C-SPAN’s Washington Journal show from a few days ago featured Heather McGhee of Demos. Demos is a progressive public policy organization that has been around for almost two decades. Heather McGhee is the president of the organization and she was discussing race, economics, and equality on the show. When it was time to take callers, McGhee received a very honest one from a self-identified white male from North Carolina.
Caller:
I was hoping your guest could change my mind about some things. I’m a white male and I am prejudiced. And the reason it is is something I wasn’t taught but it’s kind of something that I learned. When I open up the papers, I get very discouraged at what young black males are doing to each other, and at the crime rate. I understand that they live in an environment with a lot of drugs—you have to get money for drugs—and it is a deep issue that goes beyond that. But when, I have these different fears, and I don’t my fears to come true. You know, so I try to avoid that and I come off as being prejudiced, but I just have fears. I don’t like to be forced to like people, I like to be led to like people through example. What can I do to change? You know, to be a better American?
It’s a perfectly articulated understanding of prejudice. It’s an honest explanation of his misgivings and fears and personal conflict. The caller doesn’t speak with any anger or malice, he asks a serious question. It’s easy for many of us who have either a certain sense of race history in America and the inequalities in America regarding race to scoff at someone who is afraid of what they see on the television and in the news. It’s even easier if you have grown up in more integrated environments (which are difficult to come by in the United States). McGhee is clearly moved by the sheer honesty of the caller’s diagnosis and his question.
McGhee:
Thank you so much for being honest and for opening up this conversation because it is simply one of the most important ones we have to have in this country.
She goes on to say that everyone has these fears and prejudices in varying degrees and in every community, regardless of religion or ethnicity, and that the caller is far afield in that many of us are unwilling to even entertain the idea that we have prejudices. She proceeds to give some ideas on what to do to help demystify black Americans and hopefully, make the fears and prejudice dissolve.
McGhee:
Get to know black families. Who are not all—and not even any majority are involved—in crime and gangs. Turn off the news at night because we know that actually, that nightly news and many media markets that have been studied, actually overrepresents African-American crime and under-represents crimes that happen by white people.
She goes on to suggest joining integrated or black churches if you are a religious person, and finally learning the history of various black communities in America.
You can watch the exchange here.