The Engineering of Racism

Samuel Belsham Moki, PhD

• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781645758143
• eBook ISBN: 9781645758167
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Discrimination & Race Relations
• Index: Social Sciences

Racism and white supremacy have survived in the United States for a very long time because from the onset, it was based on sound 'engineering.' The book contends that racism is not a belief, practice, or ideology that flared up by accident or through the spur of the moment. Rather, it followed sound engineering stages like planning, design, and construction. Racism was designed to serve a domineering purpose for white people and, therefore, there was a lot of planning that eventually led to its design and construction. Because the architects had a vision of its permanency, they chose the most durable materials for its construction. Metaphorically, they used mortar, bricks, and steel beams. These durable materials, among others, include religion, science, government (including the Supreme Court), the constitution and laws, brutality, and social media. As the centuries rolled by, succeeding architects of this design and construction have done a superb job in maintenance and modifications to elude stumbling blocks. Based on the times and prevailing winds, the racism construct has undergone mutations to evade capture and destruction - even to this day. Like a car, the engineering and engineers have evolved, the models and make are changing, but the underlying engineering remains intact. Today, the overt, brash, and brutal racism has generally ceded to an equally destructive, calculated, politically-correct, less pompous, highly sophisticated, and veiled racism. The book dissects this durable foundational construct and proffers recommendations that will systematically minimize its intensity.

Chapter 1:
Introduction

There have been many constitutional amendments, laws, and Supreme Court decisions prohibiting racism and declaring racial actions unconstitutional. Yet, since the first slaves landed in Virginia in 1612, racism has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that it is endowed with the nine lives of a cat. Despite all the efforts, policies, laws, and constitutional amendments to “kill” racism, it continues to survive to this day. Why?

There are many strands of racism. There is white against black, black against white, Asians against Africans, Africans against Asians, Whites against Indians, Indians against Whites, and on and on. This book, while it may stray into discussing racism generally, its focus would be on the mother of all racism – white racism and supremacy against blacks. There are certainly some blacks who harbor or have harbored racist feelings and manifested racist actions against whites. However, based on historical and current facts, black racism against whites has been far less significant compared to the massive and destructive nature of white racism against blacks. In this regard, therefore, the focus of this book will be on the dominant strand of racism which is white racism against blacks. The decision to write this book is a culmination of years of indecision and constant analysis of the value it brings to the issue of racism. This issue has spanned several centuries and a lot has been written about it. It has manifested in practice, there has been much debate, many laws have been passed in furtherance and against racism, battles have erupted because of it, millions of lives have been lost, houses and other properties destroyed, and organizations formed for or against racist practices. What else can I possibly add?

As someone who teaches “African American Studies” and “African American History” at the college level, I have followed the history and contemporary manifestations of racism. A lot of the focus has been on racist laws, words, and actions. However, the concept of the superiority of white people over black people is at the heart of racism. In addition, this superiority complex did not happen overnight or by chance. It was a systematic and carefully crafted creation by the white race. This book by no means is alleging that all white people supported or support this superiority mantle over blacks. The thrust of the book is that it was the pervasive view among whites, making generalizations about their thinking possible. Creating the myth that whites are superior to blacks was intentionally designed to allow the white race to control and subjugate the black race. This book of sorts traces the beginnings of racism and in many ways exposes why racism has continued to assume a permanent and bubbling presence in the United States for over 400 years. The answer, I contend, rest with the engineering of racism – how it was conceptualized, designed, and implemented. Having been soaked in the history of racism, I am the least surprised when it manifests in various ways in the United States. When racial incidents occur, accusations fly in all directions. There is the camp that condemns such racially charged actions while the other fails to see racial motivations. Others exploit these situations by adopting the politically correct views in a bid to hide their true feelings. There are voices that have charged that the plantation days are still alive, while others are quick to enumerate the substantial progress the United States has made toward racial equality. The intensity, fueled by the passion of each camp, heightens for a few days or weeks and then “normalcy” returns. The racial feelings assume their latency, waiting for the next racial crisis. This has become the cycle of reaction to racially-motivated incidents or actions. These incidents and utterances have assumed the equal opportunity mantle in that the perpetrators span from ordinary citizens to elected officials, to celebrities, the young, the old, men and women. Racism runs through the United States like a river. Institutions have been implicated, it has been expressed openly and many times, behind closed doors. It has caused resignations of top officials in various private and governmental organizations. Lives have been lost, properties damaged, and massive protests generated. It has inflicted physical and psychological pain and shattered peace in many communities. Yes, these are the works of racism. These are its footprints. This is its carnage. Indeed, its destructive consequences are littered all over the history of the United States.

