The idea that African-Americans are privileged and have advantages over whites is an idea that is strong in the white supremacist movement. They view equalizing measures such as desegregation and scholarships set up only for poor minorities as some sort of special rights that whites are deprived of. All of this is clearly wrong, as it is obvious that blacks have never been treated equally with whites, have never been given the same educational opportunities as a whole, and are still either generally feared or despised by the white public.
However, a conversation with an Indian friend made me question my view of racial problems in the U.S., and wonder if there is a possibility that black privilege exists in some form, and what it is being used for.
Cross-posted in Blue
The Immigrant Perspective on Black Privilege
Most Indian people come from a society that is so poor that they had to develop a form of manners around the dual purpose of wiping their asses and eating with their bare hands. The majority of Indians live in 3rd world conditions, and have very little opportunity to move up in their society. Their caste structure is institutionalized racism, and people of other religions such as Muslims are viewed as being even lower than the lowest caste of Hindus.
From the perspective of Indian people that come to the U.S. with a background of poverty, they are confused as to why African-Americans live in relative poverty in the U.S. Some of the reasons that have been cited to me include the fact that blacks learn English as their first language. In technology related jobs, a major complaint about Indians is their thickly accented English. A lot of Americans have a hard time understanding them. African-Americans have the advantage of already speaking American English, even if there can be a strong accent.
Another factor is the availability of education. While the public education system in the U.S. is not very good, it is generally sufficient to be able to get into college if a person tries. Another thing that can help the black students who work hard is that there are a number of scholarships available based on income-level and ethnicity, as well as grants and other government programs that can be taken advantage of. It still requires a lot of work to get these, but it is not an impossible task.
The final view to be addressed here is that there are lots of jobs available, especially to young people who can get involved with technology. If a person from another country can go through the hassle of coming here, dealing with the government red tape, and take jobs that there are not enough Americans to fill, they wonder why can't poor people in the U.S. rise up to take those jobs? Shouldn't it be easier for a U.S. citizen to get a job that companies have to go through a tremendous expense of time and money to get a foreigner here to do?
The Black Person's Role in American Society
Since the beginnings of this country, the wealthy class have manipulated society to further their own agenda. One of the early moves made to control the poorer classes was to create a separation between white indentured servants and black slaves, who had been functionally the same in the past. By allowing the whites to own property and "earn" their way to freedom, they created the American myth that hard work will result in success. The black slaves, on the other hand, were still fully oppressed, and were treated as cattle rather than human beings. This division grew and became entrenched in society to where it is almost a pillar of the United States economy and culture.
As slavery came to an end, many white Americans erroneously believed that black people were finally free. All that really happened was a modification in legal status from slaves to serfs for most blacks, and they were still not treated as equal citizens. The later civil rights movement resulted in reforms that ended most of the legalized oppression of African-Americans but did not end the attitudes of racism. Again, most white Americans believed that it resulted in equality for blacks, despite the fact that racism still afflicted society.
The result of the years of oppression and racism, particularly the financial and corporate systems set up to force blacks to stay in poverty, has resulted in creating an underclass based on skin color. While blacks and whites are genetically equal in terms of potential, society forces most blacks into an inferior role -- less educated, less financially stable, and less emotionally secure. The average white American looks at their own success and feels that they earned it, looks at the laws and sees that blacks and whites are generally equal under the law, and looks and blacks and sees their failures and believes that they earned it. This results in more racism and the false belief in black inferiority, furthering the vicious cycle.
The Creation of Black Privilege
In many third world countries, the poor classes rise up to overthrow their oppressors. Despite small attempts at this in the U.S., there has never been a large-scale black revolutionary movement. This is due to many factors, but the largest factor is the social engineering performed by the wealthy class. They have long realized that if people suffer to the point of desperation, they will fight back. As a result, systems have been set up to oppress African-Americans as much as possible, but at the same time provide the resources to dull the suffering to a degree.
There seems to be a way to induce complacency in people by fulfilling certain desires and providing minimal comforts. Hitler used art and nationalism to rally the Germans to his cause, despite the fact that he did not help their economy with his actions. People may not be completely happy, but they can be distracted with other things. Our society is very materialistic, and our culture constantly presents the view that the more things you own, the happier you will be. This distracts people of all social classes and ethnic groups, but has the worst effects on the poor. Some whites criticize poor blacks with comments about how every house in the projects has a DirecTV dish outside, or that all young black boys always have expensive sneakers. This is used as an attempt to paint African-Americans as unintelligent and financially irresponsible. The reality is that white society tells the poor that commercialism leads to happiness, and that poor blacks are simply desperate and trying to emulate the lead of the middle and upper class.
Black culture has generally mimicked the crass commercialism of white culture, and in some cases taken it to a further extreme. This is mostly subconscious, but easily explains some of the popular fads that have popped up from time to time -- if owning a gold necklace is a sign that you have wealth (and by extension, happiness), how much better off are you if you can afford a huge chain that is an inch and a half thick? If the Cadillac is the car that rich old white men drive, why wouldn't black men want to appear to be just as wealthy and drive a Cadillac themselves? All of this is not a sign of stupidity. It is clearly an attempt by black people to make a better life for themselves and not to be looked down upon by whites.
