The year was 1955. A 14-year-old black boy by the name of Emmett Till was beaten and eventually shot to death by two white men for allegedly flirting with a white girl. The year was 2012. A 17-year-old black boy by the name of Trayvon Martin was shot cold by a neighborhood watch officer after a brief altercation while he was out buying Skittles.
The year was 2012. A 32-year-old Muslim mother by the name of Shaima Alawadi was beaten to death with a tire iron by unknown attackers who left a note saying, “This is my country. Go back to yours, terrorist.” For the record, Alawadi was a stand-up citizen whose husband used to contract with the U.S. Army.
It’s been nearly 60 years since Till’s unjust and hateful death sparked the civil rights movement that made us all think we’ve become “progressive.” But in the past month, we have witnessed two deeply saddening deaths that are eerily similar to Till’s. Clearly, these cases have exposed some serious, unresolved racial and religious challenges.
Martin and Alawadi’s deaths both likely resulted from some sense of racism or hate. But after 60 years and three generations of Americans experiencing civil rights reform, the real question is: Why does racism exist today? Gen. Douglas MacArthur, a former chief of staff of the U.S. Army, once wrote; “Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of fear – kept us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor – with the cry of grave national emergency.” We have created a culture of fear and paranoia that dominates people’s minds and drives them to behave irrationally, like those who killed Martin and Alawadi.
The persistence of this maddening culture and its troubling growth since 2001 is the reason racism still exists today. This isn’t only true sociologically – the idea that fear drives racism was proven to be biologically true. A 2010 study published in Current Biology demonstrated children with Williams Syndrome, a unique genetic condition that suppresses one’s psychological fear of strangers, do not stereotype on the basis of race. According to Current Biology, “The findings support the idea that prejudice stems from fear of people from different social groups.”
An earlier 2005 study by psychologist Elizabeth Phelps proved racial bias was associated with a “deep-seated fear of people perceived as members of a different social group, a connection that some researchers had suspected but for which solid data was lacking.” Phelps also found this fear decreases significantly when people have more contact and personal relationships with members of other races. When this social fear disappears, racism will too. We are all collectively responsible for the social-political landscape in our country and community. Yes, the government and mass media have significant bearing on public opinion. But on a localized level, the way we speak, interact and think about each other determines the impact of that bearing. Then, on a larger level, we need to hold the government and media accountable if they are misrepresenting true public opinion.
So, for the sake of Trayvon and Shaima and to quell your inner fear, leave your comfortable social circle and interact with people of other races and backgrounds. And when you find the “other” is not quite as fearful as portrayed by your government or the media, use the power of your own voice and actions to demand a more accurate portrayal of your neighbor. Do not allow these cases to die down without justice and due process. If we keep talking about it, the media will listen and the government will act – hopefully.
Osama Eshera is a junior bioengineering major. He can be reached at eshera@umdbk.com.
