When my son was two years old, I took him to the park to play in a "Flintstones" like car. Soon, what appeared to be a class of first graders arrived from a nearby school. Two little white boys — one blonde-haired, the other redheaded — began fighting over who was going to play in the car. My son looked on with all the fascination of a two year old. The redheaded boy noticed my black son, and with all the venom that a seven or eight year old boy could muster, he pointed his finger at my son and said, "You better stop looking at us before I throw you in jail where you belong."
This was a sobering moment for me as a mother. At two years old, my son was already being labeled as a threatening criminal who belonged in jail. What became clear in that moment was what I would need to teach my son to keep him safe as he navigated his way through life. At the same time, this moment in the park caused me to wonder what the parents of the angry little boy were teaching or not teaching their son. I was reminded of this day in the park with the news of a 21-year-old, hate-filled, young white man allegedly killing black people in church because he felt they were ruining the country. What, I wondered, are we teaching or not teaching our children to foster such hate?
While studies have revealed that the millennial generation is more ethnically and racially diverse than previous generations, they have also revealed no significant difference between white millennials and previous generations of whites when it comes to racial prejudice and stereotyping.
White racism is a disease, but it is not in the genes. It is inherited from the values and beliefs that are handed down from one generation to another. Moreover, it is nurtured by the social and cultural climate of the country. The kind of hate that was apparently on display in Emanuel AME church does not grow overnight. It is symptomatic of the disease of racism that is a part of our nation's DNA. As is the case with any disease, ignoring it does not make it go away.
So, what is the cure? It begins with naming it. The myth that we are living in a post-racial society must end. This nation can no longer ignore the disease of white racism that is in the very marrow of this country. The stereotypes that sustain notions of white supremacy must be called out. Just because certain words are banned from civilized public discourse does not mean they don't still function in the consciousness of people. Thus, a passive code of silence is not enough. We must dismantle the systems, structures and ideology that thrive on and perpetuate dehumanizing stereotypes. We must also teach our children to be other-regarding.
Even though we celebrate who we are as a diverse people and nation, we too often treat those who are different from ourselves as inferior others, and we treat their history with callous disregard. Our educational and religious institutions must lead the way in insuring that our children experience the common humanity of those who are not like themselves. There is no better soil for bigotry and prejudice to take root than that of racial and cultural segregation and ignorance.
Finally, we must teach our children that who they are to one another as members of God's family must take absolute priority over conditions of race, ethnicity, class or any discriminating attribute. That all human beings are of sacred worth must be a core part of life's curriculum.
As I listened to reports of the apparently racist terror that was visited upon the worshipers of Emanuel Church, words from the prophet Isaiah came to mind: "a little child shall lead them." If our children are to lead us to a better nation of justice and peace, then we must confront white racism head-on, before the disease destroys our nation.
Kelly Brown Douglas is an Episcopal priest and the Susan D. Morgan Professor of Religion at Goucher College; she is also the author of "Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God" (Orbis Books). Her email is revkbd@gmail.com.