Why does racism exist?
Rev. Dr. Richard D. Randolph  I am so grateful that I was able to give balance to all the beautiful antebellum plantations that I saw as my wife and I recently took a trip down the Mississippi River. This balance was made possible by going to The Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. I finally gained an understanding as to why we whites struggle against racism, particularly toward African-Americans. I would like to share with you my discovery. When slavery first came to America in the early 1700s it was first set up as serfdom. A person would work for another for a number of hours/days/weeks to pay for the transportation expenses of coming to America. Room and board would be added into that labor contract. However, with the discovery of cotton and sugarcane, the Southern planters looked for an inexpensive means to plant and harvest their crops, other than hiring workers. Slave trading from England was already available. The philosophical movement, made first in England and then to America, was that the black race was inferior to the white race. White supremacy developed because Caucasians thought that tribal Africans did not have the mental capacity of the white race. This led to the persuasion, that ultimately was supported by persons of religion including Catholics and protestants, that God had placed the white race over and above the black race to care for them, but also, for the black race to serve the whites. Religion backed slavery  Many whites believed that the Bible supported this theological summation. Slavery thus became a major basis for the agrarian American economy, primarily in the south but acceptable in the north. Whites from the south treated people of color much like animals. They traded them as a commodity, they often branded them much like they would cattle, and they made them work in conditions that were humanly unbearable. Many died working under those conditions. Thankfully, due to the morality of many whites, as well as the abolitionist movement that sprang up first in England and finally to America, many began to take a stand against slavery. Congress began to take note of this movement and bills were written that would bring an end to slavery in America. However, money drives politics! The southern politicians opposed these bills. Most of the northern states began to outlaw slavery, however, the southern states resisted. The southern states believed that their economy was so intertwined with slavery that it would bring economic disaster to their states and to their culture. Their affirmed economic and theological explanation was now part of the souths mental DNA.  The political arguments about slavery continued to heightened in Congress that ultimately led to the secession of the southern states. Here is the official statement from Texas (I chose this since it was concise and represented the message of all southern states that had their own statements to justify their position to secede from the Union): The servitude of the African race, as existing in these States, is mutually beneficial to both bond and free, and is abundantly authorized and justified by the experience of mankind, and the revealed will of the Almighty Creator, as recognized by all Christian nations.  One can read the history of the Civil War to discover who fired the first shot, however, my aim is not to give a history lesson here but to identify the basis of racism, particularly the racism many whites feel toward people of color. Think with me - southern whites were willing to die to protect their hold on slavery, at least it is fair to say that those whites with political and economical power were willing to sacrifice the lives of others to protect slavery. Jim Crow laws  Ultimately the south lost the war and thus national laws were implemented to protect the freedom of those once enslaved. This group of citizens was starting from scratch as a civilization within a highly educated civilization. This is the first basis for racism - an inherited separation of culture, economics, and race. Soon, plantation owners, under the protection of state law, discovered that they could hire the freed slaves, allow them to live in the original slave quarters, pay them a very small portion according to the farm production that these so called, sharecroppers could create, and make them shop at their own general stores for certain materials, food consumption or farm use. Ultimately these share croppers were almost always in debt to the plantation owner. They may have been free but their life of servitude was almost as cruel as slavery itself. If those sharecroppers did not perform according to the plantation owners expectations, or if the children or sharecropper began to appear upitidity, or they looked at their women the wrong way, or if a crime were committed regardless of the degree, they were met by vigilante gangs that either beat them or hung them (more than 3,600 black hangings occurred after the Civil war and one included the wife and two children of a man accused of raping a white woman. There was never any proof of guilt). Jim Crow state laws began to be established throughout the south and a great separation occurred between the races. The mixing of races was strictly forbidden. Interracial marriage was a crime. If a clergyman performed the marriage of a white and a person of color, the clergyman could be arrested and sentenced. Clergy had to determine people of color as having 10% or more of their ancestry blood traced to a person of color (think about that challenge). There were many ordained clergy who supported this sickening racism. They had accepted the belief in the superiority and the supremacy of whites to rule over the blacks. Although after the Civil War, as early as 1870, the Constitution enabled Americans to vote, the south developed state laws that kept blacks from voting (is history repeating itself today). The hated poll tax was established which many blacks could not afford to pay, plus restrictions on reading and writing became a requirement in some states. It was in 1930 that finally the black suffrage movement succeeded in enabling blacks to vote in all states, however still under the auspice of vigilante groups that stood outside the polls. Why would they not stand outside if they thought they could keep blacks from voting since they already thought they were superior to the black race and that blacks didnt have the intelligence to vote for the correct person!  This attitude of white supremacy began before slavery but grew robust during slavery as well during the Jim Crow laws era. Sadly white supremacy has continued to propagate itself down through the generations and especially in states where their political leaders are concerned about the voting power of people of color. Addressing racism  The reason the The Legacy Museum bears its title is to recognize the legacy of those men and women who stood up to the white supremacy by speaking truth to power. Thankfully, both white and people of color are currently taking a stand against racist political movements today. The sad commentary for me is that this historical problem of white supremacy is still minimized by many in America. Many white people do not even realize that these feelings of white supremacy over blacks have been imbedded in our thinking for hundreds of years. Sidelining that is that, blacks know otherwise and struggle against this ignorance. The range of abuse that is created by white supremacy is from the sublime to outward racial hatred. It surfaces in jokes, snide comments, in isolation white only fraternal gatherings or friendships. It surfaces in employment positions, and unfortunately in the mass incarceration movement, including the extremes of the George Floyd incident(s). It surfaces (as it did in our last century), by erecting monuments to Confederate soldiers. It surfaces because some whites who will seldom admit it, but believe that they deserve to be treated better, that they are smarter, and that mixing with people of color is against their acceptable culture. Many whites live falsely with a fear of the black community. Yet it is my belief that those whose lives have been changed by the power of God are enriched when they can transcend their fear into a deep appreciation and love for all people. For those of us who believe that we are transformed in Christ we should do everything to address our racism, and our feelings of white supremacy. We need to take note of the latent racism that gives us a belief that we are not racist. Racism is what gives us the desire to reclaim the values of the plantation days, or regret the failure of the Confederate forces, or openly display our Confederate flags, or defending the display of Confederate monuments pleading the charge that we cant change history, all while dismissing our responsibility to bring about change in America. May God help us. This trip, but especially the balance from The Legacy Museum, impacted my life and presented a needed education. Rev. Dr. Richard D. Randolph is a resident of Gastonia.