Understanding American Racism, Part II: Legacy

Me at 5 years old with my step-father, grandfather, and great-grandfather

Part I of this series offered perspectives on the history of racism in the United States. While the perspectives themselves can certainly be critiqued and disagreed with, slavery, the Civil War, segregation, and the Civil Rights Movement all undeniably happened and so there is a shared basis of understanding for the discussion. Whether discussing the culture of slavery or systemic racism of Jim Crow, there is a fundamental truth about their existence that must be the start of any debate regarding race in America.

The legacy of racism in America is different. The events that drive our understanding of the culture and system of racism in our history have become less and less important as the specific facts fade from memory. They are replaced by personal perspectives that are affected by, build upon, and pass forward the meaning of those events. Legacies are important because they explain the part of who we are that results from who our ancestors were. In my experiences the two most important components of America’s legacy of racism involve identity and opportunity.

As a biracial African-American male born in the aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement, I can tell you that I’ve personally experienced the best and worst of the legacy. Most of those experiences can be summed up with my perspectives on Black and White identity, as well as the…