Does That Make Me Racist?

City

Does That Make Me Racist?

I ask myself this question all the time.

By Victor Fiorillo 3/06/2013 Comments 18

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It’s been about a week since I read “Being White in Philadelphia,” Bob Huber’s cover story in the March issue of Philadelphia magazine, and I’m still scratching my head. Like many readers, I was appalled by the piece, not just because of the racism it perpetuates, but also because of its abandonment of the level of journalism that I’ve come to expect from both the author and the publication.

Last Friday, the editorial staff of Philadelphia magazine assembled in a conference room for our monthly issue review, where we all sit around and yap about the latest magazine. These are normally lighthearted affairs where we nitpick details that most real readers probably never think about. People crack jokes. There could be beer and Cheetos, except there are not.

But this particular meeting was nothing like any of those meetings that I’ve attended over my decade at the magazine. One of my colleagues was moved to tears while discussing his strong feelings about the story. Others, too, expressed their contempt for the piece, while the author and the two senior editors offered their perspectives. I stated that while I’m normally happy to defend the magazine I work for when friends or peers attack it (and believe me, this happens a lot), in this case, I could not. Fortunately, I have not been expected to do so.

Lots of people have weighed in on “Being White in Philly.” The magazine is racist! Don’t read this article! Bob Huber is the worst person in the world! I get that sentiment, but I’m not really sure how constructive that path is. So much time has been spent demonizing the magazine and the author that maybe we’re ignoring the fact that race really is something worth talking about and, in this particular case, the magazine just failed miserably in doing so. And let’s move on.

Because race really is a complicated subject, as I’ve discovered both in my personal life and in my writing for the Philly Post. And I find myself thinking about race—not class, not socioeconomic status, but race—all the time. Maybe by talking about it more, I think, I will get over my hang-ups.

I live in a predominantly black neighborhood in West Philadelphia. My one neighbor, a black Muslim, seems to wave to and smile at all of the black neighbors, but when I wave or smile or say hello, he doesn’t respond. This could be because he doesn’t like guys in glasses. But I’ve always assumed it’s because I’m a white dude. He probably imagines that I listen to Dave Matthews and that I don’t like black people very much. Or at least that’s what I think every time I pull the car out and give him an unrequited acknowledgment. But this is just my racial hangup, I guess. And I have lots of them. We all do.

Another example. My kids, who are five and seven, go to a Philadelphia charter school whose student body is almost entirely black. They are the only non-black kids in their classes. Some of my white friends think I’m crazy to send my kids there.

I’m not trying to be some racial pioneer, mind you. It’s a good school, they are learning a lot, and I really don’t have anything to complain about. Well, except the fact that all of their friends are black. I don’t want all of my kids’ friends to be black. Just like I don’t want all of their friends to be white.

Is that wrong? Does it make me a racist? I don’t know. But I certainly feel like a racist when I broach the subject with my friends, white or black. I talk about it in hushed tones. Last week, a white acquaintance asked where my kids go to school. He was shocked at the demographics. “I guess I don’t really worry about it too much,” I told him. “Well maybe you should start worrying about it,” he advised, sounding disgusted with my lack of concern for my children’s futures.

The list goes on. Just yesterday, I went to reread “Being White in Philadelphia” on the trolley. Now, if you’ve never been on the trolley in Philadelphia, I should tell you that—depending on the route—I am usually the only white person riding. And so it was, yesterday, that I found myself holding a magazine emblazoned with “Being White in Philadelphia” while surrounded by black people. I tucked myself into a corner just so, hoping that no one would see what I was reading, should someone think that I’m a racist merely for reading an article with that title. And as I read it, I slowly realized that my back was to a window and that the words must be visible in the reflection. I looked around to make sure no one was reading the backwards words. I’m not kidding. This is me. I may be a racist, but I am most definitely neurotic about it all.

And no, all of this is not just in my head. I’ve certainly been told I’m a racist in the past, usually having something to do with my writing for the Philly Post. I frequently write about race or about stories that in some way involve race, whether it’s the local theater company staging a version of Uncle Tom’s Cabin with white slaves, the racism contained within the word “jazz” (no, seriously), or the time that a white Delaware County bar owner dropped the “n-word” to me within a few minutes of making my acquaintance.

But the story that generated the most heat for me personally was “White Guy Confronts Black Mom Beating Kids on SEPTA Trolley.” As you may have guessed, I was the white guy riding the SEPTA trolley, when I saw a mom physically (and verbally and emotionally) abusing her children. I intervened with words, and she spat in my face declaring, “That’s the problem with all you fucking white people.”

