“Well,” he said,

still in a confident mood, “it’s very simple. Racism is nothing more than the belief held by white people that they are superior to people who are not white.” 

“Come again,” I said, not believing what I thought I heard him say.

“It’s not that difficult to understand, is it? But for your benefit, I’ll say it this way. Racism is white people thinking they’re better than everyone else just because they’re white,” he said, repeating himself. 

“I thought that’s what I heard you say,” I responded in disbelief.  I looked at him for a moment as we stared back at each other. C. Wright had a defiant look on his face that seemed to dare me to disagree. So, I said, “You know, C. Wright, that’s a pretty good explanation except that, (I hesitated) it has a few problems, don’t you think?” 

“No, not at all,” he said. “But you’ve clearly got a problem with it.”

“Well, yeah. I do,” I responded, wondering where to start. 

“Spit it out then,” he said, daring me to take the bait.

“Okay, for starters, your definition puts the whole blame of racism on white people. You can’t do that. Because when you say it like that, you make it look as if only white people are racist,” I said, more like I blurted it out.

“That’s exactly what it means!” he exclaimed.

I countered in disbelief, “You gotta be kidding me, right?”

“Nope,” he said, shaking his head, “not at all.”  

“So you’re telling me that 

White people are solely to blame for racism?

 

Am I getting this right?” I asked.

“Not only am I telling you that my friend, but the dictionaries and the historical record will tell you the exact same thing,” he answered with passion, and paused for effect. He continued with a fervor that was building, “White people are responsible for creating racism, practicing racism, teaching racism, and maintaining racism.

And furthermore,” he added, as he was now insistent “they are the only people in the history of the world to do it. Black people have never done it, brown people have never done it, nor have yellow people.

Nowhere in the historical record can you or anyone else point to a time and a place where black people, yellow people, or brown people expressed that they were superior to others who were not either black, yellow, or brown.

Only those people who classify themselves as white-skinned have made the claim that they are superior to others solely because of their skin color being white.” 

“If what you say is true, C. Wright, then how have they done it,” I asked. 

“How have they done it?” he repeated as if he were surprised by the question. “Man,” he said shaking his head. “Now, you gotta be kidding me.” 

He moved closer to me and said, “I don’t know where you’ve been or if you’ve had your head under a rock somewhere, because it’s as plain as daylight.  They’ve done it in their writings, through their educational systems, through their political systems, through their religions, their court systems, their police systems, their economic system, social systems and military systems,” he declared, with a glare in his eyes. 

I could tell that he was relishing this moment. But the fact of the matter is he was making some very good points which were difficult to refute. I had read several world history books over the course of my life, and so, I quickly rummaged around my memory trying to recollect a case where anyone other than white people had claimed to be superior because of their skin color. 

The only things I came up with were the Egyptians who claimed they were superior to everyone around them, but their claim was due to their superior culture not because of their black skin. I recalled that the Japanese claimed they were superior because of their culture and of their religion, Shintoism, not because of their skin color. The same could be said of the Hebrews who claimed a superior religion but not the superiority of skin color. It was true, too, that Indians had never made such a claim either. I searched through my mind in hopes of finding a case to disprove what he had said, but at the time, 

I was coming up blank.

 

As I had mentally wandered off, C. Wright continued talking. When I returned from my psychological break from the conversation, I heard him saying, “White people don’t claim they are superior because of any achievements or accomplishments either, you know. Their claim is without any merit whatsoever. The poorest white person,” he continued, “without even a GED in hand, believes themselves to be superior to every black person regardless of the educational level achieved. And even those of us with advanced degrees and a mountain of experience are seen as less than them simply because our skin is black.” 

As he continued to talk, I looked at C. Wright as if 

 He had completely lost his mind.

 

I could not believe that this relatively intelligent man, whom I did respect despite our occasional differences, was saying what I had just heard him say. I couldn’t believe it and I was infuriated with him. 

“C. Wright,” I said, interrupting him in a calm voice, “if you believe that, do you know what that means? It means that you are a racist.”

“What?! Are you listening?” he exclaimed, in utter disbelief. “Let’s back up a minute,” he said. “I think we need to get a few things straight before we unintentionally confuse some of our people here on the topic.”

“What do you have in mind?” I asked puzzled.

“Point number one, I cannot be a racist and neither can any other black person,” he said. “And that includes you,” he added. 

I noticed he said that with a straight face and responded, “And, you think that black people cannot be racist? Is that right?” 

 “Black people can be racist,

 

meaning we, or anyone for that matter, possess the ability or potential to be racist. The fact of the matter, however, is we have not been racist either in rhetoric or in practice. I thought I already made this clear. I would think that from the definition of racism it was obvious. But to answer your question directly, no, black people are not racist,” he exclaimed with defiance.

I was having a hard time accepting this, and it must have shown on my face because C. Wright offered to clear it up for me.

