The Secret Issue of Racism

I thought at first not to touch the underlying theme of not only Dr. Anyiwo’s e-mail, but what seems to be the theme of some other African-American faculty and even some staff and students.  However, I knew that if I did not do it, possibly no one else would have the courage to address this issue.

There is a problem at UTC.  It is one of racism among those who do not think what they do or say is racist, simply because of their own academic and racial arrogance. Many, if not all of us of color have encountered this kind of scenario as a part of our UTC experience. We share it among ourselves, and console each other, while others swallow it, and just keep going.  We dare not go beyond ourselves for fear of reprisals – especially if that racism and academic arrogance is coming from those who hold the power of tenure, promotion, evaluation or of whether we stay or go. So we huddle among ourselves and weep for those who do us wrong, and for a University where this can be done to us, and we feel helpless to have it addressed.  But it is being done and said; things which hurt and go to the very core of our souls.  Yes, we have an EEO compliance director, but who among us would feel comfortable going that route? Despite the fact that she is black, most of us have come to know the reality that it still would be viewed by some colleagues, administrators, and staff as being a “troublemaker”. After all, “you people have it better now than ever.” This is something we have become accustomed to hearing.   

Just a few days ago, I took student participants from a summer program involving inner city kids I created, called the Many Faces of Diversity at UTC, to the Civil Rights District in Birmingham, Alabama.  I had read to them excerpts from my book, Black Eyes Shut – White Lips Sealed, which shares personal stories of slavery, discrimination yesterday and today. So to take this trip brought life to the book, and gave students a rare opportunity to take an up-close and real life look at our past history.  We visited the Sixteenth Street Church where the four young black girls were killed when the church was bombed by white racists. We went across the street to the historic Kelly Ingram Park where the hoses and dogs were turned loose on innocent children who dared to put themselves in harms way in order to achieve racial equality.  We toured the Civil Rights Museum and saw the bombed out buses, the Klan’s robe, and the atrocities committed against humanity which were all a part of America’s shameful history. As I shared that history with students and encouraged them to seize the moment, and take advantage of every opportunity afforded to them, never taking that freedom for granted or the price paid to obtain it, I also felt my own spirit grieved.  It was grieved because I realized that there are still those in America who refuse to believe all of this took place. To them slavery and discrimination against Blacks is a myth that is told.  Some even believe it wasn’t as bad as it is recorded in history. While others bury that history, and become irate if you dare refer to it.  I guess for them, this eases the conscious and offers justification for what was done in the past and present.  

On the return trip from this historic visit, I sat quietly thinking, knowing that racism is still a part of American society.  But what hurt the most, is that it exists within institutions of higher education, where knowledge of the past is supposed to be taught, and truth is thought to be the basic for discovery and change; discovery into ourselves and into our souls, so that we can come to grips with our inner selves and make positive change.        

I know there are many here at UTC who are not racist, and like Melissa, I am happy that these individuals exist.  They are my friends, my colleagues and some even my prayer partners.  But there still is no denying that there are still some pockets filled with individuals who are racists. What makes this so bad is that for those within that pocket, racism is now mixed with academic arrogance. Academic arrogance, mixed with racism produces a toxic kind of dangerous new racism, where those who possess such are so caught up in the loftiness of the grandeur of who they perceive themselves to be, that they do not understand or care that they tread upon the rights or dignities of others.  Ironically, they also may dare spring up as the first to console those of us who have been bruised by even themselves, as if they are among the innocent. This is when it gets to be scary – when the consoler is also the bruiser, and doesn’t believe what they have done is wrong.  I have friends who are Klans, and we share good relationships. They even visit my home and eat from my table. That is because I know, and they know that they have issues because I am black. But to have those who practice racism, and do not consider it to be racism because it is mixed with their own academic arrogance, is something which is not only scary, but is dangerous and lethal.      

We have but to look no further than our different departments. Count the number of black faculty or consider the compensation they receive. Even on our Faculty Senate, there are only two of us: one African-American (myself) and one African. I have asked black faculty to run as a representative to the Faculty Senate.  The response? I don’t think I would be able to get enough white votes to get elected. 

This is not just a faculty issue. There are some blacks who sit in administrative positions who cannot and do not speak up because they too fear reprisals. When they fail to do so, although we may understand why, nevertheless, this causes those of color to lose confidence in them, which adds to the feeling of helplessness. 

Students sometime also face the question of who do we turn to? Within our student counseling department, there are no black counselors. This means African-American students have no one they feel can relate to that part of their ethnicity which may impact their mental and academic wellbeing on campus.  Who do they tell or complain to when they feel a professor or administrator has been racist towards them? Individuals like myself, and others become the source in which they seek out when there is a problem, adding to our own overwhelmingness.  

Perhaps because I fear no man or woman, only GOD, and have no problem speaking out when it is appropriate and for a good and just cause, I find myself being the depository of horror stories from black faculty, staff and students which are so disturbing that at times, I feel overwhelmingly drenched. But what is even more disheartening is when I suggest that we openly address these issues, to see the terror in the eyes and fear in the hearts of those who have been wronged.  It is a fear that keeps them silent in their suffering. Because to reveal the wrong to them, is an even more traumatic experience that they are certain in their belief that to do so would bring retaliation and reprisals which make it far easier to just remain silent. Therefore, racism at UTC becomes the best kept secret, which like in Dr. Anyiwo’s memo can only be alluded to in codes, and not openly addressed.  …And for those of us who are experiencing it, we just keep “praying about it” and consoling each other.  But as one who believes in the “power of prayer”, I also believe in the “power of action” that brings about answers to our prayers.   

Racism is an issue which many of us know exists. Granted it is a lot better than years past, where blacks could not as much as walk on the campus, let alone attend or teach here. However, going back to the very foundations of this institution, it is embedded and still has remnants of the past and realities of the present. Unfortunately within strategic planning, although Chancellor Brown welcomed the opportunity for everyone to voice their concerns, so that they could be heard, while it may have been alluded to, no one had the courage to call it by its name.  But until we do, UTC cannot function as an institution of higher learning where its main goal is one of enlightenment. To know that we all are created equally, and that no one is better or less than the other, simply because of the color of one’s skin is the greatest lesson of enlightenment that should flow from academia.

Now that I have said what no one else dare say, and called it by its name, I challenge those of you who do believe in the good in all humanity regardless of color, to encourage this issue be addressed, and to work towards a university where we all feel welcomed and have equal opportunities to contribute and thrive.

Jean    


Dr. Jean Howard-Hill
Political Science Department
419 Fletcher Hall
Chattanooga, Tennessee 37403
423-425-5702

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