In his recent blog, “Will Smith Did a Bad, Bad Thing,” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar argues that the actor’s slap at the just held Oscars perpetuated racial stereotypes. And while I agree, I only agree to a certain extent. It’s all too easy to forget that Smith can’t perpetuate racial stereotypes all by himself. He needs help; lots of it.
In the eyes of many, the so-called “slap” of Chris Rock gave credence to long-held, negative stereotypes about Black men, namely that all Black men are prone to physical outbursts and violence (even those who are highly educated and well-to-do). It’s important to remember that stereotypes aren’t only a mild exaggeration, they go way beyond. These stereotypes, or images in our minds, can only take hold if they have a receptive audience.
A receptive audience is prone to take this single incident and blow it all out of proportion. If we’re talking stereotypes, it’s no longer just about Will Smith; rather our propensity for violence becomes a racial thing. What then makes an audience receptive? While the answer to this question is complex, a few things stand out.
We become a receptive audience when we:
Isolate ourselves from others who don’t look, and perhaps think like us. As a white guy, I have spent the last 40 years or so of my life immersed in racially and ethnically diverse populations. But I’m not sure immersed is accurate, since I could retreat to my white suburban neighborhood after work. But let’s be clear. I can live an isolated existence in an integrated neighborhood. I can find myself teaching in an integrated school and know very little about my students or the communities in which they live.
Rely on the media to tell us what we need to know about Blacks or any group for that matter. If we rely on the media to inform ourselves about Blacks, we might unconsciously assume that Will Smith is just like those other violent Blacks on tv and social media who react impulsively and with little regard for the sanctity of human life. It goes without saying that we can be critical of those Black images as well. After attending Howard University, my mind was less and less apt to gravitate to images that portray Black men as violent. Why? As a student at a Historically Black College, I was constantly confronted with tons of images that showed Black men to be scholars, thoughtful, caring, and humble.
View race as a biological rather than a socially constructed label. The perception of black men as innately violent has a long, racist history. Dating back to slavery, the perception of black male violence has been used as a form of social control and denigration. White male violence on the other hand is not racialized; it’s simply violence. When Denzel Washington explained the slap as the work of the devil, I believe he was portraying Smith’s transgressions as an individualistic act, an act if you will that had nothing to do with race.
Hesitate or even refuse to step outside of ourselves and our comfort zones. When I stay inside my own little social cocoon, I’m more comfortable and less challenged. At Baltimore City Community College, a historically Black institution where I taught for four decades, my teaching style pushed me out of my comfort zone. I was a “sponge” when I interacted with my students; I asked open-ended questions that promoted soul-searching. In the course of difficult dialogues that put a premium on becoming vulnerable, probing for the truth, and showing respect, my students and I engaged stereotypes time and time again. We discovered how similar we are, regardless of race, and we also became much more aware of the differences within racial groups.
Jump to conclusions and avoid critical thinking. As a professor, I know what a difference it makes to be able to think deeply about race and other dimensions of diversity. Asking questions, reserving judgement, and analyzing evidence are all part of the process of searching for truth and debunking stereotypes. In light of the current concern being expressed about doing this very thing at school, there’s a tendency to avoid the subject of race and/or sterilize it in a way that makes it palpable to the masses. If anything, this will further perpetuate stereotypes.
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Dr. Bucher’s Web site on Diversity Consciousness: Opening Our Minds to People, Cultures, and Opportunities
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