Earlier this week I was left at a loss for words: My 10-year old niece is a racist. Years of hateful words overheard from her mother and other "conservative" family members have forged a belief system where black people literally 'make her sick.'
We were riding in the car on a Wednesday visit to the Camden aquarium when my niece said, "I'm scared." At that moment, we were driving through a newly gentrified Camden waterfront. People were going about their day; many of them were black.
My niece didn't make any clarifying remarks until later that day when we were back at my mother's house. She randomly said, "I hope I'm not sick tomorrow." I asked her what was wrong, and she replied that "certain people" were at the aquarium, but she couldn't talk about it. It was all a big joke to her.
There's always plenty of racist remarks made during my family gatherings - particularly on my mother's decidedly Republican side of the family. I never heard my niece repeat or acknowledge any of what she had heard - until now.
Over this weekend my niece was told that there were so many black people at the aquarium because selling crack is profitable, black people are lazy workers, and that people sell their food stamps to crack dealers. The crack dealers then in turn use the money to buy "Obama phones." (That's a new one on me)
My niece also overheard that people who live in public housing projects "have the best of everything." I'm sad to say that my mother chimed in on that one. She shares a typical North East Philly racist mentality with her family. Never mind that I live next to a NYC housing project - they know better than I do, because I'm the "liberal."
It boils down to the Nixonian meme that no African American can prosper unless they are either i) criminals or ii) get government handouts. An "us versus 'them'" attitude is being ingrained into my niece's head.
I'm not certain what to do about it. Her mother (my brother's wife from rural Michigan) is a racist. My bother, who is far more educated -- yet very conservative -- stays silent. I could have spoken out, but don't know whether it would have made a difference or not.
The damage needs to be unlearned, and that takes life experience and education. My niece lives in rural Michigan near where my brother's wife grew up. There is no diversity there - only conservative relatives and Fox News.
Sadly, I'd observed that most people never question the belief system that they are taught during their youth, and they live and die with those beliefs. Does anyone have any suggestions about how I should address this problem? I'm thinking about appealing to my brother's sensibilities.