White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide

White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide

Carol Anderson

4.47(14390 readers)
From the Civil War to our combustible present, acclaimed historian Carol Anderson reframes our continuing conversation about race, chronicling the powerful forces opposed to black progress in America.

As Ferguson, Missouri, erupted in August 2014, and media commentators across the ideological spectrum referred to the angry response of African Americans as “black rage,” historian Carol Anderson wrote a remarkable op-ed in the Washington Post showing that this was, instead, “white rage at work. With so much attention on the flames,” she writes, “everyone had ignored the kindling.”

Since 1865 and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, every time African Americans have made advances towards full participation in our democracy, white reaction has fueled a deliberate and relentless rollback of their gains. The end of the Civil War and Reconstruction was greeted with the Black Codes and Jim Crow; the Supreme Court’s landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision was met with the shutting down of public schools throughout the South while taxpayer dollars financed segregated white private schools; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 triggered a coded but powerful response, the so-called Southern Strategy and the War on Drugs that disenfranchised millions of African Americans while propelling presidents Nixon and Reagan into the White House.

Carefully linking these and other historical flashpoints when social progress for African Americans was countered by deliberate and cleverly crafted opposition, Anderson pulls back the veil that has long covered actions made in the name of protecting democracy, fiscal responsibility, or protection against fraud, rendering visible the long lineage of white rage. Compelling and dramatic in the unimpeachable history it relates, White Rage will add an important new dimension to the national conversation about race in America.

Publisher

Bloomsbury USA

Publication Date

5/31/2016

ISBN

9781632864147

Pages

256

Categories

History

About the Author

Carol Anderson

Carol Anderson

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Carol Anderson is Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of African American Studies at Emory University. Professor Anderson’s research and teaching focus on public policy; particularly the ways that domestic and international policies intersect through the issues of race, justice and equality in the United States.

Questions & Answers

"White rage" has historically and systematically undermined democracy and racial equality in the U.S. by perpetuating systemic racism through various means. After the Civil War, policies like the Black Codes and the Supreme Court's decisions, such as the Slaughterhouse Cases and Plessy v. Ferguson, eroded the rights of African Americans, establishing segregation and legal inferiority. The Great Migration was met with resistance, including violence and restrictive laws, to prevent black advancement. The Brown v. Board of Education decision was met with "Massive Resistance," and the Civil Rights Movement faced fierce opposition, including voter suppression and the War on Drugs, which disproportionately affected African Americans. The Supreme Court's decisions in the 1970s further weakened the Brown ruling, and the rise of the "new Jim Crow" through mass incarceration and racial profiling continued to undermine racial equality. These actions have systematically suppressed African American rights, perpetuating a cycle of inequality and undermining American democracy.

The failure of Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow laws were influenced by several key factors and events:

  1. Political Compromise: Lincoln's and Johnson's leniency towards the South, allowing former Confederates to regain power, weakened Reconstruction efforts.
  2. Ku Klux Klan: The rise of the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups terrorized African Americans, suppressing their voting rights and civil liberties.
  3. Legal Challenges: The Supreme Court's decisions, such as the Slaughterhouse Cases and Plessy v. Ferguson, undermined Reconstruction amendments and upheld racial segregation.
  4. Economic Interests: Southern whites, who owned much of the land and labor, were resistant to change and used their power to maintain the status quo.
  5. Educational Discrimination: Southern states systematically denied African Americans access to education, perpetuating a cycle of poverty and illiteracy.
  6. Voter Suppression: Tactics like poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses were used to disfranchise African American voters.
  7. Massive Resistance: Southern states actively resisted federal court orders to integrate schools and other public facilities, leading to prolonged legal battles and further entrenchment of segregation.

The criminal justice system has been instrumental in perpetuating racial inequality in American society. Historically, Southern courts were designed to provide legal cover for terror against African Americans, using harsh labor punishment for minor offenses. The Slaughterhouse Cases and other Supreme Court decisions undermined civil rights, while the Santa Clara decision protected corporations over individuals. The Great Migration's threat to the white South's economic and social structure led to efforts to restrict black movement and labor. The Civil Rights Movement's gains were challenged by Massive Resistance, pupil placement laws, and residential segregation. The Nixon and Reagan administrations, with the support of the Burger and Rehnquist Courts, redefined the Civil Rights Movement and racism, leading to policies that undermined equality. The war on drugs, particularly crack cocaine, was used to criminalize black communities, leading to mass incarceration. These practices have led to racial disparities in the prison population, perpetuating inequality and undermining the justice system's integrity.

White supremacists and their allies have employed various strategies to undermine civil rights gains for African Americans:

  1. Legal and Policy Changes: They've pushed for restrictive laws like the Black Codes, which aimed to re-enslave African Americans. They've also used the Supreme Court to invalidate civil rights laws, such as the Enforcement Act and the Fourteenth Amendment, and to uphold segregation in cases like Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education.

  2. Voter Suppression: Tactics include voter ID laws, literacy tests, and poll taxes to prevent African Americans from voting. They've also used the Southern Strategy to appeal to white resentment, linking the Democratic Party with African Americans and crime.

  3. Education: They've opposed school integration, leading to "Massive Resistance" and the closure of schools like in Prince Edward County, Virginia. This has perpetuated educational disparities and hindered economic advancement.

  4. Law Enforcement: They've supported policies like "stop and frisk" and the "war on drugs," which disproportionately target African Americans, leading to increased incarceration and racial profiling.

  5. Media and Rhetoric: They've used coded language and media to redefine racism and vilify African Americans, as seen in the portrayal of the Black Panther Party and the use of "dog-whistle" politics by figures like George Wallace and Richard Nixon.

These strategies have systematically undermined the civil rights gains of African Americans, perpetuating systemic racism and inequality.

To address the legacy of white rage and racial inequality in the U.S., several changes are necessary:

  1. Education and Awareness: Implement comprehensive, honest education on the history of racial injustice, including slavery, Reconstruction, and the Civil Rights Movement, to foster understanding and empathy.

  2. Policy Reforms: Amend laws that perpetuate racial disparities, such as voting restrictions, school funding, and criminal justice policies. This includes addressing systemic racism in law enforcement and the justice system.

  3. Economic Equity: Invest in communities of color to improve economic opportunities, including job creation, affordable housing, and access to quality education and healthcare.

  4. Community Engagement: Encourage dialogue and collaboration between different racial and ethnic groups to build trust and mutual respect.

  5. Legal Action: Use the legal system to challenge discriminatory practices and to hold individuals and institutions accountable for their actions.

  6. Leadership and Representation: Support the election and appointment of diverse leaders who can advocate for policies that address racial inequality and promote social justice.

  7. Cultural Shift: Promote a culture that values diversity and inclusivity, and that rejects racism and white supremacy in all its forms.

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