Legislating While Black

“Legislating While Black” is Ruth Marcus’ piece to-day in the Washington Post. The lesson is simple, there is some racism behind the McKinney/Capital Hill Police fight. Marcus does dispel, albeit by agreeing with dispellers, the “overt” racism, but then qualifies the mess as caused by “deeply embedded” racism.

Please. The Washington Post is going the educate me about “deeply embedded” racism? This is not a new lesson. While at it why doesn’t Marcus teach me about not hitting police officers, oh wait, she does. I have no problem with what Marcus writes in this piece, except that it would be better served in my doctor’s copy of Highlights. This is elementary. That is why people are so pissed at McKinney, not because she was the victim of racism, but because she initially claimed it was “overt” when everyone knows it was not. People are also pissed because she struck a cop who was only doing his job, albeit arguably poorly.

Marcus should have done some more discussion about this “deeply embedded” racism. Maybe she or her editors don’t know where to look for this issue in the literature, here are some suggestions: search for the term “whiteness” and/or read some books by bel hooks (if for no other reason than to understand why she does not capitalize her name).

This is a serious issue and needs some more examination. Not only did Marcus not provide the necessary coverage, but she does not even lead people to think there is more out there, that there is not more “deeply embedded” thought to explore.