How do you know when you’re confronted by a racist?
You may not be able to prove it, but you know it when you feel it.
That truth is at the center of the cultural battle Americans are facing as a result of the Trump presidency. Most Black people sense the influence of a racist. Many white people dismiss those opinions as examples of misperceptions.
The matter of perception is also at the heart of a report submitted by James E. Coleman, Jr., the attorney retained by the Durham Board of County Commissioners to investigate allegations of “inherent bias” by County Commissioner Heidi Carter in her treatment of Durham County Manager Wendel Davis.
Coleman ruled “that none of the behavior about which Mr. Davis complained about was motivated by racial bias on Commissioner Carter’s part. Nevertheless, because of the often-fractured relationship among the Board, the County Manager, and the staff, both the Manager and staff reasonably could have perceived Commissioners Carter’s criticism of the Manager on February 3, 2020, as racially biased, at least implicitly so.”
Carter’s response read like a complete requital for being accused of racist behavior.
“First and foremost, I am grateful for the investigator's conclusions that my words and actions were not racially discriminatory or motivated by racial bias,” Carter wrote in a statement shortly after the release of the report. “This has been difficult for all involved, and I am glad to have this investigation behind us and to be cleared of the accusations of racist behavior.”
Varied perspectives on perception
In the Rev-elution's earlier blog, (Heidi Carter’s statement to the press proves it’s time for her to go), points are made about how Carter’s comments reflect a deep disconnect from Black residents living in Durham. Here comments, combined with a lack of response from Durham Board of County Commissioners, reveals an unwillingness to face the impact of perception.
When a Black person perceives a pattern of perceived racism, it hurts no matter the intent. It is perceived that white people use laws to protect covert racism. It’s disguised and concealed in the fabric of society through evasive methods. It hides behind the cover of a liberal political agenda. It doesn’t use the overt vocabulary of racism but finds subtle ways to support a system of white supremacy.
Perception hurts just as much as blatant racism. In some ways, it hurts more due to how racism functions as a system in hiding. The Ku Klux Klan came during the night. They covered their identity with white sheets. They were protected by brothers and sisters with shared ideology. They created laws and systems to hide their intent.
As a result, Black people don’t need to be called the “n-word” to know they’re being treated like one. Hiding behind the innocence of perception is not a victory for Carter and allies who vouch for the purity of her intentions. That word, perception, is yet another reminder of how systems are created to prove what Black people feel isn’t real. It’s only a perception – a figment of their limited imagination.
Proving the guilt of white people involves the discovery of mounds of evidence transcendent of “I know it when I feel it”. Perception engenders thoughts of madness in the head. For Black people, proving what is felt stirs mental health issues not understood by white people concerned with proving their innocence.
Perceived racism and mental health
This is the point made in Perceived Racism and Mental Health Among Black American Adults: A Meta-Analytic Review, a 2011 report published by the American Psychological Association. The study, published online in APA’s Journal of Counseling Psychology ( https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/cou-59-1-1.pdf) found links between racism and mental health among Black adults.
“Perception of racism — defined as an ideology of racial superiority followed by discriminatory and prejudicial behavior — can cause mental health issues similar to trauma,” the study found. “Perceived racism can occur on an interpersonal, institutional and cultural level, which proves more stressful than discrimination alone, which was defined as the negative actions and behaviors that are directed at a person or group because of their marginal social status.”
Celebrating a result which measures the influence of perception as a valid claim is not the next step toward healing a Board that Colemans describes as being “in a state of periodic dysfunction”. The next step is owning the sway of the years of perceived racial bias of Davis and other members of the staff.
The next step
Coleman’s report concluded the Durham Board of County Commissioners “reflects a troubling lack of trust and meaningful communication between the Board, as the governing body, and the County Manager, and, to a lesser degree, a lack of collegiality among some members of the Board.”
Coleman challenged “as a matter of first order for the Board and the County Manager to find a constructive way to move forward and to put these issues behind the County.” Moving forward requires more than a casual dismissal of how the perception of racial bias effects the mental health of Davis, staff and Black residents.
In asserting a position of innocence, Carter further fractures relationships between Davis, staff and Black residents. In not hastening Coleman’s recommendation, Carter, and other white members of the Board, foster a brewing culture of racial tension.
The next step is to name the damage of perceived racism as it relates to the mental health of Davis and members of Durham County Government staff.
Public reaction to the report and Carter’s statement
I think a public apology should be made to the county manager and the residents of Durham for wasting taxpayers' dollars on an investigation that clearly was racially motivated. If not, I think we should really start the conversation of asking about how or what are the protocol for asking for the commissioner's resignation. They owe the people of Durham an apology. - Gloria De Los Santos, director at Action NC,
I hope the same intensity they tried to defame County Manager Davis, they, who include Commissioners Carter and Jacobs and even School Board Member Lee issue a public apology – LaManda Chestnut-Pryor, principal at Carter Community Charter School, Inc.
Do y’all see where stating that if the perception of racism is real but the intent wasn’t racist, IS IN FACT RACIST. According to the definition of racism prejudice + power = racism.
So where does the “power” lie here. In the perception of the Black people or the intent of the white people?
According to the findings of the investigation it looks like the latter argument wins out.
This is hugely problematic. Especially when Ms. Carter is attempting to make herself the victim by claiming sexism.
What y’all progressives gonna do here? -Nia Wilson, co-director at Spirit-House
Let me tell you this...I have more purging to do. I'm done with white people walking in the protests and voting against us. Here's what I posted: Your BLM yard signs don't mean a thing if you keep voting for status quo candidates who practice white supremacy while people of color and black candidates do all the damn work of equality.
Don't walk beside us if you can't vote with us – Angie Santiago, El Centro Para Todos
I’m just here waiting for the Durham White progressives to talk to us but maybe not since it’s not election season for them anymore? - Nisha G. Williams, attorney at North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence
I think I'm hearing crickets already. Where are the people that condemned Wendell Davis and what do they have to say now? IJS – Omar Beasley, chairman, Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People
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