The issue of racial
bias is an unfortunate truth of society today. In his “Letter to Birmingham
Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. presents this issue concisely by discussing the
overt inequality between blacks and whites in America during the period of
segregation. Skin color plays a large part in how many people think of others,
and socially perpetuated stereotypes about people of color contribute to a
system of organized oppression by attributing their struggles to character
flaws inherent to their race. This idea is prevalent in Albert Wendt’s Sons for the Return Home, as the Samoan
minority in New Zealand is looked down upon by the papalagi majority. The main
character is hyperaware of this, as he experiences racism in school, where
acceptance for him is conditional on excellence, and his less accomplished
brother is harassed by other students and insulted by the principal (Wendt 14).
When he faces his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend at a party, he sees the
consequences of “the racist myth of black virility”: the other man fears the
possibility that he is inadequate compared to the people whom he sees as
inferior, and “the Maoris and other minority groups [have] to pay for it”
because the majority denounces them as nymphomaniacs (Wendt 125). This myth is
evident in American culture as well – it is illustrated clearly in Harper Lee’s
To Kill a Mockingbird, when the black
man Tom Robinson is convicted for the rape of a white girl despite evidence that
she had initiated the intercourse. Despite his innocence, he is condemned by
racial stereotypes. And this phenomenon is not restricted to fiction: African
Americans are more than three times as likely to be arrested for possession of
marijuana that whites, even though the rate of marijuana use is roughly the
same between the two groups. The consequences of racial bias
are very real to minority groups.
In his preface to Nuanua,
Wendt discusses post-colonial literature as a retaliation against the
biases set in place by colonialism. He points out that despite the view of
colonizers that indigenous peoples are “hapless victims and losers in the
process of cultural contact and interaction… our cultures have survived and
adapted when we were expected to die, vanish, under the influence of supposedly
stronger superior cultures” (Nuanua 3).
This superiority complex of colonialists is the primary source of biases
against minorities – they assume that natives are inferior and thus reject their
cultures. In “Ngati Kangaru,” Patricia Grace turns this concept on its head.
She illustrates the absurdity of the colonial mindset of superiority by
reversing the roles of the natives and the settlers. She even goes so far as to
have Billy use the same language as colonial writers. It is striking how
unrealistic the scenario is from this perspective, because it forces readers to
acknowledge the fact that the conquest which was effortless for white
colonialists is impossible for Maori people reclaiming their homeland. The way
the vacationers simply back down, with no means of retaliation, and the lack of
attention from the media regarding the matter are distinctly unrealistic, even
though the Maoris experienced this, because of an ingrained sense of
entitlement which prevails in white society and originates in the era of
imperialism. “Ngati Kangaru” is unsettling because it brings to the forefront
of the reader’s attention the latent assumptions about race which generally
occupy the back of one’s mind.
Service at Tunbridge
definitely brings these issues to light. One of the first things that I noticed
is that, though the majority of the student body is black, I have yet to
encounter a single non-white teacher. I doubt that this power structure was
intentional, but it stands out to me as an example of the unquestioned
systematic discrimination which exists in our society. People rarely
acknowledge these mundane power dynamics, but I cannot help but consider the
possible implications they have on the minorities facing them. How must young,
black, aspiring teachers feel when they realize that they have never seen
someone of their color in their desired field? I also recall a conversation I
had with my roommate, who lives locally, after my first day of service. Having noticed
posters around the school advertising a college essay contest and proclaiming “It’s
never too soon to start thinking about college!” I commented that I couldn’t
believe elementary schoolers were expected to consider college – “They deserve time
to just be kids,” I said. My roommate simply pointed out that without these
reminders, most of those students would never believe they could go to college.
It was jarring to be made so suddenly aware of my own privilege – I was always
expected to pursue higher education, and throughout my life I had access to
support which I had come to take for granted. For me, the pressure to prepare
for college was constant, and as such I came to consider it a hassle, but for
many students of color college is a lofty ideal far beyond their reach. I feel
that this realization deepened my appreciation for the work Tunbridge does to
provide education and motivation for these students, and I hope to continue to
develop an understanding of people from different backgrounds than mine.
Incarceration Statistics from: http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Race_and_Prison#sthash.NqNYQr8c.dpbs
No comments:
Post a Comment