Leading by Example
Consumerism is not the only way the wealthy class controls black society. The entertainment industry can be wielded against the poor in a way to keep them ignorant. Working in much the same way as Orwell's "Newspeak", black people are bombarded with "entertainment" that enforces negative stereotypes of themselves and constantly promotes violence. Black comedians are usually self-depreciating and often highlight the differences between whites and blacks. There have been very few black comedians that don't constantly ridicule blacks and/or whites and tell jokes that help us remember stereotypes.
Much of the music that is popular is hip hop that focuses on violent and misogynist lyrics. While music can be an outlet for frustration and hopelessness, it's clear that the white-controlled media focuses on pushing stereotypes of African-Americans as thugs who can play music. Many young black people find solace in music, and there are many popular musicians who play more positive music. The genre of R&B has a lot better lyrical content than hip hop, but society focuses less on that genre. It is also more difficult to sing R&B well than to rap. Poor kids are often encouraged by the images of famous hip hop artists showing off their newfound wealth, resulting in many black kids wanting to become famous artists.
Athletics is another way that black people become successful. Most young men grow up wanting to be like an athlete, but many young black men have a stronger desire to follow through with it. This is especially true if they feel they have no chance of an education but don't want to give up hope. Not only can athletics provide a career path to riches, but it can help you get into college as well. Sports do help some young black men become successful. However, many more focus less on education and more on athletic abilities in an attempt to gain such success. The school systems generally encourage this, and often pressure teachers to pass students who would be failing due to spending too much time practicing for sports.
The entertainment industry, whether actors, musicians, or athletes, are generally famous ways for black people to become successful. Little thought is given into helping more black kids grow up to become businessmen and politicians. There are few well-known examples of famous black people for things other than these categories. Oprah Winfrey is an entertainer but still socially conscious and the new Will Smith movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" shows the real-life success story of investor Chris Gardner. Unfortunately, people like these are not too common. White children have examples like Donald Trump, Bill Gates, and many others. It is critical for wealthy and middle-class blacks to reach out to the less fortunate and become a better role model than gangsta rappers and pro-basketball players. Otherwise, if white men like Donald Trump are emulated, it will only be the show and not the substance.
The Pressure Valves
Not all black people are able to afford even enough to put a gold necklace around their neck or become a professional football player. There are many other ways to control the poorer people. The first of which is the welfare system. By providing just enough money to get by, and (miserable) housing, the U.S. government helps keep poor black people too apathetic to rise up in revolution. While the current welfare system often results in a life of misery, it is not starvation. The government provides just enough to keep people calm.
Depression is a major problem for the poor. When there is no hope for a better future, people will either become angry and active, or turn to things to make them forget. As a result of this, drug abuse is an epidemic within the poor black community. Drugs like crack are highly effective and devastating within the black community, and have also resulted in a tremendous increase in criminal activity related to drugs. People who have no way to earn the amounts of money necessary to buy drugs like crack often turn to things like theft and prostitution to pay for them. As a result, law enforcement have increasingly become hostile towards African-Americans as a whole, not just the poor.
With a more hostile police force, more aggressive judges ready to impose longer sentences, and a prison system that is out of control, the U.S. has created what is essentially a return to slavery based on a person's skin color. Blacks have the highest percentage of people in prison of all ethnic groups. This is the final "pressure valve" on our society that helps the U.S. deal with poverty-stricken blacks who do become desperate to a point where they feel they have no other choice but to steal, do drugs, and commit other crimes. Large corporations have taken over our prisons, and turned them into forced labor camps that are reminiscent of plantations.
Shattering the myth of Black Privilege
So the answer to my Indian friend is that black people do have more resources in front of them than immigrants from 3rd world countries. Yes, the fact that their first language is English is an advantage. They are not suffering to the same degree as those from the 3rd world do. However, this does not mean that the lack of widespread success and equality in the black community is necessarily the fault of the people involved. A system is in place to depress and oppress the black people in this country. While immigrants are often treated worse, they still have the strength of hope that helps them through. The system allows for some immigrants to prosper and become examples to encourage others to come here. At worst the poor immigrants who come here and work menial labor jobs end up improving their lives are often simply moving "up" to the same level that the African-Americans are held at. At best, other immigrants come here and are allowed to prosper and become "white." The Irish were once considered non-white and treated like dirt, yet they blended in completely. Indian people are not viewed as dangerous by "white" Americans, and so they have an easier time fitting in as well (except for Muslims and Sikhs.) Blacks have always been maintained as an underclass, with some exceptions.
Black privilege may appear to exist to some, and there may be some valid reasons behind that view. However, when you dig deeper, you find an active societal conspiracy that keeps African-Americans from moving up that enforces their place in society from birth until death. It is not the codified hard racism that existed during slavery and the days of Jim Crow laws, but it is instead a cultural racism designed to keep them at the bottom. Without changing our culture, we can not change this situation. "Black Privilege" is a cage. It may be a nicer cage than what the poorest caste in India are trapped in, but it is still not the freedom everyone deserves as a human right.