In the article, I explained that I was the only white person on the entire trolley, which probably contained about 20 passengers. And I wondered why no one else spoke up. “Is this some black thing that I just don’t understand?” I asked.

Shortly after I published that story, Philadelphia Tribune writer Bobbi Booker invited me on to a call-in show she was hosting on 900 WURD, the country’s only black-owned and -operated radio station. It was readily apparent that some of the callers thought I was a racist, although I can’t recall if anyone actually used that word. One elderly black woman who called in refused to address me directly, instead referring to me as “that Cau-cas-i-an.” People were upset.

I didn’t mind so much that people thought I was a racist, because in that particular case, I knew that I was right to intervene and to talk about the issue, and most of the black people I spoke with about it had my back, so to speak. But it’s a shame that for many, the real issue in the story—child abuse—got lost in an argument over what a white guy is allowed to say about the way that a black woman “parents” her child.

I’m not exactly sure what “Being White in Philadelphia” is going to change. The magazine will probably lose some subscribers and advertisers. Maybe it will gain some. Its alleged point was to start a conversation about race, although what it seems to have started is a conversation about how racist the magazine is, which is a different conversation altogether. And as for the conversation about race itself, well, I guess I am having it—at least in my own head—all the time.

Philly Mag, Race

bippybellito

I found The Philly article to be bold and long overdue. The city is a nightmare and racism…blacks against white…is epidemic. Schools like Temple lose students every semestet because they do not feel safe, simply because they are white. Phjlly isn’t alone. Chicago, Detroit, Atlantic City are worse.. If ee are to make any progress at all, we need more dialogue, not censorship. Discussions allow for establishing some common ground upon which a better starting point can begin. Those of us willing to talk about race, doesn’t mean we are racists….just realists

http://www.facebook.com/muhammad.attauhidi Muhammad At-Tauhidi

I don’t think the Huber (the author of the original article) is racist, or that Philly Mag has some secret anti-black agenda. For what its worth, I think the article was well intentioned. But its really hard to take Huber’s article seriously as initiating a dialogue about race.

The problem was not that it talked about race, but that it lacked any “dialogue” at all. It was a purely one-sided litany of anonymous quotes from whites about blacks. A more appropriate title for the story would have been “What White People Say about Black People When They Are Not Around.”

Many of quotes were blatantly racist (N-words and such), or makes broad accusations of all black people: “Blacks use skin color as an excuse… It’s a shame you pay taxes, they’re not doing anything except sitting on porches smoking pot.” What other word is there for this kind of sentiment other than racist? Some of other comments are more measured, but there is no theme tying the comments together other than that they are all comments made by whites about blacks.

The author doesn’t condone these statements outright, but maintains a tone of sympathy toward the speakers of these comments. The underlying sense is that these speakers are simply telling the “truth” and ought to be able do so without being labeled as racist, leading to many comments like yours. I think this is the aspect that many of us found appalling. That somehow calling these sort of comments exactly what they are is the only thing preventing us from having an honest conversation about race.

As I read, I felt much less of a sense of being offended and much more a sense of disappointment over being a huge wasted opportunity. But reading many comments like these came as somewhat of a shock. If Philly Mag published an article called “Being Black in Philadelphia” and it contained nothing but quotes from black people complaining about whites, I would have been livid about such an attempt to pass off a few narrow quotes as the dominant experience of “Being Black in Philadelphia.” So its with a fair degree of difficulty that I struggle to understand what (I assume to be) white commentors have found redeeming about the article.

bippybellito

While our perspectives may be different, there are areas where common ground exist. I appreciate your thoughtful response.
brahms

The entire dialogue to date WAS one sided and stuck to the wrongs of white racism. This article addresses racism towards whites and it gets crucified. To make the point: it is thought by many that blacks are not even capable of racism as they lack the prerequisite of power – that’s how ridiculously biased the whole conversation is.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=555716491 Susan Logsdon

