So my 15 year old daughter goes on this field trip today to a YWCA presentation. It was held at a hotel and it was said to be empowering women for the future.

Ok, that sounds good..

I pick my kids up from school and my daughter is telling me about the field trip. The YWCA members spend a lot of time on Racism, and told the kids that Blacks can not be racist. Only those who are in the group that hold the power over others , can be racist, and for the last 500 years whites have been the group in power, and the racist.
However, Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, etc.. apparently can be racist, but just not blacks.


I was like " WHAT "

This is what they were teaching to over 200 teen aged girls of all races, and if these kids just believed them, like my daughter did, that is really bad.

I told my daughter first to look up the definition of Racism in the dictionary. After she did that I told her my opinion, which is - Racism is horrible, no matter who does it. And every race has their share of racist. But Racism is an individual problem,that can and often does become groups of racist, but that's because like think people tend to consolidate into groups. But anyone can be a racist, even black people.

I am just ticked off that the YWCA would do such a thing. And sadly I must report, I did ask, and yes, those giving the presentation for the YWCA were all black women.

dandad wrote:So my 15 year old daughter goes on this field trip today to a YWCA presentation. It was held at a hotel and it was said to be empowering women for the future.

Ok, that sounds good..

I pick my kids up from school and my daughter is telling me about the field trip. The YWCA members spend a lot of time on Racism, and told the kids that Blacks can not be racist. Only those who are in the group that hold the power over others , can be racist, and for the last 500 years whites have been the group in power, and the racist.
However, Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, etc.. apparently can be racist, but just not blacks.


I was like " WHAT "

This is what they were teaching to over 200 teen aged girls of all races, and if these kids just believed them, like my daughter did, that is really bad.

I told my daughter first to look up the definition of Racism in the dictionary. After she did that I told her my opinion, which is - Racism is horrible, no matter who does it. And every race has their share of racist. But Racism is an individual problem,that can and often does become groups of racist, but that's because like think people tend to consolidate into groups. But anyone can be a racist, even black people.

I am just ticked off that the YWCA would do such a thing. And sadly I must report, I did ask, and yes, those giving the presentation for the YWCA were all black women.

Thats some serious WTF right there.

This ought to be good.

I'd give the YWCA the benefit of the doubt. I suggest you call them and talk to whomever set this up. Tell them the impression your daugher came away with and see what they say. I have heard the "minorities can't be racist" before so it's possible they said exactly what your daughter said but maybe not? Maybe somebody over at the YWCA didn't do proper vetting? Maybe somebody at the YWCA has a personal adjenda?

I hope you pursue it.

yeah...talk with the y directly. this doesn't sound right...

Sounds like it was some outside group that fails to explain individual and institutionalized racism.

senorgrand wrote:yeah...talk with the y directly. this doesn't sound right...

But it does sound perfectly PC...

I probably shouldn't, but I'll take a stab at this.

Racism, to people who study that sort of thing, is racial prejudice backed up by and/or supporting a societal system of race-based hierarchy and domination (http://sociology.about.com/od/R_Index/fl/Racism.htm). It should be reasonably obvious why distinguishing this from plain racial prejudice (outside a context of hierarchy/domination) is important. People who study racism bristle when other people use the term racism to describe all racial prejudice for the same reason people who aren't idiots bristle when idiots call anything and everything terrorism (see also that article, linked in another thread but also here because why not http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/04/opini ... .html?_r=2, by a Mother Jones editor about how conflating all kinds of multiple-victim shootings with publicity shootings is harmful because it inhibits our ability to look at and try to understand publicity shootings by themselves; so it is, too, with racism/racial prejudice).

Incidentally, I find it helpful to reinforce when discussing this that saying that racism is a specific thing distinct from racial prejudice should not serve to diminish the fact that racial prejudice is bad, and that racially prejudiced people (of any race) are terrible people who should feel bad.

