By Editor, RetireTheChief

Rac•ism, n. 1. the idea that one's own race is superior. 2. a policy or practice based on such an idea. 3. discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of another race.
Institutionalized racism, n. Racism that has become part of the normal behavior of people within an organization.¹

Chief Illiniwek is a racist symbol.

What? A bit harsh, perhaps? No, not really.

There are several obstacles that stand in the way of recognizing and acknowledging that the Chief is, in fact, racist. The first is what is often meant by racism, and how that definition has (wrongly) overlooked the Chief. Another is blindness to the racism that is around us. And, finally, how something can be racist without intending that it be so (which makes it no less racist).

Racism means ...

A problem with raising the "R" word is our severe reaction to it. Racism is seen as "remote and extreme"², and mention of it provokes strong reactions on all sides. One study found that not only was racism one of "the major barriers to improving communications," but use of the word racism "seemed to disable dialogue between the American Indian and non-Indian participants."³

The thought that we are - or are associated with something that is - racist is appalling and offensive to most people. This results, in part, from our narrow interpretations of the issue.

• "racism is seen as an absolute - either you're infected, or you're not"⁴
• "racism equals disliking others because of their race"⁵
• "racism is not considered racism unless it wears a hood and burns a cross"⁶

We are being too generous - to ourselves. Racism isn't always so clean cut. There are shades of gray, including "soft"⁸ or what sociologist Lawrence Bobo calls "laissez-faire" racism. Underlying laissez-faire racism is the belief that discrimination "is largely a thing of the past" even while negative beliefs and stereotypes about blacks, Native Americans and other minorities "remain not merely commonplace, but deeply rooted" in our society.⁹

Racism isn't gone - it is alive and well. Can you see it?

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"Most racism in my experience was very subtle, which is just as bad as blatant racism because it feels wrong but you can't put your finger on it."¹⁰

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Blind spots

It has been argued that those with European roots think differently about race than do others. Those who "don't identify strongly with any ethnic group ... tend to take race for granted or view it as somehow irrelevant," according to Yale professor Harlon Dalton, who concludes "the inability or unwillingness of many white people to think of themselves in racial terms ... produces huge blind spots."¹¹

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"When is the last time you questioned your beliefs and attitudes? Perhaps it is time."¹²

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Al Bernstein said "beauty is in the heart of the beholder." What about racism? If you haven't been the recipient (or target) of it, you may underestimate or be unaware of racism, and the damage it does.

We meant no harm

How can something - or someone - be racist without actively trying? Even if not intended as such, harm can be done by stereotypical language and imagery. Author Cornel Pewewardy: "to further understand why this is racist, consider how euphemisms and code words for ethnic persons and groups are used: scalp, massacre, redskin, squaw, noble savage, papoose, Pocahontas, Cherokee princess."¹³ As a result of such language, "Indigenous peoples are dehumanized by society at large."¹⁴ In another example, Blacks and Asian - Americans speaking standard English "are often praised unduly for how well we speak."¹⁵ The underlying assumption is all too clear.

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Racism "threatens one with being negatively stereotyped, with being judged or treated stereotypically, or with the prospect of conforming to the stereotype."¹⁶

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Views and Pain: Examples of Racism

We live within a society where a certain degree of racism persists. It may be subtle, misunderstood, or openly tolerated, but it exists nonetheless ... and those most qualified to recognize it are those suffering because of it. We should accept that we cannot fully appreciate racism without feeling subjected to it. Read what has been said ...

"laissez-faire racism: a system wherein we accept however much inequality and segregation by race that a putatively free-market and race-neutral state can allow."¹⁷

"Racism isn't born, folks, it's taught. I have a two-year-old son. You know what he hates? Naps! End of list. - Dennis Leary

"The music field was the first to break down racial barriers, because in order to play together, you have to love the people you are playing with, and if you have any racial inhibitions, you wouldn't be able to do that." - Oscar Peterson, 1994.

