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Race: A diversion from America’s real problems

Melvin B. Miller
Race: A diversion from America’s real problems
“They say my problem is with the blacks, but blacks aren’t the ones foreclosing on my home” (Photo: Dan Drew)

For a few days recently the airwaves were abuzz with speculation about the proposal by Howard Schultz, chairman of Starbucks, to have servers initiate a conversation on race with customers through its “Race Together” campaign. While it is unlikely that people will be willing to engage in conversation on such a controversial subject first thing in the morning, there are also other problems with the approach.

Of course Schultz is correct to be deeply concerned about the state of race relations in America. The antagonism between black men and the police could lead to a heightened level of violence. Resolution of the conflict should be a major national priority.

One advantage that exists now and was unavailable earlier is an expanding interest in genealogy. Scientists have now established that we all belong to the same species — Homo sapiens. Each person has an estimated 20,000 genes. There will be varying structures of chromosomes within the genes, but the genetic pattern establishes our racial homogeneity. There is little scientific basis for identifying racial differences because of variations in the chromosomes.

The fundamental truth seems to be that race and racism have no biological basis. Confirmed racists will not likely accept the truth of these conclusions, just like some conservatives deny the reality of global warming. However, thoughtful people will have to wonder how they were deceived for so long into believing that racial superiority is valid.

The concept of racial inequality was once an effective salve for the conscience of Christians who found it financially attractive to engage the services of slaves on their plantations. The delusion was that the supposedly inferior slaves were better off to be away from the Dark Continent and be present in a more civilized part of the world.

Only the affluent could afford slaves. Even after overt slavery violated the law, there was still an advantage in continuing the ruse of black inferiority. The oligarchs could placate impoverished whites by assuring them that they are good white brothers and are certainly superior to the blacks. However, this line could be maintained effectively only as long as segregation and racial discrimination were legally permissible.

The breech in the theory of white supremacy first came in sports. In the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Jesse Owens defeated the great Aryan hope. After Jackie Robinson entered professional baseball in 1947, the prowess of Robinson and subsequent black players became readily apparent. Unfortunately, the competence of African Americans in those fields requiring intellectual acuity is not always so similarly obvious.

The myth of the racial inferiority of blacks seems to be enough to generate white hostility. There is no historical record of a general assault by blacks against whites or the seizure of their property. But the racial conflict enables the oligarchs to take advantage of most whites with impunity. Do the math!

  • A disproportionate share of the nation’s wealth is held by 1 percent of the population — 62 percent of the U.S. citizens are white. Therefore, almost all whites are 99 percenters.
  • The number of whites below the poverty line is almost twice the number of blacks who are poor — 19.8 million whites to 10.3 million blacks.
  • In the past five years, more than 16 million uninsured Americans, many of whom are white, have gained health insurance, from an Obamacare that is despised by so many whites.

Schultz is right. Americans should begin to talk diplomatically with one another to discover a way to end this debilitating racial conflict for the good of the country. Now we can start with the knowledge that we all belong to the one human race.