February 22, 1973
.....
INSTITUTIONAL
SUBORDINATION is the
placing or keeping of minorities
in a position of inferiority by
means of attitudes, actions, or
institutional sturctures which do
not use color itself as the
subordinating mechanism.
Rather, other mechanism related
indirectly to color are used.
Hence, a clear definition of
institutional subordination
becomes particularly elusive due
to the very essence of its indirect
nature, which consequently,
makes it difficult for others to
recognize. This is due
predominantly to racism's
relative longevity in American
life.
For more than 300 years,
overt racism was a central part
of American life. Thousands of
overtly racist laws, social
institutions, behavior patterns,
living conditions, distributions
of political power, figures and
forms of speech, cultural
viewpoints and habits, and even
patterns of thought continually
forced Americans of color into
positions of inferiority and
subordination. Even after the
bloodiest of American wars to
abolish legal
subordination--slavery--many
other racist laws and institutions
remained in force. These
included legally segregated
schools, restrictive agreements
forbidding nonwhites to live in
certain neighborhoods, laws
prohibiting interracial marriages,
required racial separations in
public facilities like buses and
restaurants, and the denial of the
right to vote.
Admittedly, some progress
has been made in so far as
striking down the legal supports
for forms of overt racism and
this in turn, has reduced some of
its pervasively detrimental
effects. Indeed, conscious and
deliberate subordination by
color is now considered wrong
by most Americans.
Consequently, many whites
BELIEVE that overt racism--the
only form THEY recognize--is
disappearing from America. On
the contrary, the deliverate
exclusion of blacks, Mexican
Americans and other Americans
of color from labor unions,
private social clubs, and all-white
residential neighborhoods, just
to name a few, must be viewed
as none other than overt racism.
Three hundred years of overt
racism has not disappeared
overnight. In fact, many whites
recognizing the injustice
accruing as a result of overt
racism now say: "OK, we realize
the injsutice of overt racism. So
we will stop using color as a
basis for d e cision-making.
Instead, we will use other factors
which are clearly and reasonably
related to the activities and
privileges involved. We will use
skill levels in relation to jobs,
place of residence in relation to
school attendance, ability to
score well on entrance
examinations in relation to
higher education, self-confidence
and leadership in relation to job
promotions, and savings plus
present income in relation to
buying homes." These factors
then, will be free from overt
racism. And this brings us to
another point--"merit
employment."
"Merit employment" is
supposedly based on skill and
ability without regard to race or
color. Nevertheless, even "merit
employment" programs can
conceal many forms of indirect
institutional subordination by
color. As a matter of fact, such
programs do NOT destroy or
even significantly weaken the
continuing racist effects of past
overtly racist behavior. This is
teller
due to the fact that many of
those effects are embedded in
institutional structures that no
longer APPEAR to be related to
race or color. For example, in a
work situation, institutional
subordination of nonwhites by
white supervisors, who out of
their own basic insecurities or
other personality deficiencies
(indeed, many whites,
irrespective of their credentials,
feelgenuinely threatened by.
blacks), may be rationalized on
the grounds that job
performance is not
"outstanding" or, certain duties
may be "transferred" thereby
justifying the elimination of the
job classification altogether,
which, thereupon a new position
involving possibly menial duties
may be created. Thus, if the
nonwhite employee perceives
the newly created position to be
a demotion or an insult to his
level of skills and abilities, then
his only other alternative is to
leave the organization.
Admittedly, the employer's
actions were not overtly racist in
nature or intent, but
nevertheless they had racist
effects, that is, they
subordinated a nonwhite
individual because of his color.
These effects occur because the
seemingly "reasonable" and
"unbiased" behavior of the
employer takes place in an
institutional context that still
contains profoundly racist
elements remaining from three
centuries of overt racism.
Other examples of
institutional subordination is the
geographic exclusion 'of
minorities from all-white
residential areas, and the
perceptual distortions in the way
people see themselves. Overt
racism is the main cause of
georgaphic exclusion of
nonwhites from all-white
residential areas, the vehicle of
which is the deliberate
discouragement of blacks and
other minorities from buying or
renting in all-white
neighborhoods. This is practiced
by white realtors, renting agents,
landlords and homeowners.
Consequently, out of fear of
getting "the run-around" or
hostile treatment, minorities
don't even try to find homes in
these all-white areas, in spite of
laws and court decisions to
promote the contrary.
Zoning laws or local actions
to discourage or prevent the
building of low-income housing
are defended on the grounds
that they "maintain high
community standards" of
housing in the suburbs. Yet
many of the best quality
schools, housing developments,
recreational facilities and general
residential environments are
found in the suburbs.
Consequently, minorities find
themselves cut off not only from
the most rapidly growing sources
of new jobs, but also from the
best amenities offered in
American society. This is clearly
institutional subordination, or,
to discard the
euphemism--racism. Yet, very
few acts of overt racism are
carried out by a vary small
number of people. But these are
then supplemented by millions
of white suburbanites who are
completely unaware of the
subordinating aspect of their
behavior. In fact, many people
conscientiously avoid any
actions they believe to be
overtly racist. Hence, many
whites become righteously
indignant at the charge that
American society is "racist."
They have purged their own
actions of overtly racist behavior
and honestly believe their
communities "have no race
I I I I I l I 1 1 I l s i l I 1 I 1 l I I I 11
(from page
problems" because there are
practically no minorities there in
the first place. And institutional
subordination that caused this
exclusion remains completely
invisible to them.
