Yancy Article: Deconstruction of Internalized Predjudice

In Yancy's article, he discusses the interaction between a white woman, and himself, a black man when standing alone together in an elevator. Even though he is dressed in a suit and tie, the woman sees him as a black man. With this view comes a fear that stems from years of predjudice that views the black man as dangerous and unable to control his sexuality. Even if the white woman tries to deny these thoughts, her body language shows that she fears him none the less. Her body is tense, her hands are clammy, she grips her purse tightly, she avoids eye contact. Even in Yancy's class, a white student admits that when a black man walks on the same side of the street as her, she feels uncomfortable.

Society has historically, and continues to this day, to remind its citizens that black men are violent and are to be feared. Historically, a black man could be killed simply on the basis that he looked at a white woman in a way that inferred sexual prowess. Time and time again he was accused of raping the white woman, when in fact it was a white man who did the deed. Today, we see shows on t.v. like "Cops" that show people of minority groups acting in a violent manner and most often a white cop must forcefully throw them on the ground and handcuff them. Other examples of how the fear of black men is perpetuated is through news which shows the mug shot of the criminal. If the person has been caught, what is the point of broadcasting their face all over the country? The only result of such an action is the perpetuation of racial stereotyping and/or racial profiling, which then strenthens predjudicial fears.

What is even more concerning is when the black man himself internalizes the messages from society that he is indeed violent and to be feared. In my previous post I wrote about Alcoff's view of the divided self. One has a public identity, as well as a lived subjectivity. If the black man does not divide his lived subjectivity from his public identity, then his lived subjectivity will be shaped negatively because of the negative portrayal of the public identity. So instead of rejecting the view that he is violent by nature and cannot control his sexuality, he turns these traits into ones that he views as positive. One can see this occur within rap videos where the black male dominates black and white women, as well as carries a gun, or shows his masculinity through fighting. This is a defensive position in which the individual is reacting against those labels which he has been given. Unfortunately it does not allow the black man to liberate himself. Instead it only perpetuates the previously inscribed stereotypes and sends a false message to young black men saying what it is to be a black man.

Yancy's article is courageous in that it attempts to create a space to intellectually understand racism. Unless one can point to how racism is upheld, one can never eliminate it. Through recognition of it permeation within society Yancy creates opportunity to break away from these preconceived contructions and allows for the possibility of new modes of interaction.