Confederate America and Nazi Germany

The prophet Jeremiah’s writes, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?”

The sentiment in this scripture is reflected in the public musings about what will be America’s ultimate response to the terrorist violence at Emanuel AME Church. Will this be the beginning of changing the hearts and minds of America regarding the structural nature of white privilege?

Well, we have the answer, and we didn’t have to wait long.

A CNN poll this past week showed that 57 percent of white Americans see the Confederate battle flag as a symbol of Southern heritage, while only 33 percent see it as a symbol of racism. Even among college-educated whites, 51 percent agree with the Southern heritage position.

This poll reflects what I’ve always anecdotally believed: that about one-third of white America has historically been committed to racial justice, while the rest is somewhere between indifferent and hostile on the issue.

How would white Americans react if 57 percent of Germans said the Swastika was a symbol of their German heritage, not racism and genocide? Would white Americans believe that the Jewish people should be understanding and accepting of that view of German history? I think not.

In fact, Germany would still be an international pariah if it took the position on its Nazi past that America takes on its Confederate past. Let’s be clear: There is no moral difference between the Antebellum South (or the Jim Crow South) and Nazi Germany.  

Why do so many white Americans think black Americans should have their history treated with such ignorance and accept it being treated that way? And why do so many black Americans acquiesce?

Commentaries about the June 17 massacre at Mother Emanuel have mainly focused on the forgiveness of the victims’ families or the soaring eloquence of the president’s eulogy. Comparatively little has been said about where the killer fits in the American narrative of racial violence. If the majority of white Americans cannot understand the inherent violence in a symbol of racial oppression like the Confederate flag, what’s the rational basis for anyone black believing white America will address the deeply rooted infrastructure of white supremacy?

The real issue for black America is how should we think about the data revealed in the poll and how should we consciously understand our relationship with America, given the contradictions between white America’s historical memory versus America’s historical reality.  

Black America needs an intellectually rigorous analysis of our place in America grounded in historical reality that could include hopeful aspirations, but must be utterly dismissive of the naïve, optimistic sentimentality that passes for much black thought today (this would be our balm, in the prophet’s terms).

During most of the 20th century, there was active discussion within the black community about the historical context of the black experience in America. Consider the debates between DuBois and Washington, or the differences personified by Martin and Malcolm. Black artists, thinkers and writers challenged themselves and us to understand and articulate what it meant to be black in America.

We have now produced several deseg generations who, because of their personal success, believe race is a secondary or subordinate issue in the America reality of the 21st century. The inability or unwillingness of many current black thought leaders to make race central to understanding the American experience is a critical factor in explaining why we have so much racism with so few avowed racists. 

Shakespeare has some great advice on this point: “to thine own self be true,/ And it must follow, as the night the day,/ Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

Mikes Jones is a member of the St. Louis American’s editorial board.