On Thursday, 19 November 2020 at 2 pm MST, ten kindly old philosophers gathered around the warmth of their individual computer monitors to discuss how we moved from the 60s to the 20s and never grasped if the direction was forward or backward. Prof Irons set the dials on the Zoom Machine and Solicitor Simon captured the notes as we derived the formula for settling the racial issue once and for ever.
“It is also the formula that keeps black America underdeveloped even as we enjoy new freedom and a
proliferation of opportunity. No worse fate could befall a group emerging from oppression than to find itself
gripped by a militancy that sees justice in making others responsible for its advancement.”
― Shelby Steele, White Guilt
Introduction
Mike – I was upset by the rioting in the streets for 100 days. Candace Owens in her YouTube video spoke of blacks eulogizing "the lowest common denominator" (not a correct math analogy) and credited Shelby Steele. Then I heard him speak on TV and Rob obtained The Content of Our Character that had won the 1990 Kennedy Award and the 1991 National Book Critics Award for non-fiction which led me to White Guilt.
Shelby Steele was born in Chicago. His grandfather was born a slave. His father was a truck driver and his mother was employed at CORE. He is 75 years of age. He was educated at Stanford, received his M.A. from Southern Illinois, and taught at Univ. of Utah. He received his PhD. in 1974 and turned down tenure at Univ. of Utah. Since 1994 he has been on staff at Stanford’s Hoover Institute. Shelby has a twin brother who also has been affiliated with Stanford and now is assistant dean at Berkeley.
Peter – The tone is unsparing. Steele has a nice way of expressing himself in logical progression from liberalism to white guilt. The theme seems to be that Steele experienced an epiphany after hearing Dick Gregory in the late 60’s. He stopped driving a bus that revelation.
Dick- Steele made a big attack on a woman he did not think had sufficient credentials or intellect who suggested teaching a Black Literature course. Steele did a good job on the 60’s. We think of the counterculture but there were also millions of Young Americans for Freedom who followed Goldwater’s form of conservativism, especially on college campuses. I grew up in Utah, so I did not grow up in the 60’s that most of the U.S. youth experienced.
Mike – Instead of supporting the Supreme Court affirmative action decisions Steele seems to support “We will do it on our own.”
Charlie – Malcolm X seemed to share Steele’s philosophy. He said, “Screw Whitey, we'll take responsibility for ourselves.”
Dick -There is a new non-fiction biography on Malcom X that won (or is nominated) for a National Book Award. Self-reliance is good for gifted athletes but not good for blacks in education.
Tom – He does not dwell on it but Steele favors innovative schooling and schools. I don’t place all the burden on the black community for education. We need to face up to the problem of educating blacks and other under-privileged youths. We need a national program for education.
Peter – White guilt is for white people because it makes them feel better by doing something and it may foster a change of heart in the black community.
Mike – Remember the book was written in 2006. Much has changed since then including the Black Lives Matter Movement.
Dick – “Steele is really talking about White Male Guilt, women are secondary.” American history has mostly been about white men. Tom – “I think Steele mischaracterizes hard work as white supremacist prejudice. Many want to tear down and rebuild the educational structure because it is not working.”
Karl – "If you have to call yourself a progressive, you probably are not.”
Mike – We are seeing the breakdown of nuclear families. The abdication of the nuclear family is one of the most egregious positions taken by BLM, a stated position in their published manifesto which they removed from their website only in Sept 2020 as the corporations started pouring money into them.
Karl – Candice Owens talks about the breakdown of nuclear families.
Tom –The evidence is that all families are breaking down.
Jeff – There is lots of prejudice in Utah and at the core of the Mormon church. Until recently the Church did not allow black priests, until missionaries in Brazil sought to name black persons priests. So, the Church changed its position.
Peter – “There is a moral vacuum due to a lack of commitment to the Constitution.” P. 82 quote puts everything wrong in the U.S. on white guilt. Vacousness in lives is all linked to lack of faith in the Constitution. Steele is saying that democracy is based on the Constitution and our failing is that we have not been committed to the Constitution.
Jack- White guilt led to lack of commitment to the Constitution. What we have now is a result of the counter culture revolution of the 60’s. Unfortunately, Steele did not offer any solution.
