Sir,
Have you ever wondered, as a black person, when you go to a restaurant owned by either a white person or an Indian fellow citizen, if they would readily and happily dine at the same establishment owned by you as you do in theirs?
Have you wondered if, after your white or Indian counterpart has shaken hands with you, they immediately go to the bathroom to wash their hands for the fear that they might catch something? I don’t remember the last time I pondered these questions, at least not until recently when I realised some truths that lie behind the smiles we wear and the friendly overtures we exchange in our everyday interactions with other races.
The challenge I was confronted with when deciding whether to write this piece or not, is the same one that scholars who have explored racism have had to contend with, namely ‘How do we explore the subject of racism without reifying race (‘reification’: treating race as if it is something that is objectively given and not socially constructed)?’ The truth of the matter is that, classifications in terms of physical differences are not as clear-cut; in fact, findings in modern genetic and biological studies have shown that there is much greater genetic variability within races (racial groups) than between races.
One can not assume that similar physical features mean that other features such as intelligence and personality will also be shared, as no scientific basis exists for the racial classification of people.
The events I was exposed to may sound far-fetched, but they constitute daily reality for others, and the crudeness of such reality hit me in the face recently and I am still recovering from the shock that we still have people in this day and age who believe that by simply being in the same room as a black person you run the risk of catching some virus, which you can only get from black people if they breathe near you. That as long as you don’t engage in sexual relations with black people then you are safe from contracting HIV, even if you could be having multiple partners as long as you dare not cross the race line. All that a black person is good for is to clean your house, wash your clothes, and look after your children, but she can’t drink from the same cup as you, nor eat from the same plate as you, yet she washes the same plate that you eat from.
From the outset I want to dispel the notion that seeks to support the argument that racism is as old as human beings are, and consequently that racism is hardwired in our brains. Brains are not computers, and neurons are not wires, and accordingly such an argument is flawed.
There is strong neuroscientific evidence to support what we have known all along – that becoming familiar with individuals from other races, and a conscious desire to transcend our prejudices, can erode racism and other forms of bigotry.
The brain is far from being hardwired – the brain is actually good at learning about race and triggering biases, but it is also capable of transcending those biases. That’s a good thing in evolutionary terms, because the groups we belong to shift and change over time. Our ability to change is an important facet of our humanity.
[Letter edited]
Africa
