4 Black or Brown Philosophers Who Opened My White Mind About Racial Healing
By: Phoenix Huber
Tags: Future, Education, BlackLivesMatter, Reading, Race

2. Coleman Hughes made me question everything I thought I knew about race today in America

Coleman Hughes is a recent Columbia University graduate and frequent columnist on race issues. Months ago I heard him open a podcast episode called “Race, Riots, and the Cops.” Coleman is black and feels despair about the state of America — for reasons you might not expect.

He worries widespread racial outrage could continue, and lead to more riots. However, he believes the outrage is based on misperceptions. Roland Fryer conducted a 2016 analysis that suggested police are more likely to use nonlethal force against blacks, but not more likely to shoot and kill blacks.

In a longer interview, Coleman pointed out black men are overrepresented among those committing crimes. If I understand right, the disproportionate murder and harassment of blacks by police could be due to this cultural phenomenon of there being more black male criminals and suspects. Implicit bias could be less of a factor than believed.

Higher rates of black male crime have to do with them being disenfranchised from racism though. Even if police aren’t as racist as assumed, it doesn’t erase black struggle or imply everything’s equal. And a police officer having a black suspect in mind does not excuse shooting an unarmed person who happened to have dark skin. Meanwhile, long drawn-out murders like what happened to George Floyd were no accident and made people aware of how police power can go sickeningly wrong. Black Americans facing poverty, violence, and prison more than the rest are crimes of racism that need solving — and we are all affected by these unequal systems.

Coleman pointed out another thing: When police kill non-blacks, media coverage is less. I still remember the injustice against Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice from 2014. But I couldn’t name one wrongly shot Asian, Latinx, or white. This selectiveness makes black people seem uniquely hunted. Until the murders drop to 0, our deep despair and division over the issue could be unending. Given the nature of police work, can we expect 0 tragedies? I still have to research “defunding” and the logistics of alternative systems.

It’s difficult to question some of Black Lives Matter’s worldview. If we sing another tune about race, it could sound like we’re denying racism’s long and unfinished history. It could be interpreted as a hurtful lack of caring for the plight of Black people. We need to show that we care.

Coleman’s passion for free thought reminds me: We can mourn for victims of violence, acknowledge racism, and unite around justice without having to always agree. While I haven’t thoroughly checked his evidence to form a confident conclusion yet, I’d rather be open to multiple possibilities than be dogmatically attached to just one. For now, I am awestruck by Coleman’s calmness and intellectual honesty in the midst of controversy.

His ideas clash with those of Black Lives Matter co-founders like Alicia Garza, whose interviews I also love. Nevertheless, I imagine their perspectives as a harmony. Both of their thoughtful and beautifully spoken opinions on race have helped me think clearer and freer as a privileged white onlooker.

More importantly, their dialogues serve those who have suffered because of racism, especially their fellow Black Americans. Brave, bold, and respectful in their advocacy, I aspire to be like both of them someday.