Born over five centuries ago, racism is still alive and kicking. Indeed, it shows no signs of dying off. While there has been progress toward a more equal society, the periodic eruption of racially-charged incidents remain a vivid reminder of its nine lives. When these incidents surface, I always find myself asking the question, when will racism die? Why the persistence of racism? It is because the myth – that whites are superior to blacks, which is the foundation of racism over the centuries – was built with heavy “steel” and reinforced with “concrete.” The ideology was carefully conceptualized, designed and constructed using “scientific,” physical, psychological, legal, institutional, and religious “materials.” This construct has been passed down to generations of whites. Racism is a learned behavior. With all the above confluence of factors, the black race has been in for a rough ride.

As a student of law, history, and political science, I have been exposed to the historical context of the interaction of human races. I have read many accounts of European exploration, the Atlantic slave trade, colonization and neo-colonization. I was born in Africa (Cameroon to be more specific) and lived there for 25 years. Thereafter, I moved to the United States where I now live. As a child growing up in Africa, I and many others were exposed to this myth. It was a myth that was passed down from generation to generation. We accepted it and engulfed ourselves in it. There was no motivation or appetite to question it. Indeed, we accepted the belief that whites were superior to blacks. Even the reverence that our parents had for the white people they worked with and for, was enough to create that image of superiority in our minds. It dictated our admiration for white people and caused us to make a conscious effort to copy their ways. We aspired to act like the whites. It is not that everything about the white man was good but that is what it appeared to us growing up in Africa. It was how they packaged themselves. They were called expatriates – the experts who had come to fix the ills of Africa. The reverence that had developed for the white race left little room to doubt or question their motive. Yet, as we will see later, unlike the civilizing role the white man had claimed to play in Africa, they were largely motivated by greed, racism, and a desire to pillage Africa for the benefit of their respective countries.

Traveling to the United States and other European countries became the turning point for me and many other Africans of our generation. The discoveries were mind-boggling. We were now in the white man’s turf with the opportunity to examine and experience every aspect of their lives. It was not just about what the white man told us and portrayed to us back in Africa. We were not exposed to their daily lives nor that of their society. Traveling changed things. It accorded us an opportunity to assess white people based on practicalities before our eyes. The carefully choreographed image of white people in Africa was gone. Daily, all aspects of the white man’s life became an open book. The great myth was unveiled, the great lie exposed. The white man was not perfect. He/she had the same flaws as blacks, engaged in the same vices, and had many vulnerabilities. The white man was just another human being, on the same level as blacks and other human races.

Chapter 2:
The Meaning of Racism and the Concept
of Racial Engineering

Meaning of Racism

Racism is a phenomenon, belief, concept or ideology that is widely known and has been experienced over several centuries in the United States. Many dictionaries, organizations, and individuals have provided their own versions of what racism means. What has complicated the definition or meaning is that what to blacks is racism, may not be the case for whites. Let us look at some of these definitions.

Dictionaries are the default sources for definitions. The Concise Oxford Dictionary opined on racism as:

• 1a*A belief in the superiority of a particular race; prejudice based on this.
• 1b*Antagonism toward, or discrimination against other races, esp. as a result of this.
• 2*the theory that human abilities etc. are determined by race."

The definitions above contain the usual “ingredients” of racism. There is superiority, prejudice, antagonism, abilities, and race. The presence of the word “race” in the definitions above and many others instructs that race is a condition for racism to exist. There must be a white race and a black race, for example. In other words, there must be at least two races with their distinct biological characteristics. There can be no racism without the presence of different races. In addition, the belief of superiority of one race over the other(s) is also key. However, the belief that one race is superior to another because of their abilities and attributes is idle racism. It is simply a belief and without further enabling factors, it remains largely “harmless.” Such a belief system, per se, is not enough to capture the true meaning and manifestation of racism.