NO one wants to talk about it – why? It’s not politically correct. I say EFF political correctness – let’s start talking because until we do, as long as it’s hushed, and whispered and in the closet, nothing will change. And it’s time to change this. Yes, racism is complicated, but does it need to be? What about simplifying it — there is right, and there is wrong – skin color should make no difference. Child abuse, as you experienced, is wrong. Period. Is there REALLY a set of rules for that based on skin color? Pity the children. I say open the flood gates on this — talk and talk and talk until it’s all spilled out. Maybe then (and that’s just a maybe) things will change for the better. I’m sure that the more we sneak around about it, the more we whisper and remain hushed, the worse we will all be. And if talking creates new, or different conversations, or takes us to a fork in the road — good! Let’s have ALL those conversations — they all need to be had!
Phil E. Pretzel

I found your piece above, and the original article, to be genuine, sensitive, and aware. I find both writers — you and Mr. Huber — expressing thoughts of caring for all residents of this city, black and white and green. I’m struggling to understand why the original article is interpreted as racist. I think the author nailed his very decent intentions – to spark an open and honest dialogue about race. It’s not useful to label him racist as an opening salvo.
Emmy

Mr. Fiorillo, as a black woman who grew up in Philly, I find your article as well as Huber’s to be honest, forthright and refreshing, in some ways. I never thought white people thought so much, and so sensitively, about race (I’m being honest here). I never thought they cared to know anything about why there is dysfunction in certain black communities. Actually, I think you do care to know more, but I am not sure, from Mr. Huber’s article, if he cares about having, or can actually engage in, a discussion about others’ feelings and thoughts, not just his own.
In my opinion, there is one major issue that make Mr. Huber’s article seem “racist” from the point of view of a black person. It is that he is discussing problems in certain black communities that stem from a number of factors, as if they all stem from race in and of itself.
One problem, for example, is systemic and generational poverty (which is currently often caused more by personal choices such as educational attainment and career choice, but which was, as late as the 1960s, caused by institutional factors including overt, legal discrimination and covert prejudice). Another is personal social dysfunction (including violence, domestic abuse, drug/alcohol use, out-of-wedlock births, criminality). These are issues over which the individual has primary control. These are the issues that cause Bill Cosby and Michael Nutter to tell black people “to get their act together” and I think they are right to urge people to take responsibility for this dysfunction. Another is poor quality education (city schools are abysmal and parents cannot always choose their child’s school, while working parents don’t always have time to supervise homework – latchkey kids also exist in the suburbs) and another is a lack of interest/respect for education (which is a personal dysfunction – not a culture that all black people share). There are more.
If you notice, there is dysfunction in any community. The level of gun violence is higher than in the white community – that is absolutely true and abysmal and it is honestly part of the reason my parents told me never to move back to Philly (they still live there, I still visit).

However, poor white communities have single moms living and trying to move out of welfare. They have generational poverty, addiction, domestic abuse and low educational attainment – and, yes, violence. Gun violence is lower, but there is still violence. Make no mistake – I for one do not think it is “easy” to grow up as a disadvantaged white person and be successful. I know it is not easy – my partner grew up on welfare, with a single mom, and is white.
Huber talks about the black community as if it is the only community experiencing dysfunction.
When discussing problems that exist in certain black communities, I wonder how many white people actually take notice that, pun intended, the issue is not so black and white. There are personal as well as structural forces that are at play in creating the underclass (capitalism everywhere has an underclass). I think we should have an honest discussion about the problems of the black underclass in Philly, but I am sure that most black people would appreciate the conversation being more nuanced in terms of causes and conditions than Mr. Huber’s article was.
Also – on a personal note, you should just stop giving your neighbor the time of day if he’s going to act like an a**. Don’t waste your time. If he’s that racist against white people, it’s not your responsibility to fix that. He’s got issues. And I’m sure it affects him in other areas of his life.
Khalil Manns

As a young black male, I find the entire discussion about the article to be interesting, but also a little sad. It scares me that our races have lived in the same country for centuries, and yet know so little about each other.

On a separate note, I don’t like how Mr. Huber’s article isn’t about giving White people a voice to talk about their racial views and where they are coming from, but is more about giving people a forum to state their complaints of crimes or incidents involving Black people. I feel like I shouldn’t have to say this but…all of the incidents in the article can and have been committed by White people in Philadelphia. The article was not a discussion about the things that “never get said.”

Whites can and should openly talk about their thoughts, hopes, and fears about race. In my opinion though, so many White people do have skewed perspectives because they grow up in a mostly White community, went to a mostly White school/college, work in a mostly White job, etc. It is hard to talk about an issue that isn’t “black and white” when you only get the “white” side.