“If you listened to the definition of racism, which I revealed earlier,” he said, “you would know this. It’s something that white people do exclusively. Based on that single piece of information, you can’t possibly formulate a reasonable thought that any black person could be racist. The history of the concept in terms of its origins and its historical practice by white people refutes any notion that black people have been racist in the past or that we are racist now. I really thought we had already covered this point. What am I doing here, spinning my wheels?” he asked.  At that point, C. Wright fumbled through his books again and pulled out a couple of books. He put his glasses back on and turned the pages in one of them and said, “I don’t want you to take my word for it or to think that I’m just making this up. All the credible social scientists are clear on this. This is what Dr. Claud Andersen who was the Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Department of Commerce under President Jimmy Carter says about this very point in his book, PowerNomics: The National Plan to Empower Black America,

‘Black people cannot be racists. No group of Blacks has the power or exclusive control of resources to the degree that they can educationally, politically, economically and socially exploit and marginalize the White race. Blacks can only react to racism and try to alter the conditions that racism creates.’” 

He then turns to the page of another book and said, “Here is what Dr. Paula Rothberg who wrote and taught extensively on racism and sexism for decades says about the matter in her book, Racism and Sexism: An Integrated Study, 

‘Racism involves the subordination of people of color by white people While an individual person of color may discriminate against white people or even hate them, his or her behavior or attitude cannot be called “racist”…racism requires something more than anger, hatred, or prejudice; at the very least, it requires prejudice plus power. The history of the world provides us with a long record of white people holding power and using it to maintain that power and privilege over people of color, not the reverse.’”

 I could see his point. It was beginning to make sense. I opened my mouth to say something, but he waved me off and kept going.

“Point number two, based on your reaction to what I’ve said about the meaning of racism,” he continued, “you have just admitted that you really don’t understand racism. 

Right now, probably for the first time in your life, you’re grappling with facing the facts about it. I suspect that you and most black people know that what I’m saying is true. 

 But the problem is you have accepted the lies

 

this racist system has fed you about racism over the last 40 years.” 

“Oh, is that so?” I said, feigning shock. “And what is it, in your humble opinion, Mr. Will. C. Wright, that I and the rest of our black people have been fed about racism for the last 40 years? Do tell,” I said sarcastically. 

“It’s simple,” he began. “You’ve bought into the illusion of inclusion.”

“The what?” I asked a little baffled.

“The illusion of inclusion,” he repeated. 

“Will. C, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said.

“Bear with me for a minute or two,” he said. “The illusion of inclusion is this. After what is called the Civil Rights era, the period of the1960s and early 1970s is when so-called racial integration took place with the schools. You agree with me on that, right?” he asked.

I nodded my head in agreement.

“At the end of that period, we, and I mean black people, bought into the idea that racism had ended or at least we believed that it had been given a fatal blow and was on its deathbed. At the time too many of us thought that the brutal past of enslavement and second-class citizenship we had experienced was finally over. We also thought that the white power structure and white people for the most part were sincere in their effort to turn a new page in the book of the American nightmare of racism. We thought we were waking up to a new and brighter day and we were entering a period of blissful racial color blindness.” 

I couldn’t help but interrupt to say, “You have to admit, don’t you, that this picture you paint was in fact the reality. The country was trying to move in a better direction. Agreed?”

“Yes, I agree” he said. “You’re right. There was an attempt, at least in many parts of the country, to move forward from a grim and grisly racial past. And this makes my point about the illusion of inclusion. We bought into the idea of finally being included in the so-called American dream. We believed that at last we were being included and we were now stepping in our rightful place of a well-earned and well-deserved position paid for with the blood, sweat and tears of our ancestors.” 

“What’s the problem?” I asked. “Am I missing something?” 

 C. Wright rolled his eyes at me 

as if to say, “you just don’t get it.” 

“Gimme a break,” I said. “By your own admission, the country had moved beyond racism, and we were being integrated into the system as equals. I remember that period, too, you know. I remember,” I said with emphasis.

“Then you’ll remember there was a time when it came to an end, too,” he said. “And the end happened right at the beginning of the feel-good moment. Only problem is most of our people didn’t get the memo. You remember that, too?” he asked. 

I knew what he was talking about, and it was unavoidable I suppose. I don’t know how he knew but I could tell by the way he looked at me. He knew that I knew precisely what he meant because he then said. 

“I see it in your eyes, man. You know,” he spoke in a calm voice. “You know exactly what happened. And that means you also know that the idea—that notion of inclusion— turned out to be nothing but an illusion.”  

The circumstances surrounding what Will C. Wright was dredging up about the landscape of racism over the last forty to fifty years was not pleasant. It was as though he had stuck a knife into an unhealed wound, but that wasn’t enough for him. He began twisting the knife with what he said next.

“You know it was…”