In my MLK class we recently
viewed a video that documented what segregation was like in the 1960’s in the
south as well as in some northern cities. Every one of us, at one time or
another, have had to watch videos about the struggles and violence that came
along with segregation and the movement against it. We have seen documentaries
of passive African Americans being demolished by police brutality during
marches, homes and churches being burned down on a daily basis, and the
detrimental emotional effects of the Jim Crow Laws. In this particular video
there were a lot of interviews done with different activist and leaders within
the Civil Rights Movement, and with middle class white individuals. One thing
that was pointed out in class was that every time a white person spoke of the Negro
community it seemed as if there was a lot of fear in their response. My
personal understanding of why whites were so against integration with blacks
has been that they simply did not see blacks as being deserving of any natural
human rights, but my stance and central question now is; Were whites just really in fear of a black planet?
I can see why they
could have been in fear. No one likes to have their personal space invaded by outsiders
and this is because we do not initially know what they may bring to the table,
and whether their presence will have a positive or negative impact on our
personal lives. I feel as if during that time, the white community had too much
pride to admit that they were just scared of the black man, and the black
population as a whole. In these interviews from this era you here these people
talk so negatively about the Negro race, and when asked questions such as “Why don’t
you want to live amongst the Negros?” you only get responses of Negros being
dirty or not civilized enough, or too violent; all responses pointing to blacks
as being undeserving. But the fear
of integration also had a lot to do with the challenge of positional power,
that is to say, were whites in fear that blacks could actually have a fair chance at overpowering the
white community on all fronts of society. I think since the white community
held a strong position of power at the time, they thought it to be funny to
think of Negros even daring to challenge their position, or at least that is
how they played it off.
I feel as if
segregation from the “white” perspective has been rooted in the notion that
blacks could not be integrated simply because they just weren't like the “white
man” but I think there is a keen underlying notion of the fear of the unknown.
Memphis, you make a great point. I agree with you in the sense that I also believe that whites were afraid of what could happen if blacks did gain some sort of control. Black men like Booker T. Washington, and W. E. B. Dubois, and even black women like Ida B. Wells, made it evident that when given the opportunity of education and other resources, blacks could compete intellectually and on many other levels with the white man.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I disagree that they were scared of a black planet. I think it was very clear with how stubborn the south was about keeping the blacks suppressed that they would NEVER let the black man rise above the white man. I believe it was more the fear of having to SHARE social status with the people they viewed as animals. I believe the south was too full of pride to accept the fact that what they had done and were doing was wrong so they held on to the notion of these people as animals.
While reading this post and its following comment I couldn't help but reflect on one of my favorite illustrations regrading the solidification of black inferiority in the states, which regards the aftermath of the Bacon Rebellion. Just to refresh, Nathaniel Bacon, a white farmer, unified poor whites and poor blacks against the Virginia state government in the late 17th century. This served as a lesson to later white leaders and, in general, all of the powerful white men of the south, to create a boundary between poor blacks and their white counterparts. A floor needed to be set, something so low that no white man could ever touch it, to preserve the black inferiority that provided all of the benefits of slavery. Thus began the impossibly massive assault on the black psyche through constant enslavement, social degradation, and the specific legislature that put all of the power in the hands of whites.
ReplyDeleteI think that what is being discussed above, that is, the reason why so many middle class whites were pro-segregation during the civil rights movement, has a lot to do with what I have just laid out in the previous paragraph. It seems like quite a long way back to draw conclusions from, but it makes sense how, when these feelings were so deeply ingrained in the majority of whites, that they could be passed down for centuries through cultural and political relations.
I obviously don't find this funny, but I do find it amusing that the very people who brought and enslaved blacks here to America now don't want to live alongside them. If blacks are not picking their cotton or making white peoples quality of life better, why would whites want them around?
ReplyDeleteThe problem with the argument that the white people of this period that you talk about Memphis is that they fail remember that Black people and their existence here is woven into the community just like slavery use to be. Blacks are the ones who did the physical labor necessary to build this nation so it is preposterous to expect them to leave just because whites degrade them. They have been degraded all of their lives.
Wonderful topic and insight. I definitely feel that most whites opposed integration because of their obvious interpretation of blacks as filthy, unworthy, and subservient. This is a race that had controlled every aspect of black life for centuries. A race that, if it was possible, might actually enslave blacks again. The reality that blacks could be on the same playing field as them was simply foreign. I feel that this is the main reason for rejecting integration. It is definitely not hard to believe.
ReplyDeleteI, too, agree that whites were so confident in their positions and history that they did not think it was possible for blacks to surpass them. However, this does not mean that all whites completely ignored the possibility of the type of force blacks could be when united AND free.
I think that the fear of a "black planet" a major reason for the opposition to integration. Obviously, whites only saw blacks in a stereotypical manner. The stereotypes of blacks being dirty, filthy, and undeserving could've caused any white person to be fearful of blacks. Just think about it. If someone moves next door to you with the appearance of being dirty and they kept the outside of their home a mess, would you want them living next door to you? I am not saying that the stereotypes justifies their opposition to integration. However, you can see why they may have thought this way.
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