"The look" is "a look whites often give blacks who don't fit the composite notion of a Negro." A young black female television executive, who "gets the look whenever she flies first class," says "flight attendants usually direct me to the right, toward the back of the plane," and ask to see her ticket when she says her seat is in first class.¹⁸

One mixed-race young (24 yo) man commented on the dirty looks his sister - with much darker skin - receives. "To them, she was just an Indian ... all they knew were labels and stereotypes, not her."¹⁹

"At a diversity workshop for some two hundred blacks, whites, Latinos, and Asians, the facilitator asked all those who never had to worry about a check or a credit card being refused because of their race or ethnicity to stand. Only we whites rose to our feet, and we were left standing for a long time looking at one another, and into the eyes of those still seated."²⁰

From a sixteen-year-old girl: "I think there's still racism everywhere. It's not as outwardly noticeable as it once was; there are not as many crosses burning in people's yards. But it's still there -- a lot of it is institutionalized."²¹

"This tradition [of ethnic symbols in sports], I insist, is a mix of racism with sports enthusiasm under the guise of team spirit."²²

"Racism cannot thrive when a community says we will not tolerate these attitudes and actions."²³

"This is the ideal: to search your attitudes, identify your stereotypes, and correct for them as you go about your daily duties. In the end, managing prejudice becomes a very personal task."²⁴

"How many minority people have to tell you they are offended before you are going to say this is racism?"²⁵

"Most fans have no intention of supporting a racist practice, but intentionally or not, they do perpetuate a romantic stereotype."²⁶

You may not mean it. You may not see it. You may not care to look at it. But the Chief is a racist symbol. Native Americans are quite certain of this, and of the harm this University symbol brings to them.

Isn't it time to retire the Chief?  •

References

1. (1,2) are from the Random House dictionary (1978); (3) from WordNet, and the definition of institutionalized racism from the Cambridge University Press online dictionary.
2. Carol Spindel, Dancing at Halftime, 2000. New York: New York University Press, p. 254.
3. John Poupart and Tracy Becker, Communications and Relationships Between Reservation American Indians and Non-Indians from Neighboring Communities, American Indian Policy Center, 1997; Focus Group Findings.
4. David K. Shipler, A Country of Strangers: Blacks and Whites in America, 1997. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, p. 490.
5. Harlon L. Dalton, Racial Healing: Confronting the Fear Between Blacks and Whites, 1995. New York: Doubleday, p. 92.
6. Op. Cit., Shipler, p. 449 (quoting a white Alabama civil rights lawyer).
7. Op. Cit., Shipler, p. 491 (the author is white).
8. Op. Cit., Dalton, p. 94.
9. Lawrence D. Bobo, Inclusion's Last Hour?: Affirmative Action Before the Bush Court, 2003. Stanford University Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity; CCSRE national Advisory Board panel discussion.
10. Pearl Fuyo Gaskins, What are you? Voices of Mixed-Race Young People, 1999. New York: Henry Holt, p. 219. The speaker, Meilina Wilkinson, was a 21-year-old woman of mixed English and Taiwanese parents.
11. Op. Cit., Dalton, pp. 107, 109.
12. Patricia and Fredrick McKissack, Taking a Stand Against Racism and Racial Discrimination, 1990. New York: Franklin Watts, p. 27.
13. Cornel D. Pewewardy, Educators and Mascots: Challenging Contradictions, in Team Spirits, eds. R. Richard King and Charles Fruehling Springwood, 2001. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, p. 260.
14. Haig A. Bosmajian, Defining the American Indian: A Case Study in the Language of Suppression, in Exploring Language, ed. Gary Goshgarian. Boston: Little, Brown.
15. Op. Cit., Dalton, p. 129.
16. Op. Cit., Pewewardy, p. 265.
17. Op. Cit., Bobo.
18. Lena Williams, It's the Little Things: The Everyday Interactions that Get Under the Skin of Blacks and Whites, 2000. New York: Harcourt, 2000, p. 31.
19. Op. Cit., Gaskins, p. 42.
20. Op. Cit., Shipler, p. 323.
21. Op. Cit., Gaskins, p. 137.
22. Op. Cit., Pewewardy, p. 270.
23. Op. Cit., McKissack, p. 24.
24. Op. Cit., Shipler, p. 491.
25. Bruce Two Eagles: Transcript from the U.I. Chief Illiniwek dialogue intake session.
26. Op. Cit., Spindel, p. 254.