Race, Ethnicity, and the United States

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Pastor McPherson’s perspective on color is that human beings are all the same irrespective of their skin color. McPherson posits that there is no difference between white, black, and brown people as their genetic makeup is 99% identical. He puts forth that ethnicity is a social construct and that only one ethnicity exists; the human race. McPherson says that it is human beings that came up with the concept of color and that we are more alike than we are different. He insists that to overcome the racial divide that exists in our culture, we should first understand the potential for unity and the nature of the division. McPherson’s perspective on color ties to the story of the Jesus being fed water by the well by a Samaritan woman. McPherson recognizes that while humans are the same, there are some aspects about our division that we cannot ignore. Like Jesus, McPherson’s sees the varying color of human beings, but that does not change his perspective about our interaction as humans. Jesus was a Jew, but he went ahead to request for water from a Samaritan. The Samaritan woman was surprised and even asked how is that he asked for a drink, as Jews were known to have no dealings with Samaritans. These two groups had a longstanding, fierce and pervasive hatred between them that dated back to the patriarchy within the Christian faith. The hatred ensued after 43, 000 Israelites were taken into captivity in Babylon and later allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the land which had been occupied by Samaritans. The Samaritans refused repatriation of land against their will, and in turn the Jews detested the religion and culture of Samaritans, referring to them as half-breeds and dogs.

There is no doubt that I have encountered racist expressions in my life. While interacting with different people of different races, I have come across comments and phrases that come off as offensive. One of the expressions is eenie meenie miney moe. The expression emanates from a longer version of the children’s play song and is considered offensive. The shortened version comes from a similar phrase that is a bit older; where nigger replaces tiger which is a counting song. Basically, the expression is used as a way to eliminate each other in a game of dice. Growing up, I got used to hearing this phrase especially when playing as kids. Another expression that is common is the term nigger. I have grown up hearing people use this word in their dialect despite it being deemed an offensive racial slur. Another expression that I have encountered in my personal life is the phrase black don’t crack. While the phrase is used as a positive expression of pride for people of color, it is still considered racist when white people use it. I favor my racial in-group in numerous ways. For instance, I feel it is okay for people of color to call each other the n-word, while I find it offensive for a white person to call a black person the same. Similarly, I find it offensive for white people to use the phrase black do not crack as opposed to when a black person uses it. Also, another way in favor of my racial group is that I do not feel very much offended when a black person tells me I am not good enough as opposed to when the remark comes from a white person.

I believe I do not have any racial blind spots when it comes to race. Even the results of the IAT implicit test support this assertion. The results describe me as “having an automatic preference for African Americans over European Americans,” which informs my position on racial blind spots. I think my childhood best friend is best placed to tell whether I have any racial blind spots because she has been with me for majority of my life. Having grown up together and attending the same schools meant that we were always around each other. She knows me more than anybody else, and if there is any person who can reveal my blind spots it would be me.

The time racial blind spots hurt me was a time at a social gathering when someone commented that I was not black enough because I am mixed and hence I am not alive to the full struggles of people of color. This was not the first time to go through the experience and it is nothing out of the ordinary. It is absurd that there are classifications of color and people think that when one is brown, white people will see them as less black, which is far from the truth. One of the nine blind spots I have encountered is the second one in the text; I claim all people are equal, but in my heart, I believe that my ethnicity is superior to others. I have lived the reality depicted in this statement countless times particularly with white people. While some of them will claim to believe in equality of all races, their actions say something else. They act as if they are the superior race just because they are white.

The people whose opinions are different from mine when it comes to matters of race are conservatives and particularly white people. I say this because, in most cases, I have never encountered unequal treatment from black people. It is always the people that are not liberated that will have lots of negative things to say. I cannot say I harbor negative feelings toward them. I try not to hold it against them, but I am shocked by their viewpoints and barbaric mentality in this day and age. The one thing that needs to be communicated so as to bring our hearts closer is that we are more alike than we are different. Just like McPherson’s put it, DNA shows that the races that we think we belong to go deeper than we think. Only one race exists, and that is the human race.

My thoughts about race and ethnicity have always been clear; that all human beings are the same. It does not matter where we come from or what our DNA might say, we are all human beings. I have always maintained that race is a social construct hell-bent on keeping people divided along racial lines. I am alive of the fact that some people, particularly conservative racists, might have a different opinion from mine. While this stance might offend them, it does not change the fact that it is my truth. In my quest to learn more about varying viewpoints concerning race, I would like to have a dialogue with Asian Americans so that I can get their perspective on the race factor in society.

One practice that I have that can hinder me from honoring or knowing the people that are different from me is generalizing and making assumptions. I will admit that I have this bias particularly when dealing with conservatives that they are racists. I used to think that conservatives particularly from the south are the same; racists. But with time, I have let go of this mentality as a result of interacting with them and knowing that there is more to what meets the eye than what I see. Nowadays, I try as much as possible to avoid making generalizations, as I know that not all people are the same. I have learned the culture of appreciating all groups of people regardless of their ethnicity and background. I now realize that people have different abilities and are unique in their own way, and this has nothing to do with race. I can say that my perspective has shifted a lot after interacting with people of various ethnic backgrounds, including Latinos, Hispanics, and Asians. I understand cultures are diverse and so are people and that above all, human beings are the same.

I carried a lot of lessons from Miles McPherson’s book The Third Option. To start with, I have learned to be more appreciative of people of all races. I have learned that race is a social construct that society came up with by themselves. Before any race, we are human beings first. I have also learned about the biases that exist in matters of racial blind spots. I have learned about the issues that brown skin people experience in society. On the one hand, their black counterparts consider them as advantaged and assume they receive better treatment from white people because they are not as black. On the other hand, white people rarely view them as white because according to them they are still white irrespective of being brown skin. This just paints a picture of the extent of racism in society. I have also learned we are all mixed races to some degree as a result of living in a society with immigrants, which makes it rare to find an American that is ethically pure.