WHAT'S WHITEY TO DO?

AUSTIN'S SYSTEMIC PROBLEM WITH COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

By Christopher Bear Beam, MA
May 17, 2009

Many law enforcement agencies around the country have had long standing systemic problems regarding relationships with communities of color. These problems include police brutality, police misjudgment, police corruption, and racial, systemic structures that impede natural processes for respect given to all ethnic groups within the community. These often overlap with other sub-systems within the larger context.

Austin is no exception to this. There have been shooting incidents, much like the one that happened May 8, 2009 to eighteen year old Nathaniel Sanders. Mr. Sanders was shot and killed by an APD officer when found sleeping in his car. This occurrence happened on the east side of Austin--the part of Austin where most of our communities of colors exist. A boundary line appears to be IH 35 cutting the city down the middle. One radio talk show host, speaking after the Sanders shooting, mentioned that there never has been a shooting of an eighteen year old white male by one of the APD (in similar circumstances), but the list of African American and Latino American victims, over the last several years, has been numerous and brought vocal and political protests from these communities.

What we might ask is this: why haven't white communities expressed chagrin and anger at these
Killings by the APD? Why haven't whites, as a group, moved to work together to activate against this kind of discriminatory action? Since I’m a European American, I think I have an inkling of the answer to this question that has been a result of my own work in anti-racism. Whether the officer in this case was justified in the shooting of Sanders is only the first question that needs to be addressed. There are far deeper, systemic questions that need to be asked in this writer's opinion.

Historically, there are much deeper issues of institutional racism that under gird the actions of many organizations within any city's structure. There are psycho-socio-historical precedents for law enforcement action, as well as policies and procedures that continue to be perpetuated in the city. Civil Rights legislation is needed, and we've made some progress here but there are other reasons for institutional racism to move on unhindered, even when de jure processes have been enacted in ways that should provide safety, protection, fairness, and non-bias to all members of the community.

Thinking systemically is a new way of thinking for many of us; however, it's this writer's feeling that when looking at a case of police intervention, where there are serious questions around an appropriate response, this is the kind of thinking called for. Thinking in this way provides a process of clarification illuminating causes and consequences for such incidents.

To think systemically means that we take a holistic perspective on how the structures within any group or city work. The increments within a system function interdependently, even though we may or may not be conscious of them as they operate in a dynamic way. Thinking only in terms of event, not process, will tend to lead to community members blaming one of the players in the incident. These aren't bad judgments--they just may miss the systemic aspect of seeing the whole from the parts. Within any system, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts--there is an exponential component which means there are outcomes that may be much more intense than individual actions. When we think systemically, we don’t need to confine ourselves to only seeing one person(s) actions which we may label as "bad," "harmful," "crazy," "sick" or "criminal."

As I was growing up in my family of origin, I felt a lot of rejection from my loved ones. I felt in many ways that I could never reach the kind of perfection that my father demanded. So in order to survive, I decided to become the “sick” one in the family. I found how easily I could manipulate and control the entire family by choosing this role. The family energy aimed at “fixing” me was astonishing as I look back on it. As I reached adolescence, my survival mode changed, and I emotionally and physically cut myself off from my family. I became the sullen loner who lived in a shadow of mistrust of most people, institutions, organizations, but especially the government.

I share this example in order to wonder out loud if these same processes happen in systems and in cultures—after experience in observing many kinds of systems, I’ve come to believe that the same kinds of dynamics are also prevalent in these municipal systems as they are in family systems. Systems act and react on the need for survival, and to ensure that their positions are kept in place. To acknowledge that something may need to be changed is to think, change our paradigms, and see community life in new ways. It also implies swallowing some crow.

