State Representative Ben Swan opened the talk with a powerful statement about the condition of slavery. "No human being is born a slave, African people were enslaved," said Swan. "The condition of slavery does not constitute a human species." Swan went on to speak about the 'invisible man syndrome,' a term used to refer to a certain group's need to adopt the ways of other groups in order to be noticed as individuals. He concluded by noting that black history is alive and well. "To find out about black history, ask someone who has lived it," he said.
Marx began his lecture by positioning his argument in a comparative perspective. He discussed three case studies of the greatest and most prominent instances of race relations in the modern world: South Africa, the United States and Brazil. "[South Africa,] in the modern form, is the most extreme form of institutionalized racism," said Marx.
He explained that on the opposite end of the slavery continuum, in terms of legality, is Brazil, a nation which did not have any legal form of racial domination, yet still suffered greatly from the repercussions of racism. In the middle of this continuum is the United States. "I suspect the United States is closer to South Africa on this continuum," said Marx. "The puzzle is what explains this difference of outcomes."
According to Marx, the only explanation of how these forms of slavery came to exist must be linked to the notion of racial inferiority. Marx examined the case of slavery in the United States, which began with a similar pattern as that of South Africa and Brazil, where European whites found the indigenous population unwilling to provide labor. By the mid-19th century roughly one-quarter of the white population had slaves. Yet, the mortality rate of slaves in the United States was only half that of Brazil's slaves. The reason for this, according to Marx, was not that America slave owners were more humanitarian, but rather that they could not import slaves as readily. "White slave owners valued their property enough to keep their slaves alive," he said.
Marx discussed not only the history of slavery, but also the effects of racism. "What is one to make of this thumbnail composition?" asked Marx. "Slavery clearly reinforced racism, justified racism and fed racism. Slavery and racism were intertwined in all three instances. Slavery by itself is not a sufficient explanation of what would come after."
According to Marx, modern race relations in the United States are a direct legacy of slavery in our nation. When federalism and slavery, the two fundamental aspects of the birth of the United States, came into conflict during the Civil War, the North was willing to concede the rights of blacks as long as fighting ceased. "The fundamental divide between North and South was built on the back of institutionalized discrimination," said Marx. "Jim Crow was the fundamental building block of the nation we believe ourselves to be."
Marx then shifted the focus of slavery's legacy in the United States to the topic of a color-blind society. "What does it say about the United States that we have this ideal of a color-blind society that will build as an end result, and yet every step we take along the way is race color conscious?" he questioned. "If there is any reality of color consciousness in a society you cannot address it if you are blind to it."
In response to a question posed by a member of the Amherst town community about the denial among many Americans that the legacy of slavery still exists, Marx responded that we must learn from history so as not to repeat our mistakes. Marx emphasized that the current political state of the country makes this especially relevant. "We find ourselves at a moment in world history were we have the military capacity and the economic wherewithal to place a [similar process of slavery] out on a global scale," said Marx. "We as a people need to learn from those lessons so that we avoid going into these processes in a destructive way. One of the reasons we invest in education is to get to the point of understanding lessons of the past so that we will not repeat them at terrible costs."
Wilson followed Marx's talk with his own lecture entitled "Challenges on the Road to Racial Justice in Higher Education." Wilson began his speech by discussing the legacy of the Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education. "The Brown decision signaled the beginning of the end of formal race-based segregation," said Wilson. "Before educational achievement could be viewed on educational merit, the [playing field] had to be leveled."
According to Wilson, Brown's larger vision of equality for all children in schools is one which we as a nation still face in 2005. He went on to explain that at the beginning of the 20th century, black people lagged behind white people in education for reasons which were understandable. In 1900, one out of every 10 blacks lived in the South where schools were not as well funded as northern schools. The educational attainment gap between blacks and whites at the beginning of the 20th century would disappear by mid-century.
From 1960-1990, both the skill gap and the achievement gap between blacks and whites narrowed by one-third each decade. Since 1990, these two gaps have stopped narrowing. The reason for this, according to one Harvard University scholar, is due to recent trends in re-segregation. Recent studies have shown that the achievement gap emerges in pre-kindergarten and widens through the academic years.
Even in schools where these gaps should be eliminated because socio-economic traits are equal among blacks and whites, the gap continues to be present. The reason for this, according to studies done by the Minority Student Achievement Network, may be that teachers are exacerbating the problem. "The patterns are routine enough that teachers and principals form expectation about groups, [even at the pre-kindergarten level]," said Wilson. "By first and second grade the gap already exists, [and it] does not go away through high school."
As children advance through school they begin to realize the differences in achievement among students. "Acting black by underperforming becomes part of the socially acceptable culture of schools," Wilson said.
By the time students start thinking about applying to selective universities, the supply of qualified minority students becomes highly limited. "We are governed by the Jim Crow regime," said Wilson. "Fewer and fewer black students with four black grandparents are now admitted to schools." According to Wilson, more and more colleges are fulfilling their diversity quota by enrolling kids who are immigrants or the children of immigrants. "The children of Brown are still not being helped," he emphasized.
The best way for students of color in small liberal arts colleges to cultivate their talents is to develop a strong and genuine connection with a faculty member. "At [schools like] Amherst and Mt. Holyoke it is much more important for the professor and student to connect," said Wilson. "Students of color are not different from white students. They want to learn as much as the white student."
Students were impressed with the array of knowledge presented at the lecture series. Danielle Bober, a junior at Mt. Holyoke, had much to say about Marx's talk. "I believe the main lesson from the lecture was that historically, the legal institutionalization and social acceptance of racism in the United States is unique, as compared with Brazil and South Africa," she said. "In addition, the social ramifications of the historically instituted white power structure in the U.S. are still extremely pervasive in society today, particularly in the education system."
The lack of attendance on the part of students from the College was discomforting to one first-year. "Actually, the thing that surprised me most about the lecture was that there were so few students," said Janani Ramachandran '08. "[This], I dare say, is key in the fact that, as was touched on, no one wants to think about slavery and its effects. No one wants to talk about it or learn about it. Most people would rather ignore the pervasive problems of race in our society."
Over 200 people attended the event. The audience was engaged by and attentive to both speakers. Bee Huff, a retired elementary school teacher who specialized in working with disadvantaged children in California, was particularly stuck by Wilson. "I thought Professor Wilson was absolutely fantastic," she said.
Another member of the local community, Dr. Kathryn Fitzgibbons, former faculty member and professor of humanities at the University of Maryland, was impressed with how substantive the lectures were. "I thought all of the presentations were very provocative to furthering the community that we would like to develop," she said.