If we look at history and today, the above definitions need to be complemented to fully reflect what racism means. Indeed, racism limited to thoughts or a belief would be insignificant and not as destructive. What you think or believe about another race without actions to implement them would not cause much of a problem in society. The reality is that racism in America manifests in full cycle. That is, in thoughts, beliefs, and actions. Though there are some who for politically correct reasons internalize their racist thoughts, it is customary to experience racism being expressed in the American society. Racism is customarily accompanied by racial discrimination which Article 1.1 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) defines as:

• “…any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.” (United Nations: Office of The High Commissioner for Human Rights. 1965)

In many instances, blacks have openly been referred to as “niggers,” “monkeys” or “apes.” In the slavery days, blacks were viewed as property of the white man. America’s history, and even presently, is replete with both verbal and action racism. At the heart of racism are three elements:

1. "It is a vision of society that is composed of inherently different groups;
2. it includes an explicit or implicit belief that these different groups are unequal by nature – often enough based on a Darwinian interpretation of history – and:
3. it shapes and manipulates these ideas into a program of political action. Combined, these three components give racism its force." (International Council on Human Rights Policy 199)

Thus, power and authority are other constitutive elements that bring out the full meaning of racism. Racism would not inflict its destructiveness without the perpetrators wielding power. That is, the capability or ability to act or compel others to do something. An individual with racist thoughts can put them into action by using physical violence to attack someone of another race. Power played a role when blacks were lynched and brutalized during and after the days of slavery. Even the government implemented racist policies because government officials had the power of government on their side. They had the army, the weapons, and other institutional powers to subjugate blacks. In addition to power was, and is, authority. Racism succeeded because some of those who had the power also had the authority. Authority is given by virtue of the office or responsibility one occupies in government or any organization. Authority confers the power to provide solutions, and the legitimacy to act and to give orders.

Upon further analysis, even power and authority cannot by themselves, when used, amount to racism. Power and authority can be used by white government officials or even individuals to suppress or control a riot by blacks that causes the destruction of property. The fact that white officers are using their power and authority to arrest blacks cannot constitute a prima facie case of racism. All things being equal, such actions would constitute enforcing the law to ensure peace and to protect life and property. To constitute racism, the power and authority must be laced with hatred and prejudice. Prejudice means that one has a preconceived notion about another person. For example, whites believe in the inferiority of blacks and view them as animals incapable of making rational decisions. Or, white police officers having the preconception that young black men are more likely to have criminal dispositions. Hatred on the other hand is a deep-rooted dislike for something or someone. The history of the transatlantic slavery from the rounding up of Africans, to the Middle Passage and their brutalization in the United States, is evidence that whites had a deep-rooted dislike for blacks. This combination of perceived inferiority of blacks, prejudice, hatred, power, and authority engenders the oppression that blacks have suffered at the hands of whites throughout a substantial part of the history of the United States. It is this combination that gives racism its sting. Indeed, racism is not something that is plucked from a bag and can be discarded with speeches or laws. It is not an accidental happening either. Racism in the United States is a belief system that has been cultivated, nurtured, watered, fertilized, pruned, guarded, and protected for several centuries by racist individuals, groups, organizations and yes, the government.

The Concept of Racial Engineering

Engineering means to plan, design, and build engines or structures for a particular purpose. Engineering is a rigorous scientific discipline that involves a lot of thought, calculations, and effort in order to ensure that what is being built is sound, solid, safe and functioning as intended. It is usually associated with the building of cars, airplanes, boats, ships, buildings, roads, and other machines like generators and air conditioning units. Normally, because of the complexity, precision, and utility of engineering work, the discipline has garnered much respect. Anything built with engineering principles is highly regarded. Based on the products of engineering outlined above, it is hard to imagine life on this earth and beyond without it. How would we move long distances and across oceans from one part of the world to the other? How could we have lived in sound houses without it? How would our medical care look like without all the machines to detect our health condition? How could the United States and other countries engage in space exploration without it? Engineering has been used throughout generations to condition life the way we want it to be. It is a discipline that has come to facilitate our lives in the various areas that it has made its intervention. Engineering is not only associated with quality but also longevity. Cars and airplanes, for example, are built to last a long time. Planes in particular, with all their rigorous air flights, last for several decades.

