Much of the coverage of the 2016 Republican National Convention has focused on Melania Trump's alleged (and somewhat obvious) plagiarism of Michelle Obama's 2008 Democratic National Convention speech.While this topic is a serious one, there was an important moment in the Republican National Convention.
On the first night, full of speeches, rallies, and many attempts to "enthusiastically unify the Republican party", one interview stands out among the rhetoric. Representative Steve King was a part of an MSNBC panel. Upon being asked about a common argument that the Republican party is dominated by "old, white people", this is how he responded:
“This ‘old white people’ business does get a little tired,” King said. “I’d ask you to go back through history and figure out, where are these contributions that have been made by these other categories of people that you’re talking about, where did any other subgroup of people contribute more to civilization?”
(Source: Time)
Predictably, this is how any member of those supposedly inferior "subgroups" responded:
Steve King has been known for his bold and controversial views concerning race, including keeping a Confederate Flag on his desk and making insulting comments about undocumented immigrants, but at such a widely-broadcast program to so definitively make a claim for white supremacy, this quote definitely takes the (white) cake.
Here are just a few (of many) major contributions non-white subgroups have made to our current civilization that have benefited both the United States alone ("Western civilization", as King calls it) and globally courtesy of the Quartz:
Of course, many who love to "play devil's advocate" may argue, "That's because the other civlizations are older", "white people equally had the chance to create those advancements", or even "white people took those innovations and made them better".
To use that same logic, non-white people had the same chance of creating supposedly white contributions to civlization, but instead of the disadvantage of age, those other races had the disadvantage of centuries of white colonialism, exploitation, and oppression. Who's to know what further contributions black Americans could have made if they had the right to education earlier on, if they hadn't been treated like cattle? Who's to know what further contributions Latin Americans could have made if they weren't segregated into low-income communities with less education and more exposure to the drug trade? Moreover, which "subgroup" was in power when those major injustices took place?
Yes, what King said was ignorant, outrageous, and outright racist. But so have many other things he has said, and because of that this story will most likely be pushed to the backburner in a few days because no one "takes him seriously".
But people do take him seriously. People took him seriously enough to agree with his views to the point that they voted him to represent them in the national government, to make the decisions that will shape their future.
And, bigger than King, there are probably people in his district and around the country who share his view. People who have only seen the good in the world that white people have done, and not the bad, or even the good that non-white people have done. To quote Bo Burnham's satirical stage persona: "White guys invented everything but peanut butter, I believe."
Steve King didn't come up with those ideas out of nowhere, and neither did the many other Americans who believe that white people are superior. Yes, there is a psychological component to preferring people who look like you, but those articulate idea about civilization are taught, not innate.
As a woman of color who grew up in the public American educational system, it was very clear to me the bias and erasure of people of color in curricula. We mostly read the "real classics" of Victorian England and frontier America, and the one time we read Things Fall Apart, a novel about a Nigerian village and its colonization by missionaries, people groaned. They thought the character was dumb, the story was stupid. Let's get to the "real stuff". As a fourteen year-old, my stomach churned. Was this where racial prejudice started?
Actually, it starts much earlier. From the teachings of US History throughout one's education, the accomplishments of Europeans are magnified, the United States's oppressive acts on people of color glossed over. America is the best, and the best America is European.
This is a dangerous, dangerous idea. On one hand, because it creates people like Steve King, people who are not aware of the achievements, contributions, and humanity of people of color. People who will lead in government, supported by equally unaware voters. People who will create policy that will limit the opportunities of people of color, because how could they be capable of more?
On the other hand, Eurocentric education also raises people of color to believe that they aren't capable of more. Your people haven't done anything for centuries, why would you be any different? This leads people of color to aim lower in terms of postsecondary education, play into stereotypes, and feel like the whole world is against them.
I assure you, as a Filipina American attending one of the top universities in the world, you have at least one person on your side. Someone who knows what your people have been through and what your people have achieved in spite of it. And I beg you, to prove Steve King wrong. To keep dreaming in spite of what people may tell you. To keep reading to fill in the gaps of your Eurocentric education. To keep working, because one day you will make a contribution to civilization that will not only prove Steve King wrong, but also help millions.