The flip side is that a lot of people (on the internet at least) also use the term racism as a shibboleth, meaning they use how YOU use the term racism to determine your education level, SES, cultural background, and your level of awareness about issues of social justice (exhibiting deliciously ironic classism in the process). Also a lot of people who try to explain things like racism and privilege are not very good at it (maybe I'll fall into that category with this attempt ), and I'm convinced care more about shouting than they do about actually educating people (if you think this looks similar to how Open Carry demonstrators act, good eye! OCT and OCTC are the gun rights community's very own version of those obnoxiously condescending comics about social justice everyone shares on FB).

TL;DR: The presenters were technically correct (the best kind of correct), but also probably suck at explaining why they're saying what they're saying, so anyone reacting negatively is the presenters' own dumb fault.

Next week I am going to call and try to find out what happened. I reminded me of a couple years black for Black History month at their middle school they did a video celebration presentation based the partially erroneous email called -Life without Blacks- http://www.snopes.com/business/origins/blackinv.asp

When this was pointed out the teachers who organized and created the presentation admitted they did it from the , and they never bothered to check it, as it was forwarded to them from a friend. They just assumed it was real. And you know what, even though they knew it, and the principal knew now knew it, the very next year what do you think played for Black History month presentation in the gym again? Yup..

Etervigila wrote:I probably shouldn't, but I'll take a stab at this.

Racism, to people who study that sort of thing, is racial prejudice backed up by and/or supporting a societal system of race-based hierarchy and domination (http://sociology.about.com/od/R_Index/fl/Racism.htm). It should be reasonably obvious why distinguishing this from plain racial prejudice (outside a context of hierarchy/domination) is important. People who study racism bristle when other people use the term racism to describe all racial prejudice for the same reason people who aren't idiots bristle when idiots call anything and everything terrorism (see also that article, linked in another thread but also here because why not http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/04/opini ... .html?_r=2, by a Mother Jones editor about how conflating all kinds of multiple-victim shootings with publicity shootings is harmful because it inhibits our ability to look at and try to understand publicity shootings by themselves; so it is, too, with racism/racial prejudice).

Incidentally, I find it helpful to reinforce when discussing this that saying that racism is a specific thing distinct from racial prejudice should not serve to diminish the fact that racial prejudice is bad, and that racially prejudiced people (of any race) are terrible people who should feel bad.

The flip side is that a lot of people (on the internet at least) also use the term racism as a shibboleth, meaning they use how YOU use the term racism to determine your education level, SES, cultural background, and your level of awareness about issues of social justice (exhibiting deliciously ironic classism in the process). Also a lot of people who try to explain things like racism and privilege are not very good at it (maybe I'll fall into that category with this attempt ), and I'm convinced care more about shouting than they do about actually educating people (if you think this looks similar to how Open Carry demonstrators act, good eye! OCT and OCTC are the gun rights community's very own version of those obnoxiously condescending comics about social justice everyone shares on FB).

TL;DR: The presenters were technically correct (the best kind of correct), but also probably suck at explaining why they're saying what they're saying, so anyone reacting negatively is the presenters' own dumb fault.

Good link with a quick synopsis, but it still doesnt explain how anyone could say Black people can not be racist. Or at least I did not get that from it. But as for hierarchies and the use of racism to keep caste systems in play, I totally agree and see that on a daily basis.

So, if racism is defined as something from those holding power what we are left with is prejudice, which I can't support.

dandad wrote:

Etervigila wrote:I probably shouldn't, but I'll take a stab at this.

Racism, to people who study that sort of thing, is racial prejudice backed up by and/or supporting a societal system of race-based hierarchy and domination (http://sociology.about.com/od/R_Index/fl/Racism.htm). It should be reasonably obvious why distinguishing this from plain racial prejudice (outside a context of hierarchy/domination) is important. People who study racism bristle when other people use the term racism to describe all racial prejudice for the same reason people who aren't idiots bristle when idiots call anything and everything terrorism (see also that article, linked in another thread but also here because why not http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/04/opini ... .html?_r=2, by a Mother Jones editor about how conflating all kinds of multiple-victim shootings with publicity shootings is harmful because it inhibits our ability to look at and try to understand publicity shootings by themselves; so it is, too, with racism/racial prejudice).

Incidentally, I find it helpful to reinforce when discussing this that saying that racism is a specific thing distinct from racial prejudice should not serve to diminish the fact that racial prejudice is bad, and that racially prejudiced people (of any race) are terrible people who should feel bad.