Perceptual distortion comes
about as a result of the deeply
rooted mental image of
"normal" society as consisting
of only white people, and of all
"colored" persons as "strange"
and "different." Due to the
introduction of many more
blacks into television forms
however, an improvement has
been made along these lines. But
in situation shows and cartoons,
a largely segregated society is
still projected, and the same
distortions that make whites
unconsciously feel "normal" and
superior in relation to nonwhites
has the opposite effect upon the
latter. Television, school
textbooks and other educational
materials convey to children of
color the impression that they
are inferior. Therefore, it should
not be surprising that many
minorities unconsciously come
to believe he is inferior, he starts
to lose confidence in his ability
to overcome aiy encountered
obstacles. This often causes him
to reduce his efforts when
confronted by such
obstacles--which in turn
produces failures that confirm
not only HIS feelings of
inferiority, but also justifies his
perpetual subordination by
others. Thus, goegraphic ex
clusion plus perceptual
distortion combine to produce
largely unrecognized
psychological and behavioral
effects upon both groups and
these in turn perpetuate the
institutional subordination of
nonwhites because of their
color.
The point of all this has been
to beg the question: If in fact
racial paranoia does exist, then
given racism's relative
importance in the American
historical and contemporary
perspective, is there any reason
why it should not exist?
Moreover, this writer should
like to ask one question of
editor Boswell: What are YOUR
credientials which qualify YOU
as an expert in race relations??
Note From Boz: I am, like
you, a human being.
There will be A Student
PSEA meeting TONIGHT at
6:30 p.m. at the New Birth
coffeehouse, 946 A Kirtland
Ave., Meade Heights.
Discussion topics include
upcoming organizational
elections, insurances and other
important items.
THE CAPITOLIST
E. Janet Reid
* *
Student
PSEA Meeting
Master of Public Administration
Student—Faculty Seminar
Speaker: Dr. Howard E. McCurdy,
American University
Topic. 'The Philosophy of Public Administration'
Friday Feb. 13 1:30 PM Gallery Lounge
Speaker Discussion Refreshments
Husbands t Wives Cordially Invited
Editorial
PIE IN THE
FACE---NOT
A MERRY PACE
by R. W. Bonaker
Long ago, a wise sage said
"There's a reason for everything
but everything is not reason."
So be it at Capitol Campus.
Last week, what started out
to be great fun turned into a
childish display of emotion and
resulted in embarrassment for all
of us in the Capitol Community.
The Beta Chi society sponsered a
Pie-Eating Contest last Thursday
in Vendorville during the lunch
hour. The activity was a part of
the Social Committee's Nostalgia
Week. The fastest pie -eater, who
turned out to be Philadelphia's
Bruce Strauss, would receive a
five dollar prize.
Just as Strauss was putting
the finishing touches on his 12
inch blueberry merangue pie, a
couple of idiots began tossing
the remaining pies at adversaries
across the table. Whether they
did it because of the T.V.
cameras, I do not know. But
innocent bystanders were
splattered with pies, among
them SGA President Mike Dini
and Social Committee Chairman
Don Snyder. There clothes were
ruined!
WHP News telecast the event
on two separate programs that
night. The 6 O'clock newscaster
subtley mocked the actions of
the "nasties" and made it appear
those few jerks were
representative o f our student
body. I say they most certainly
are not! People with that type of
mentality should not be
classified as a college student.
I suppose many of our
readers may differ with my
criticism of those previously
mentioned. You may argue,
"what the hell; they were just
blowing off some steam." All
right. I guess they were. But
they still failed to consider those
innocents who while calmly
eating their lunch at a fairly
distant table were hit with a pie.
And you might say I did not
mention that one of the pie
throwers assisted Beta Chi
members in the clean-up
operations. Well, I just
mentioned it.
The solution was simple. First
of all, Beta Chi should have
staged the competition in the
Student Center in the evening,
and participants and spectators
would have been prepared for
any such action. Then, and I'll
admit it, I would have been one
of the first to start tossing pies.
CZEZI
Fl .1 I 7 I A 1 L I— I lb
SECURITY
TASK FORCE
REQUESTS
OPINIONS
The Security Task Force
which Provost McDermott
activated last term is in need of
opinions and suggestions from
the Capitol Campus student
body, faculty, and staff
regarding deficiencies and and
improvements in the following
areas.
I. Regulations for parked
vehicles.
2. Enforcement of moving
vehicle and parked vehicle
regulations.
3. Penalties for violators of
vehicle regulations.
If you have any opinions and
suggestions with regard to the
above please put them in
writing and deliver them to
anyone of the Task Force
members listed below (the unit
the Task Force member
represents follows his local
address).
Dr. John D. Antrim, Room
W-262 (Chairman)
Mr. George Dressler, Room
W-205 (Administration)
Mr. Edward Ganssele, 938 A
Mars Drive (Student
Government Association)
Mr. John R. Grimm, Room
W-101 (Student Affairs)
Prof. Clifford A. Mason,
Room W-252 (Faculty)
Mr. James Yorgey, 938 A
Mars Drive (Meade Heights
Board of Governors)
The Task Force is NOT
asking for complaints but rather
it is asking for constructive
thoughts which can help it
achieve its goal of finding out
the best way to handle such
matters on the Capitol Campus.
Joys of the Sabbat
Students, faculty and staff
are invited to the "Oneg Sabbat"
(The Joys of the Sabbat)
festivities at the Bnai Jacob
Synagogue, Nissley and Water
Streets in Middletown.
The event will be staged on
Saturday, March 3 from 3:30 to
6:00 p.m.
Cultural and religious and
musical themes will be featured.
A fellowship hour culminating in
a Havdala (Ceremony of the
Separation of the Sabbath), will
follow.
Rabbi Jonathan Brown,
Congregation Ohev Sholom,
Harrisburg will officiate and Dr.
David Langmyer of Capitol
Campus will play the banjo.
Refreshments will be served
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