Holder’s ‘Nation of Cowards’ and the Fallacy ofa Post-Racial America
Journal Title: International Journal of Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Studies (IJIMS) - Year 2018, Vol 5, Issue 1
Abstract
Former United States Attorney General Eric Holder called the country“a nation of cowards,” in his description of the fear and avoidance from the leaders and the population of a forthright discussion on racism and racial differences and disparities (Wingfield&Feagin, 2012). Despite agreement from many scholars, his statement was met with heavy criticism, an almost unequaled outrage, and insult from opposing political party leaders, media personalities, and many in the public. Critics even called Holder racist for bluntly bringing up the problem of race (Wingfield&Feagin, 2012), only proving his point that they were unwilling to have an open, serious dialogue regarding race and racial disparities, although research clearly supports his argument (Bonilla-Silva, 2001; 2003; Picca&Feagin, 2007; Wingfield&Feagin, 2012). Holder held that, despite evidence of some racial progress, the modern day has not transitioned, just because of the election of a Black man to the nation’s highest office, from the cultural intolerances and racial disparities seen historically in this country by way of Jim Crow segregation, and that there continues today to be in policy and in effect a deeply rooted economic and social racism (Bobo, 2011; Esposito & Finley, 2009; Popova, 2015; Sorokin, 1985; West, 205; Wingfield&Feagin, 2012). His statement supports that the U.S. cannot be accurately portrayed as post-racial for numerous reasons, including disparities in education, industry, politics, and in society-in-general (Bobo, 2011; Esposito & Finely, 2009; Hoffman &Stallworth, 2008; Hackman, 2005; Jayne &Dipboye, 2004; Teasley&Ikard, 2010; West, 2015; Wingfield&Feagin, 2012). In fact, Holder’s comments were generous in comparison to what the actual conditions are regarding integration in the U.S. workforce (Wingfield&Feagin, 2012).Since then, we have seen tremendous upheaval in race relations, and it is even more obvious now than it was in 2008 through 2016, that our nation’s racial problems persist, and this written work posits that the suggestion of a post-racial America was enthusiastically exaggerated by hopeful media figures and national officials, and was then and continues today to be a fallacy.
Authors and Affiliations
Anton Shufutinsky, DHSc, PhD(c), MS Brandy Shufutinsky, MSW, MS, MA, LSW Noah Shufutinsky Dmitri Shufutinsky, BA James Sibel
Keywords
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