Tom – My question is, Where do we go from here?
Jeff - The book made me look at my voting habits. Whites were guilty of racism. Steele says there was no good result from White Guilt. There seem to be multiple solutions – education sucks but some can rise up when given the opportunity to a good education. I met a black theologian at a seminar who told me he was driving his Mercedes home wearing a three-piece suit when he was stopped by the police and made to lie on the ground and was handcuffed in Pasadena, CA. When he asked the police why he had been stopped they told him, “Because you are a black man driving a Mercedes.” We need to fix systems like that.
Tom – Studies show that racial bias does not play a role in violence against blacks. I am bothered by BLM’s focus on something that is not helpful like defunding police departments. Instead we should be focused on education, especially in the inner-cities.
Peter – The black community plays on white guilt and that does not help the black community. George Floyd was not a cultural hero because the police killed him.
Jeff – Taking drugs and having a criminal record does not give police a right to kill a black person.
Summaries and Grades
Karl – This book is several edits short of being a well-written exposé on White guilt and its ramifications. Often the sentence structure is too convoluted to catch the intended meaning without rereading – sometimes several times. That seems unnecessary.
Also, it is doubtful that the author would do well in a college course on Logic as some of his arguments are extremely questionable, in my view. In addition, he relies on too many premises without supporting evidence. Many, I believe, are suspect.
Nevertheless, this is one of the most thought-provoking and insightful books that I think I’ve ever read. It took me a long time to read it – in part because of the cumbersome writing style and in part because I had to stop to think about what I had just read.
Depending on what I read, my reactions can be assigned to one of three categories: 1) Yes, I knew that but I have never or possibly could never have expressed it. 2) Now, that’s really interesting. Makes sense. That helps explain things. And, 3) I don’t buy that at all. Sorry.
Still, while some of his premises are arguable, most of his conclusions seem sound. Other than the writing style I have three criticisms. One has to do with using Eisenhower as a hypothetical racist early in the book to make his point about the changes in what had been societally acceptable between the 1950’s and the 1990’s. Fair enough. But later on, he seems to take that hypothetical example as if it were real. That, I think is unfair.
The second criticism has to do with the unending generalization that Whites and Blacks are each homogenous groups – or at least as far as the author’s arguments go. I understand why that was helpful to his theses, but I’m not sure it was necessary – nor do I believe that the author sees the world that way.
The third has to do with the way the book ends. The last two paragraphs are about the author, not about the problem he has been discussing. I expected a proffering of a solution to the problems he described, but none was forthcoming. That’s a disappointment.
Were this book easier to read, it could be used in schools – the earlier, the better. I think that would be a good idea. As it is written, that’d be a real stretch.
The concept of White guilt and its ramifications reminds me of Aristotle. He was a pretty smart guy and he kind of summed up what this book is describing, though in a very different context. Specifically, “Nature abhors a vacuum.” In this book, the vacuum relates to the moral authority of Whites.
I’d summarize as follows: the book is not particularly well-written nor are the author’s arguments particularly concise, with many being logically suspect, yet it is compelling and definitely worth reading. Grade: B+
Rob- - Useful book. It creates rhetorical questions as applied to Trump. A stimulating read as was Candice Owens' speech. Lots of work is still needed. It is hard for me to see how Biden can deal with this problem. Grade: B+
Charlie – I agree with much that has been said. I think Steele is correct on the big picture. Unfortunately, his are arguments are convoluted and the book was too long. The big problem with the book is that it offers no solution. Grade – B
Jack: I was looking forward to reading Shelby Steele's White Guilt to get another perspective of racism in America, having just read How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, but I was disappointed. It was a difficult read for me. I had trouble following the logic of his argument and frequently got bogged down in his use of what I assumed were sociological terms (social determinism, establishment consciousness, dissociation, etc.) even though he attempted to define some of them.
