Race Relations: We Are All One Race

Even though resentment and anger abound in certain segments of our population, a transracial society is not only desirable, but possible. Everyone is the same color underneath their skin, proving we are all one race; the human race. One of the biggest obstacles to improving race relations is the refusal, by some people, to let go of the past.

William Faulkner, who was greatly influenced by black household servant Caroline “Mammy Callie” Barr while growing up (Davis, 2006), wrote; “The past is never dead. It's not even past" (1951). Not having read Faulkner’s Requiem for a Nun, I don’t know the context for that phrase; however, it is certainly a truism that has implications in regard to race relations in the United States today. Until black people can overcome their pain and anger over the injustices of American life prior to the last half century; and until white people can overcome their resentment over the reverse racism which has occurred through things like affirmative action, it is going to be very difficult to move forward as a country.

As far as race relations go, the past should be given a decent burial and commemorated by a commitment to allow it to decay into dust. The problem is that people want to resurrect the past; consequently, it is kept alive like some mortified zombie that feeds on the raw emotions of those who refuse to leave the gravesite. Are resentments and anger valid on the parts of both parties, white and black? Of course. Each group has reasons to feel the way they do; but the solution isn’t to hold on to those feelings and attitudes as if they are embedded in the very genetics that give our skin various shades of brown from the very light to the very dark. The answer is to feel it, understand it, forgive it, and let it go! It is extremely counterproductive, as well as unhealthy, to continue reliving the past.

Maybe it’s unrealistic to expect people to be “color blind,” but we can approach that state through education and media that celebrates our “sameness” rather than our differences. It’s the coming together of black, white, yellow, and red that creates a beautiful mosaic of culture and wholeness. As a society of all kinds of shapes, sizes, and colors, we can be still be individuals and yet one in purpose. We can maintain our distinctiveness while still being unified. It’s going to take time, but it’s possible. Let’s start by referring to ourselves as Americans; not African-Americans, not Euro-Americans, not Whatever-Hyphen-Americans; just Americans. And we can begin by changing our own attitudes and letting the effect ripple across our culture.

References

Davis, T. (2006). Faulkner 101: The South and the Fury. Retrieved from http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/Faulkner-101-Race-in-the-Novels-of-William-

Faulkner, W. (1951). Requiem for a Nun. Act 1, Scene 3.