Merton on Racism—Part 4

 One of America's most egregious sins in Thomas Merton's view was its long history of racism—which he saw had become so embedded that the country's institutions were permeated with it and nothing short of a fundamental transformation could rectify it. He, like Dr. King, saw the interweaving between racism, poverty, and violence. Together, these three scourges had created a widespread and deep illness in US society.

He wrote that the slave trade had provided an enormous pool of free labor that had largely built America's prosperity—especially in the South. Despite its pride in the Declaration of Independence and its constitution, the US has shown little interest in the rights and freedoms of the darker races. He described America's top priority as freedom of business, which places profits above people's welfare. He claimed that white America began to take an interest in the Civil Rights movement only after its business interests began to suffer.

He noted that America was not alone in its exploitation of dark people, as European dominance—based on its technological prowess—had long viewed them as inferior. This belief drove Europe to exploit Africa—both its people (through slavery) and its natural resources. Due to slavery, the US imported millions of Africans, but did not regard them as a part of the country. According to Merton, Blacks had been given no proper place in America.

Back in the 1960s, when civil rights demonstrations occurred mostly in the South, Merton noted that northern racism was also egregious. He wrote, “Northern liberals might admire the Black dignity at a distance, but they still did not want all that nobility right next door: it might affect property values.” And at another point: “The so-called 'white backlash' manifests a change from tolerant indifference to bitter hatred on the part of some northern whites.” His statements were soon validated less than a decade later, when school busing in northern cities generated a massive “white backlash.”

Just as Dr. King had written in his renowned “Letter from the Birmingham Jail”, Merton realized that white liberals in America had played a major role in perpetuating racism, largely because they did not understand the motives and feelings of Blacks, and they often used their own advantageous positions to co-opt the movement; when they sometimes used their power to control and limit the struggle that Blacks were engaged in. He wrote that racism could not be reduced—let alone eliminated—by laws, but that societal attitudes must fundamentally transform. It must be a bottom-up, not a top-down revolution.

Yes, there are many people who like to point to recent improvements in the law, but Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality in the 21^st century testify to the minimal effects of our social justice statutes. The laws are there… they just do not get enforced.