The flip side is that a lot of people (on the internet at least) also use the term racism as a shibboleth, meaning they use how YOU use the term racism to determine your education level, SES, cultural background, and your level of awareness about issues of social justice (exhibiting deliciously ironic classism in the process). Also a lot of people who try to explain things like racism and privilege are not very good at it (maybe I'll fall into that category with this attempt ), and I'm convinced care more about shouting than they do about actually educating people (if you think this looks similar to how Open Carry demonstrators act, good eye! OCT and OCTC are the gun rights community's very own version of those obnoxiously condescending comics about social justice everyone shares on FB).

TL;DR: The presenters were technically correct (the best kind of correct), but also probably suck at explaining why they're saying what they're saying, so anyone reacting negatively is the presenters' own dumb fault.

Good link with a quick synopsis, but it still doesnt explain how anyone could say Black people can not be racist. Or at least I did not get that from it. But as for hierarchies and the use of racism to keep caste systems in play, I totally agree and see that on a daily basis.

Aha I see. I should've read the OP more closely. My understanding (admittedly somewhat limited) is that to say black people are the only people who can never be racist would be incorrect. At the very least there is internalized racism - marginalized people can harbor racist attitudes toward themselves and others who share their particular marginalized identity. It would be correct though to say that a black person harboring racially prejudiced attitudes toward white people is racially prejudiced but, by definition, not racist.

Etervigila wrote:

dandad wrote:

Etervigila wrote:I probably shouldn't, but I'll take a stab at this.

Racism, to people who study that sort of thing, is racial prejudice backed up by and/or supporting a societal system of race-based hierarchy and domination (http://sociology.about.com/od/R_Index/fl/Racism.htm). It should be reasonably obvious why distinguishing this from plain racial prejudice (outside a context of hierarchy/domination) is important. People who study racism bristle when other people use the term racism to describe all racial prejudice for the same reason people who aren't idiots bristle when idiots call anything and everything terrorism (see also that article, linked in another thread but also here because why not http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/04/opini ... .html?_r=2, by a Mother Jones editor about how conflating all kinds of multiple-victim shootings with publicity shootings is harmful because it inhibits our ability to look at and try to understand publicity shootings by themselves; so it is, too, with racism/racial prejudice).

Incidentally, I find it helpful to reinforce when discussing this that saying that racism is a specific thing distinct from racial prejudice should not serve to diminish the fact that racial prejudice is bad, and that racially prejudiced people (of any race) are terrible people who should feel bad.

The flip side is that a lot of people (on the internet at least) also use the term racism as a shibboleth, meaning they use how YOU use the term racism to determine your education level, SES, cultural background, and your level of awareness about issues of social justice (exhibiting deliciously ironic classism in the process). Also a lot of people who try to explain things like racism and privilege are not very good at it (maybe I'll fall into that category with this attempt ), and I'm convinced care more about shouting than they do about actually educating people (if you think this looks similar to how Open Carry demonstrators act, good eye! OCT and OCTC are the gun rights community's very own version of those obnoxiously condescending comics about social justice everyone shares on FB).

TL;DR: The presenters were technically correct (the best kind of correct), but also probably suck at explaining why they're saying what they're saying, so anyone reacting negatively is the presenters' own dumb fault.

Good link with a quick synopsis, but it still doesnt explain how anyone could say Black people can not be racist. Or at least I did not get that from it. But as for hierarchies and the use of racism to keep caste systems in play, I totally agree and see that on a daily basis.

Aha I see. I should've read the OP more closely. My understanding (admittedly somewhat limited) is that to say black people are the only people who can never be racist would be incorrect. At the very least there is internalized racism - marginalized people can harbor racist attitudes toward themselves and others who share their particular marginalized identity. It would be correct though to say that a black person harboring racially prejudiced attitudes toward white people is racially prejudiced but, by definition, not racist.

It would be correct though to say that a black person harboring racially prejudiced attitudes toward white people is racially prejudiced but, by definition, not racist.

But no matter what you decide to call it, the resulting effect are the same, are they not?