If you didn’t know it, you do. Admittedly, I had not given this word much thought in the past, having learned little about it in my social studies or history classes–or was I just not listening? Oops! I contend this part of our world history was just minimally available if at all.
On my journey to become more racially compassionate and sensitive, I have ordered many books and watched several ‘Black Lives Matter’-type documentaries and movies. Since I was excited about several of the books I wanted to read I felt like I needed a speed reading course to make a dent in my knowledge base. Audio books have been the ticket while working out on my treadmill and eliptical each day–what a win, win! One of the first ones I listened to was “Caste” by Isabel Wilkerson, a Pulitzer Prize winning author. What an eye opening examination of this concept for me.
What is caste? According to Wilkerson, “caste is the granting or withholding of respect, status, honor, attention, privileges, resources, benefit of the doubt, and human kindness to someone on the basis of their perceived rank or standing in the hierarchy.” Racism and casteism do overlap, she writes, noting that “what some people call racism could be seen as merely one manifestation of the degree to which we have internalized the larger American caste system.” And that system of belief has been and continues to be passed on from generation to generation. We’ve all been affected one way or another unbeknownst to us–we’ve been given a particular colored lens from which to view/judge this deal and react accordingly no matter what the ethnic difference might be. So this is not about marginalizing other groups affected by this country’s response to power (i.e. American Indians and Japanese)–that’s why this educational enlightenment is key to this country moving forward with more truth and compassion.
“Caste” examines racism in American society by comparing it to the relatively well-known caste systems in India and Nazi Germany and exploring the novel concept of an American caste system. In India, this system of social ranking dates back thousands of years and includes thousands of distinct castes and sub-castes based on factors including occupation and background. In fact, I was surprised to learn that Hitler prior to his reign of terror against the Jewish people, took cues from what our country had done regarding slavery in the South with our black population–how sad that we were a model for such white supremicy and poor/disgraceful treatment of humanity!
Wilkerson argues the commonality between the three is that all revolve around “an artificial construction, a fixed and embedded ranking of human value that sets the presumed supremacy of one group against the presumed inferiority of other groups on the basis of ancestry”–it’s called power and control.
Wilkerson also writes about the surprising health costs of caste, in depression and life expectancy and the effects of this hierarchy on our culture and politics. From inequalities with real estate, medical care, schools, police abuse, legal injustices (to name a few)–black people must be kept in their place or caste level. Being marginalized takes its toll–however, compassion and love are key moving forward.
A surprising example (unknown to many) of keeping black folks in their place was the Tulsa Race Massacre where the city’s Black district of Greenwood (otherwise known as Black Wall Street) was attacked by a white mob, resulting in two days of bloodshed and destruction. This area had been considered one of the most affluent African American communities in the United States for the early part of the 20th century. The massacre began on May 31, 1921 and left hundreds of Black residents dead and 1,000’s of houses and businesses destroyed.
With this being the 100th anniversary, PBS is scheduling a special titled “Tulsa: The Fire and the Forgotten” on the 31st of May at 8 pm, thereby, providing us more opportunity to enrich our black history understanding.
“A world without caste would set everyone free.” – Isabel Wilkerson
We bear responsibility for our own ignorance or with time, openhearted enlightenment, Warriors–our own holistic wellness journey.will benefit as we learn to stand up for inequities in our system one step at a time because love works. Progress not perfection!
Covid19 Humor: I stepped on the scale this morning and it said: please use social distancing–one person at a time.