I encourage more conversations that aren’t just in your head or amongst your peers, and actually reaching out to a person of color for more understanding, or at the very least, a different viewpoint. You may or may not like their feedback, but I think that it is the right thing to do. Again, this type of conversation just can’t happen in a bubble. That has been the problem.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002973113708 Jimmi Shrode

I came away with the feeling this isn’t so much about engaging a dialogue about race but how terrible it is to be Elite in this city with all of these Working Class people making it so unpleasant for y’all. Philly mag hates poor people. They look down at Working Class folks and their ways. They look at all people who aren’t them as interlopers. A few years back, Philly Mag bashed Disabled People and the American’s with Disabilities Act and were revolted when the Disability Community showed up at their door. (I was there as a member of ADAPT,) One young man in our group became so depressed and angry at the vile things that they wrote and went home and tried committing suicide. They bash the Mummers and when someone comes to their office to talk about it, they cower behind closed doors. The sad thing is that your magazine is more about widening the divides and catering to the lowest common denominator than it is about celebrating what is good about the city. Shame on you all.

brahms

Working class people are not the problem.

PC POLICE

The gross mischaracterization of critiques of “Being White in Philly” as overdramatic yelling is certainly upsetting (if you haven’t read Michael Coard’s excellent piece, you should: http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2013/03/07/philly-mags-being-white-philly-wrong-philly ), but what’s even more frustrating is the article’s reliance upon racist anecdotes to prove the point that white people are somehow prohibited from expressing their true feelings about race. The idea that telling stories such as the one about the author’s uneasiness about the racial makeup of his children’s friend group, is somehow brave and will further conversation about race is baffling and clearly untrue.

Further, the author’s other piece about child abuse was about child abuse AND race. It is disingenuous to claim that an article titled “White Guy Confronts Black Mom Beating Kids on SEPTA Trolley” is not about race. And that’s the crux of the issue: the author keeps shifting the frame. If conversations about the virulent racism expressed in the phillymag piece are somehow beside the point, but conversations about how Black moms are abusive and that one Black guy on your block doesn’t wave to you in the morning, (one wonders if said neighbor has perhaps been reading the author’s articles,) are productive and intelligent contributions, it’s clear that what the author really wants is to say some racist stuff and never get challenged. Which is racist, in case you were wondering.

The profusion of “brave” racists who manage somehow to swim against the tide of PC prevailing opinion and write opinion pieces about their kind of boring and blatantly racist anecdotes is pretty good evidence that the “racial dialogue” that the author mourns is alive and well.

persephone

Yessssssss….

http://twitter.com/lindakatz0429 Linda

I agre- what do u think?e with alot of things that you said. I wish that a group of white and black people could start a group/ a forum to discuss everything- you can’t change what you don’t acknowledge and i for one would like to learn and grow
Guest

I just read Huber’s writing. I did not find find it to be racist. I found it to be honet prose addressing an important topic for all of us in Philadelphia. The people who scream “racism” at this sort of writing are part of the problem.
http://www.facebook.com/andrew.touchstone.3 Andrew Touchstone

I found found Huber’s writing to be thoughtful and interesting. He did a decent job of tackling an issue we all face here in Philadelphia. There was no racist under/overtone at all…just fairly objective prose. The people who scream “racism” at writing such as this seem to me to be part of our collective problem.
CW

You are definitely NOT a racist. Too bad, people are too ignorant to see that.
Jane Yavis

I tried to read the article, but some of the imaginary friends “Classics” had me wondering,,,,when I got to the part about being in Germantown and holding the Door at WaWa,, I concluded this is what happens when Archie Bunker graduates College. Educations doesn’t erase ignorance.
brahms

In case my comment is never going to post I will repeat myself. Sending your white kid to a majority blacks school is a really bad and selfish decision. If, hypothetically, blacks welcomed whites first, and decided on their racism second, there would be no problem. In reality, most blacks see whites in a negative light, as the other, and not part of their moral universe. Blacks kids are taught that white racism will be part of their life forever, they are shown Roots, told to beware of the white man, allowed to say “cracker” in the house. Whites are taught to feel great shame for what our ancestors did, to never say the N world, that blacks are just like us, etc.. Blacks are quite proud of their race and resent whites for enslaving their ancestors; whites are taught that there is no such thing as the white race and shown Roots. I went to a black-dominated grade school: the white kids were second class citizens, blacks were the cool kids. Your kids will not feel this at the time, it is only in retrospect that they will come to realize how much was taken from them and how unfair it all was – all because the parent didn’t want to appear racist.

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