As the page turns on the 47th annual celebration of Black History Month in America, the country finds itself at an inflection point.
The hope-inspiring images of people from all backgrounds protesting for justice in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in 2020 have been substituted for frightening images of irate people yelling at officials at city council and school board meetings about the harms of training and education on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B).
That anger, formerly concealed for significant swaths of the population, has been unearthed and weaponized by disingenuous politicians, attention-seeking conspiracy theorists, and opportunistic talk show hosts. For those of us believing in the crucial importance of DEI&B, a new approach is needed.
For one thing, let’s stop griping over how hard it is to talk about issues of race, inequality, and discrimination. Mature adults should be able to rationally discuss our shared history of inconvenient truths. Ignoring reality and the fate it imposed on millions of people is not a solution. The longer we postpone acceptance of the past and its impact on the present, the more expensive the solutions will become.
What can we do right now? Let’s work to develop a common language to talk about race. The broad terms Black and white don’t work. There’s too much diversity of perspective within each group to lump them together in a single category. For example, many white people, the equivalent of abolitionists and freedom riders in the past, are today’s protesters, philanthropists, and nonprofit leaders demanding change. Even white people who seek to deny opportunities to others because of their skin color fall into different camps.
In my book, “The Fragile Mind,” I refer to wealthy whites who achieved and maintained their wealth through exploitation as the “Predatory Elite.” Their introduction of an economic system based on slavery gave them a lasting advantage over other people. In a way, they’re the founding members of the country’s most exclusive country club.
Offspring of the Predatory Elite are “Legacy Members,” provided full club membership at birth. Many of them lead family businesses or serve in senior leadership roles at established organizations. They are often staunch vocal advocates of merit, ignoring the reality that their success was fueled by what was given to them. Some descendants of the Predatory Elite are as rapacious as their forebears, with few if any scruples passed on to them through the generations.
Then, there are the associate members in the club, the “Free Riders.” They, too, are white, but they lack the full range of benefits provided to full members. Prior to the Civil War, the Predatory Elite retained the Free Riders to oversee their slaves. Today, they are employed to maintain the system of haves and have nots. They enjoy a lasting advantage over Blacks, as they have long been free of racial discriminatory practices in education, housing, employment, and healthcare.
Statistically, their employment outcomes are better than those of talented Blacks. For example, a meta-analysis of 24 recent studies reveals that white job applicants received, on average, 36% more callbacks after an initial job interview than equally qualified Black applicants. In another study, removing any reference to being Black on a resume increased the number of callbacks by 2.5 times. At every education level, whites have a lower unemployment rate and higher income than their Black counterparts.
