Faith in Action

By now many of you have heard or seen Michael Richards’ (Kramer from Seinfeld) racist rant at The Laugh Factory in L.A.  While I’m sure it would boost my site visits, I refuse to post the video of what happened on my blog.  It was sheer hatred and revealed to some (and confirmed for many more) that the racist spirit is still vibrant and well.  Feel free to view the video at sites like youtube.com and tmz.com. 

The abbreviated detailed account for those who haven’t seen the video yet is that while performing a stand up comedy bit in L.A.; Michael Richards started getting heckled by at least one African American man.  At some point during the heckling; Richards snaps and says to the heckler, “Shut Up!  Fifty years ago we’d have you upside down with a [expletive] fork up your [expletive].”  He then proceeds to repeatedly call the man a nigger saying, “Look everyone, there’s a nigger!”  The crowd eventually got up and walked out while Richards slipped off the stage. He was on David Letterman’s show via satellite shortly thereafter and offered an apology for his actions.  His good friend Seinfeld arranged the interview and thought that Richards deserved a chance to apologize.  The strange thing is that while he was apologizing and explaining himself; the studio audience was laughing.  What a strange reaction to such a serious issue.  Furthermore, what a puzzling venue for an apology to primarily African American people.  I seriously doubt if Dave Letterman’s show is the right place to speak to the masses of people of African descent.  I can assure you that on our shows there would be no laughter from the crowd.  An interesting exercise at this time would be to compare the reaction to Mel Gibson’s anti-Semitic comments with the yet unfolding reaction of Michael Richards’ racist comments.  While the ripples are yet flowing concerning Richards’ comments; I’m interested to see what the reaction of mainstream media will be and even more importantly what the reaction of African American leaders will be.  My gut feeling is that there will be some stark contrasts. 

While this disgusting episode of American pop culture is shocking; it’s not surprising.  Dr. W.E.B. DuBois said long ago that the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line.  That quote holds true, obviously, in the twenty first century as well.  The issue of race is just as taboo today in popular American dialogue as it ever was.  American society pretends that it’s a dead and resolved issue, but episodes like this prove otherwise.  While earning my degree in Psychology from Morgan State University; I remember coming across a quote that said, “feelings buried alive never die.”  We saw the manifestation of this just a few weeks ago when a man who was still wrestling with his demons from years ago took out his rage on young girls in an Amish community school house.  We can pretend that things are fine, but every now and then the demons/unresolved issues that reside below the surface of our psyche erupt to the fragile scene of human interaction. 

The damage from Kramer’s comments is far reaching.  It doesn’t affect me personally because I define myself based on my understanding of how The Almighty God views and values me.  I must admit, however, that as a man of African descent in America, I can’t help but to look at some smiling White faces and wonder what they’re really calling me in their head.  Does this reveal my captivity to their perception of me?  I’m not sure, but what I do know is that these episodes help perpetuate long held perceptions among my people toward the dominating society.  This reinforces many things that my elders taught me (verbally or behaviorally) about how to survive in a country upheld by a white power structure. 

This won’t be the last disgusting public episode.  The faces, situation, and/or location will change, but the issue won’t.  Racism will live long and strong until America finds the strength to confront its demons.  The demons that remind us that even the land we live on is stolen land and the original inhabitants live on reservations in squalor.  The demons that remind us that many of the institutions that we see in our society today were slave holding institutions.  These and many other demons are awaiting the challenge of confrontation.

For those of us who have read Derrick Bell we remember his position that racism is so ingrained in the fabric of America that it has garnered a permanent position in the culture.  Perhaps it was this permanency that prompted Randall Robinson to “quit America”…or pushed Robert Guthrie to write Even the Rat was White…or compelled Dr. Frances Cress Welsing to write The Isyss Papers…or inspired David Walker to write his Appeal…get the point?  Don’t get caught up on Kramer.  He’s just another actor in the long going saga of unresolved racial issues in America.