Whites tend to view racism as distinct actions that place others at a disadvantage. This view is largely based on a psychoanalytical, behaviorist model of our human condition. A systemic view counteracts this old way of seeing human behavior. Racism, at least the institutionalized version, and not the blatant actions of white supremacist groups or individuals, is more about the emotional and social processes of any specific community. Institutions tend to perpetuate the preservation of enrichment of the dominant group, or place at disadvantage a less-than-dominant group

Typically, in communities where a tragic crisis as the death of a young African American male happens (as in Nathaniel Sanders grievous case), there is an immediate response by communities of color; this is justifiable and equitable, because communities of color have long been subjected to discrimination, bias, institutional racism, and oppressive practices by the white, social structure. There will be anger present, and this needs to be accepted. There is an immediate call for change, and a demand to meet together to dialogue about the present injustices by communities of persons of color. The WMS (white male system) responds, but doesn't appear to fully understand all of the causal factors brought up by the community. There usually is a defensive posture taken by the system. Consciously or unconsciously, promises are made, cautionary pleas for patience are made, heads are turned away in denial, silent hopes for 'this thing to go away,' and a return to "business as usual” is enjoined.

Yet these incidents are symptoms of the greater systemic problem of institutional racism as work in the community. If communities of color see no concerted effort at clear and observable changes to rectify the problem, they pull away in isolation and disbelief that anything ever will be done to change the atmosphere in which they live. If the "same old, same old" continues to be the order of the day, why engage at all?

There is one such program in the State of Pennsylvania that appears to be a model in the area of viable and real change within communities and institutions. Its thrust is one of prevention. The program is run under the auspices of the Commission for Human Relations for the state. When any racial incident happens, staff from the CHR goes to the community and begins to look at why the "red flags" are going up. These are red flags that other forces are bubbling up. The contention here is that these are symptoms that are emerging into full view. They interview people in the community, facilitate group dialogs, disseminate accurate information concerning hate crimes, bias, discrimination and racism. One of the unique aspects of this program is the use of several people who have come out of blatantly racist backgrounds like the neo-Nazi and Identity movements. Some of these staff have changed their views about race, and now go out to the community doing outreach, sharing their stories, and giving their witness to what works and what doesn't work.

The key element in why this program works is the notion that hate can only grow and thrive where there is ignorance, misinformation, perhaps intense social regression, and probably the worst of all--silence and fear. Replacing these above elements with accurate understanding and knowledge by people who know the problem, along side an openness to publicly discuss it, engagement and "buy in" by community members are key parts in the community, emotional process that may lead to change and healing.

In assessing the systemic problems of institutional racism within various segments of Austin's society, it’s not necessary to find a scapegoat to blame. The Chief of Police shouldn't be vilified nor idolized here, and neither should any other individual or group come under these kinds of pejorative labels. Only placing the responsibility on the APD is just another symptom and won't solve the racialized problems in any long-term way. Each party must be willing to look into the mirror to confront their own pieces in the puzzle. Clearly, this is the beginning of a self-reflective process.

But what can't be overlooked is that our nation is still very much part empowered by a white-dominated structure that has been perpetuated for hundreds of years for one express purpose: that of holding onto power and privilege and the enrichment of white society at the expense of people of color. If one examines our historical reference points--open-mindedly--one will find that this is an historically accurate conclusion that many people have little understanding about. Consider this: ninety percent of our nation’s history has taken place within the structures of slavery and Jim Crow laws.

The only way to get past denial is for people of European descent within the Austin community to do some very hard work, that of self-critiquing the way whites have structured social systems to hoard their own privilege, power and possessions. Racism may be described in a formulaic way: Power + Prejudice=Racism. It's for this reason that it's inaccurate to say African Americans, for example, are racist. They may be prejudiced like all of us, but it's our power, privilege and prejudice that run the show. Perhaps it's not our fault that we're sick, but it is our (European Americans) responsibility to get well. Since power is still in the hands of white males, in U.S. (this is why I called it the White Male System above), it's our job to discover where we came from, where we are now, and where will we will be in the future, and why we desperately cling to our own power. It's not the role of communities of color to teach us about ourselves--they are already well acquainted with how the system works and how it hurts; but many European Americans have no true, defined understanding of their position in the system, and how it oppresses them as well. A healthy white racial identity—minus the baggage of superior/inferior--for most of us has never been developed.

I recommend the start of a European American conversation and dialogue on how we play out institutional racism in our nation and in our city. I recommend that we begin to meet on a regular basis to learn about ourselves so that we may change the racialized dynamics in Austin. We can't change anyone else, but we can change ourselves. If you have interest in dialoging online, contact Bear at cosmicbeam@hotmail.com.

© Christopher Bear Beam, MA May, 2009