I did enjoy his personal story of how he experienced America's journey from segregation through the civil rights movement and black militancy to the "Great Society" and affirmative action. I was hoping he would conclude with some suggestions as to how we could best restore the moral authority he claims we whites lost when we acknowledged the existence of racism in our country, other than simply saying we should adhere to democratic principles. When I finished the book, I felt I was left with too many unanswered questions. Grade: B
Tom – I also agree with most of what was said. It would have been better as a long essay than a book. He was very repetitive but I agree with what he says happened in the last 50 to 60 years. It is hard to look at what is going on in schools and not be depressed if one believes that schools’ job is to prepare students with the skills to perform in college or in a job. If some blacks want to be separate, then they should be able to do so. Grade – A
Dick – I need to get on my soapbox for a moment. There have been lots of negative things said about BLM. But I want to emphasize that there are two sides to these issues. There are also the militias and Boogaloo Bois agitating and rioting, A lot of the current chaos is coming from the Right. I just want things to be balanced. As for the book, it was way too long, there was no conclusion and no solution offered. As an academic, I also have a negative bias against Steele as a member of the Stanford’s Hoover Institute. Grade – B
Bob Simon – My review is attached.
Peter – Let me preface what I say with the fact that I started out in SDS (Students for a Democratic Society, founded 1960). Steele cannot be blamed for no resolution.
In Search of Steele's Thesis: I agree that Steele's development of narrative is somewhat messy, as human affairs are messy. Within this daunting arena, Steele does his best. If I were to fault him for anything, it would be that he, like many of us, makes race the lens through which he looks at the world. At least our American world.
Nevertheless here goes: pp. 27 "...white guilt has generated a new social morality in America that made racial prejudice utterly illegitimate." ...the larger reality is that white guilt leaves no room for moral choice.... It depends on [whites'] fear of stigmatization, their fear of being called a racist. Thus white guilt is nothing less than a social imperative that all whites....are accountable to.... pp. 45 "Unwittingly, this new consciousness came into perfect agreement with the first precept of white racism...that race was destiny ... the same axiomatic truth that the civil rights movement had just won a great victory against."
And, bottom of the page, is what I see as the foundation of his argument, thesis, if you will: "To up the ante on white guilt this new black consciousness led blacks into a great mistake: to talk ourselves out of the individual freedom we had just won for no purpose whatsoever except to trigger white obligation (it's mine)."
It's easier to manipulate whites with the race card and win concessions--and hold the moral power of guilt over them--than for blacks to acknowledge the need for their own, individual or personal responsibility and advancement. Maybe a bunch of hooey, but this is what I think he is trying to bring to our attention. That somehow in the mix of it all, both races have lost their way and continue to insist on blundering along.
White Guilt is a hollow argument for both sides. Blacks use White Guilt to manipulate white culture to get political benefits. Steele provides criticism for both sides. Grade: A
Keith: Eight points to be made.
1. The greatest racism in American history was the destruction of the Indians. Manifest destiny made them expendable because they stood in the way,
2. I grew up among many different ethnic groups in St. Paul with lots of diversity.
3. Nebulous definitions. The definition of white guilt and racial bias is flexible; i.e. it keeps moving. When a Black pastor was asked, “What should Whites Do?" his answer was, “Just say ‘Amen’”.
4. Whites see the world by color.
5. Affirmative action – largely a failure. I attended UC Berkley and saw students admitted with lower standards.
6. Black leaders share blame for bias because they have not made families emphasize excellence.
7. The Press is also guilty. Jackie Robinson
8. White contemporary to club – will
Solution – “Americans always want a magic pill.” I think the best solution is to
focus on young people. Don’t expect an instantaneous solution. Change will be
“glacial and gritty.”
Grade: C
Jeff – this would have been better as an essay. I agree there are places of white guilt but Steele did not take it anywhere. His arguments are too simplistic. It is not a well written book. WG is mentioned 164 times. I liked How Not to be a Racist better. I actually think putting all whites and all blacks together is racist. Grade: B-
Mike – The group exceeded my expectations. I feel better about recommending the book now. I recall in the Portland video seeing a young man throw his body against a fence time and time again during a demonstration. Simultaneously I happened to be watching the episode in Ken Burns’ series on WWII on the assault on Saipan. I was impressed by the same determination by both this young demonstrator and the American soldiers attacking the Japanese fortified position on Saipan’s mountain.
I am glad we read the book. I liked Steele’s personal stories, such as his trying to become the bat boy for the white team. Grade: B+
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