Filed under: Interviews, Profiles, Race and Civil Rights
Have you heard the news? Black people are not that angry anymore.
Best-selling author Ellis Cose posits a strong argument in his new book, 'The End of Anger,' that a new generation of black men and women are looking at race a lot differently than their elders.
In an excerpt published on TheRoot.com, Cose writes, "Months of sifting through data had convinced me that today's African-American achievers are significantly more hopeful than their parents. They are more likely to believe the American promise, and less likely to see barriers blocking their way."
But Cose says his study does not mean young people - in the case of his study, those born between 1970-1995 - think we're living in a colorblind utopia. "I'm not saying racism is over or that it will be over in my lifetime," he explains. "I don't expect it to be." A recent study by the Applied Research Center, one of the leading think tanks on race, supported Cose's theory. Based on a group of millennials (aged 18-30) from the Los Angeles area, a large majority in the study believed race mattered in various aspects of society such as employment and immigration, and in the criminal justice and education systems.
Cose based his thesis on a study he did with African-American alumni at Harvard Business School, and alumni from A Better Chance, a program that sends exceptional young people of color to some of the most prestigious secondary schools in the country. People filled out some 500-plus questionnaires and Cose conducted more than 200 interviews. He focused on the upper echelon of educational achievement because few are more credentialed for a career in the business world than a Harvard MBA. "It lets you know what is possible for the most well-prepared African-Americans in this society," Cose said.
Participants were divided into three categories: Generation 1 Fighters (born in 1944 or before); Generation 2 Dreamers (born between 1945 and 1969); Generation 3 Believers (born between 1970 and 1995). He labeled their white counterparts Generation 1 Hostiles, Generation 2 Neutrals and Generation 3 Allies, though he says he only interviewed whites and did not give them a questionnaire.
So my peers and I are "believers," or those who, according to Cose, "came of age in an era when Jim Crow was ancient history and explicit expressions of racism were universally condemned." We talked to a few fellow members of Gen3, to get their thoughts on Cose's research and to find out if we're really living in less angry times. Also, a few words with the author himself about racism today.
Akiba Solomon, 36, 'Gender Matters' columnist for Colorlines.com: "I know plenty of sisters, when they get incredibly angry, and they're in a corporate environment, they're going to take a walk, take a deep breath, they'll say 'I'm too blessed to be stressed' and maybe post something on Facebook. They're still angry and they're still acutely aware at the racist micro-aggressions, but the way they protest is different."
Chloe Hilliard, 30, editorial director, TheLoop21.com: "Our generation has been taught since we were kids, you have to work twice as hard as your white counterparts because you have to dispel those myths that are attached with our skin color. When you first get your foot in the door, you should work twice as hard, it shouldn't have to be because of your skin color, but it's crucial when you are a person of color in a non-minority work environment because sadly there are cultural issues in the workplace. It's no secret that if you're African-American, especially a young professional, you need to know how to operate in the white world."
Latoya Peterson, 27, owner and editor of Racialicious.com: "What you have now is, if you look at venture capitalists, they won't say, "I don't give money to blacks." They won't say, "Black people don't belong here." They will say, "You know the type of company that we find is successful is young, white, male, Harvard student." So there's a different type of exclusion and it does have an effect on the work place. People have kind of stopped expecting to see black faces."
Anslem Samuel, 34, senior producer at BlackEnterprise.com: "I don't accept racism but I expect it, if that makes sense. I go into situations, I know I'm black and I know America is a country built on blacks being slaves. Other races are above, that's the structure of this country. With that, even if I'm wearing a suit and tie, when I walk into a certain area or any circle I walk into, I expect to be looked at a certain way or to be viewed a certain way."
Ellis Cose, 59, author of 'The End of Anger': "I'm not sure there ever was a way to define a racist person and because there wasn't, I think it's almost a useless word nowadays. What do you mean when you talk about someone who's racist? What's in their heart or some moral issue? It means so many different things to so many different people, and there's so many different layers that I basically think it's lost it's utility as a descriptor of anything."