Weaponizing “Race”
Sunday, December 8th, 2019
The United States has had a long history with racial issues - from the colonial era to the present-day. In Between the World and Me, a book written by Ta-Nehisi Coates that addresses the realities of being black in the United States, Coates claims that “Race is the child of racism, not the father” (7). Coates is saying that race is a social construct, or created by humans, rather than existing naturally, which is used to discriminate and attack others. Shown in multiple examples throughout the book, white people use race as a tool and weapon to put themselves above others.
Throughout the book, the police are often seen using race as a weapon against other black people. In one particular incident, Coates was pulled over by the police and had his identification taken away, leaving him in terror. After waiting in fear, the officer returned and gave Coates his license back. However, Coates says that the officer gave “no explanation” for the stop (76). If the officer had no reason or justification to stop Coates, then why did he do it in the first place? The fact that the officer had “no explanation” is suspicious and can be inferred that Coates was pulled over for the color of his skin. Having these racist and corrupt people in positions of power — where justice and fairness are essential — is unacceptable and they should be removed from their positions immediately. African Americans must live in constant fear due to the possibility that their life or body could be taken away from them by these racists. Coates was sitting in his car in terror because of this, especially as he knew several people who have actually died due to these corrupt police. Out of the many people that Coates had seen become victims of white people using race as a weapon, Prince Jones seemed to have a large impact on Coates. When Coates talks about the police officer that killed Prince Jones, he says that the officer was a “known liar” (80). Stating that he was a “known liar” is terrible in multiple ways. Firstly, a police officer should be as truthful and as unbiased as possible. We don’t want to be policed and ordered by prejudiced and unjust individuals. Secondly, if this police officer was a “known” liar, then why does he still have his position? This shows that not only is this police officer corrupt and dishonest, but that other people in authority do not care that he is doing these things. If they did care and wanted to keep their neighborhoods as safe and nondiscriminatory as possible, then he would not be able to get away with doing these terrible things. It is horrible to see how these racist people are able to put them above others solely because of “race”.
Another example of when a white person in society used race as a tool of racism in the United States was when Coates was coming out of the movie theater with his son. After a woman had shoved Samori, Coates’ son, Coates was furious and angrily spoke to the woman. After this woman was visibly shocked, a white man spoke up in her defense and said: “I could have you arrested!” (94). This white man could have easily taken Coates to jail, or in other words, take his body away, because he was white and Coates was black. However, Coates could not say the same thing back to a white man due to the color of his skin. This is a very clear example of how race can be used as a tool of racism. It truly is unfortunate, but the reality is that white people are in a higher position of power due to the color of their skin, and they are able to utilize the fact that they are white and others are not to their advantage.
(Racism)
This idea of using race as a tool and weapon to put oneself above others reminded of when a man was arrested for eating a sandwich. On November 4th, Steve Foster was detained and arrested for eating a sandwich at the Pleasant Hill BART Train Station located in California (CNN). The officer is seen holding onto Foster’s bag and not letting go because he was “illegally eating a sandwich” and that it was a violation against California law, even though there were no signs saying that one could not eat on the platform. Foster, being a young black man, was singled out by this officer and could not do anything about it, whereas the officer was able to do unjustly detain him. It is unbelievable that some people would try to justify arresting a black man, simply because he was eating a sandwich. This is blatant racism and this police officer is clearly using race as a tool of racism by taking advantage of the fact that he is white and Foster was not.
Ever since we started reading Coates’ Between the World and Me, my understanding of the issue with racism has broadened. Although I know I will never understand as I am not a person with a darker skin tone, I have learned and discovered a lot of truths and the reality of living in the United States as an African American. How informed do you think you are on the racial issues in America? How often do you see racism in your life, and do you think it’s an issue in our community? Do you think we can come close to resolving the racial issues in America? Or do you think that racism is a stain on America and that it will never go away?
