belief that
education is what can help fight racism. This essay seeks to examine evidence
that supports Kings theory of racism and to present how activists tried to
overcome racism with education and more radical activism.
Irrational
fears are at the heart of white supremacy and may even be the foundation of
which it thrives. King’s theory details the irrational fears of white losing
economic or social standing, contamination, being unable to predict the future,
revenge and retaliation by blacks on whites and strange psychoses and peculiar
cases of paranoia. (Boston Review) It should be noted that King may not have
meant irrational in a sense of whites being ludicrous to believe such a thing
would happen but probably that fair standing and “contamination”, assuming it
means integration, is something that could be normal. King doesn’t philosophize
black equality meaning that blacks will cast revenge over whites or whites will
become sick at integration but that the future he sees is one where total
equality among the two races are a norm. In different periods of history,
irrational fears are always subtly present which heavily supports King’s
theory. The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) sought to change the
narrative of history and fight the course the present was taking. Through the
efforts of erecting the Mammy Monument in the D.C. Mall, a fear of black women
taking on a higher economic status is shown, it would something that threatened
white supremacy and more specifically the white female supremacists. It sought
to diminish the social standing of black women and ensure that it would only
rise if black women were the servants of white families. The role of the white
female supremacists can be examined even further on a broader scale. In 1924,
the UDC’s long time historian, Mildred Lewis Rutherford, created titled Miss Rutherford’s Scrap Book: Valuable
Information About the South. This book justifies secession and segregation
as much as her other work. (Case, 2002) Although, this particular book pushes
for a committee to be formed to change the narrative around the South. It
details the “Effect of Slavery” which shows slavery as being good for the black
race and teaching them things such as discipline, livelihood, obedience,
courtesy, and manners. (Rutherford, 1923) It could be argued that this push to
try and present slavery as a favor to the black race is a result of an
irrational fear of revenge and rebellion. It could be assumed because of the
time period that women who shared this same thought or internalized fear we’re
teachers. They were ones who would spread this same thought to white children
creating a newer generation that develops similar irrational fears. To
counteract this, Carter Woodson campaigned for a Black History Week. Since this
is a move to counter the narrative of the white washing of history, it shows
that not only is the UDC’s act upholds King’s first component in the Theory of
Racism, but it also shows that an understanding of it can be proved useful to
the success of activism, thus supporting the idea that education can
successfully fight racism.
Sociopolitical may be one of the most powerful
components to take into consideration when resisting against the government’s
institutions. This one is a bit more interesting because it refutes the idea that
America is the symbol of freedom and equality and only has a few racists. It
presents that America is quite the opposite and because of white resentment,
the nation is crippled. An idea that can be drawn from this is that the
democratic spirit is one that maintains hope and wisdom. Democracy is an ideal
that promoted equal representation among the population. If one doesn’t
contribute to the democracy and exercise a right such as voting due to a belief
that the white supremacist world is permanent or meant to be, then every cause
and resistance is pointless. It can be assumed that if one does not exercise
their natural right of equal representation then they are deeming any other
efforts pointless because they are giving into the natural order of the white
supremacist world. It shows a lack of democratic spirit and chips away at the
efforts for true democracy and equality. This thought aligns with King’s
account that a submissive black person is one that unfortunately accepts and endures
domination if we see those who don’t contribute to the democracy due to
thinking the discriminatory structure is permanent. Activism big or small can
transform a black person into a co-creator and co-contributor to a democratic
society thus unlocking a nature of hope and wisdom. This thought can be seen
with Joe Louis using his platform and transforming into a political
activist. Once on the main stage he was
set out to make a political speech. A citizen named Malcolm Edwards writes a public
letter to Louis telling him not to speak on the premises that “the Negro race
is concerned it makes little difference which side wins…Whichever side wins, we
are a race that will still be forced to live in definite localities; we will
still be the first fired and the last to be hired; we will still be lynched in
the southland without a federal law protecting us; there will still be public
places where we cannot enter or be served; we will still receive last
consideration in everything.” (Edwards, 1940) In King’s Why We Can’t Wait (1964), he says that “The nation had come to
count on the Negro as a creature who could quietly endure, silently suffer and
patiently wait”. In the public letter to Louis, we see Edwards act just as the
Negro King says the nation counts on and the Negro that King describes in his
Theory of Racism. If there is one, and even some, who departs from the model of
the theory, falls in line with the components and resists the resistance, what
makes the difference? How there still be change and activism? Activism comes
with change. Creating a movement allows for the masses to join and create any
sort of change. A movement exercises the freedom of democracy and breaks the
stigma in the sociopolitical world.
The
last component is that racism stems from cognitive and empathetic failures.
This means that the all practices enforcing and reaffirming racism such as
segregation, discrimination, and political subordination reasserts the arrogant
belied of racial domination. It’s a dismissive attitude that holds an idea of
“inferior races” not being an asset of society and can be identified through
stereotypes, narratives, and stigmas. This section will examine blacks serving
for the U.S. Military during WWII and how it not only fights against the belief
that blacks couldn’t contribute to society. The
Negro Soldier written by Carlton Moss and the representation of black
soldiers challenges the irrational fears and the cognitive and empathetic
failures while proving blacks to be an asset to the U.S. In this film, we see
integration and black soldiers being able to obtain promotions within their
units. We see the racial hierarchy challenged with black soldiers leading white
soldiers. This is significant because it could be considered educating society
in an activist. It encourages blacks to go into war which would make them a
part of the democracy. When it was shown to black solders in San Diego in 1944,
it was expected that a riot would break out, but it did not. This one moment
alone proves stereotypes to be untrue. Black soldiers were inspired and
empowered. Black service allowed the opportunity to be educated on areas where
segregation doesn’t exist which could be used to further resistance and promote
activism.
King’s
Theory of Racism is the basis for understanding the downfall of the nation
since its conception through the long civil rights movements and arguably,
today. It provides the simple explanation for how racism in whites are
manifested and continuously reinforced. It gives an outline for black
activists, those who identify as one and those who actions prove them to be. In
any instance, acts of racism can be traced back to King’s Theory of Racism. It
is rhetoric for identifying the roots of racism, the roots of activism, and
even the roots of those who couldn’t be bothered with either. Arguably any
activism in relation to King’s Theory of Racism is a success, not always
because of direct success but because it’s a stepping stone for the black race
and the idea of democracy.
Works
Cited
Archives, US National, director. YouTube. YouTube, YouTube, 22 Jan. 2013,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dln2dQyLNVU.
Case, Sarah H. “The Historical Ideology of
Mildred Lewis Rutherford: A Confederate Historian's New South Creed.” The Journal of Southern History, vol.
68, no. 3, Aug. 2002, pp. 599–628.
Edwards, Malcolm. “A Public Letter to Joe
Louis.” The Chicago Defender, 9 Nov.
1940, pp. 14–14.
Rutherford, Mildred Lewis. Miss Rutherford's Scrap Book: Valuable
Information about the South. Vol. 5, Rutherford, 1923.
Terry, Brandon M., et al. Fifty Years since MLK. Boston Review, 2018.
Amazing...
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