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Caste and White Fragility in America

- Dick Myers -

The torrent of news continues and continues to astound.

In our last meeting, on the 17th, our wide-ranging discussion touched many points:

• Removal of monuments, their significance and impact on our culture
• Necessity of myths in society
• Death of George Floyd should not be called a “wake up call”, the alarm has been ringing since 1619
• Significance of voting rights and voter suppression
• Learning about what was not taught in school
• Reiterate the hopefulness

Recently, a new and very interesting article was published in the New York Times. It talked about the enduring caste system in America. Caste systems are common in almost all societies if not all. Racism and racial prejudice or widespread also. What is it that makes the United States different? One thing, it seems, is that racial prejudice and racism have permeated government institutions and policy, and social customs and attitudes, in  this country in ways that it has not in other countries or societies. The question that raises is, did slavery forge a link between caste systems and race that is different from the linkage in other societies? Here is a link to the article,

• America's Enduring Caste System:   https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/magazine/isabel-wilkerson-caste.html

After that, more articles appeared that might be of interest to discuss. The first is a comment on the book, White Fragility, by John McWhorrer. Many of us have read this book, and more have read about it, and it has been discussed and referred to often in our discussions.

Multiple articles followed, interviewing McWhorter and elaborating and exploring his thesis.  Lastly, Senator Tom Cotton has introduced legislation to punish any school that teaches the curriculum outlined by the 1619 Project. All these articles provide perspective for our ongoing discussion. These articles constitute  another step in the continuing assault on the project and against its goals of reviewing and reinterpreting our history. Links to some of the articles, as well as to the curriculum offered by the supporters of the project follow:

• The popular book aims to combat racism but talks down to Black people.:  https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/dehumanizing-condescension-white-fragility/614146/
• Tom Cotton, GOP senator, introduces bill to prohibit use of federal funds to teach 1619 Project –
  • CNN Politics:  https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/24/politics/tom-cotton-1619-project-bill/index.html
  • The 1619 Project Curriculum | Pulitzer Center: ps://pulitzercenter.org/lesson-plan-grouping/1619-project-curriculum

The next meeting of the group is scheduled on Friday, August 7 at 10:00 PST. Link information to connect is sent to our mailing list.