For over 28 years since I came to the United States, racism has remained a constant fixture. Indeed, it has remained a constant fixture in the United States since the fifteenth century. The United States is a country that was born in racism. It is a country that was born amidst the worst form of hypocrisy – singing life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness on the one hand and denying these same values/rights to blacks on the other. This doublespeak which characterized racism then has not changed in terms of the underlying drivers. What has changed is just the political correctness about how most Americans talk about racism. The underlying currents have been dressed up for deceit. And we wonder why from time to time true racist feelings flare up? This is what caught my interest. For several years, I have struggled with understanding why one very despicable ideology has become so tenaciously destructive to the United States of America. Yes, progress has been made but to what end? Why should we accommodate racism in any form or any degree because progress has been made? Why is it so resilient? Racism has survived in the United States so thoroughly for over 400 years because the focus has been on the symptoms of the problem and not so much on the underlying causes. Therefore, while speeches condemning racism feel good, they do little to solve the problem.

After following one act of racism after another, the uproar that ensues, the condemnation that follows, it dawned on me to look deeper. I found the answer, thanks to the medical and engineering professions. In the medical profession when someone is sick, there are both symptoms and underlying causes. The symptom, which manifests externally, could be a fever. But what is causing the fever? Is it an infection? Without further investigation, one would focus on treating the fever by taking medication that brings down the temperature. In many cases, medications like ibuprofen would bring down the temperature but only for a short time. If the infection is not being addressed, the fever will recur, and the infection will progressively get worse. On the other hand, treating the infection which is the underlying cause will not only extinguish the infection but also the fever. This is the major contribution of this book. For centuries, the focus has been on treating the symptoms of racism in the United States yet the underlying causes, which are the foundations of the problem, remain intact. This is where the engineering concept of this book plays out.

The reason why racism has survived in the United States for a very long time is because from the onset, it was based on sound “engineering.” Racism is not a belief, practice, or ideology that flared up by accident or through the spur of the moment. On the contrary, it followed sound engineering stages like planning, design, and construction. Racism was designed to serve a purpose for white people and therefore, there was a lot of planning that eventually led to its design and construction. Because the architects had a vision of its permanency, they chose the most durable materials for its construction. These materials were not cardboards or drywall. Metaphorically, they used mortar, bricks, and steel beams. As the centuries rolled by, succeeding architects of this design and construction have done a superb job in maintenance and modifications to elude stumbling blocks. Based on the times and the prevailing winds, the racism construct has undergone mutations to evade capture and destruction – even to this day. Like a car, the engineering and engineers have evolved, the models and make are changing, but the underlying engineering remains intact. Today, the overt, brash, and brutal racism has generally ceded to an equally destructive, calculated, politically correct, less pompous, highly sophisticated, and veiled racism. Unless the United States understand this construct, the tackling of racism will continue to yield half-baked results. Let us now turn to the different engineering components of racism which are largely responsible for the ideology’s survival in the United States for several centuries.

Chapter 3:
Engineered Beams of Racism:
Superiority Complex and Religion

The Pre-Atlantic Slavery Period in Europe

In the 14^th and 15^th centuries, European countries were competing among themselves for economic prosperity and greater influence in the world. Each country was looking for ways to increase its wealth and the overall standard of living of its citizens. The idea of foreign acquisitions and influence outside of the continent became the order of the day. Economic prosperity through the expansion of commerce with other continents around the world became a strategy that European countries found appealing. European governments and private commercial companies made a conscious decision to invest in explorers and explorations to seek these new opportunities.

European countries that participated in exploration included among others, Britain, Spain, France, Portugal, and Netherlands. They sought out explorations for commerce and other opportunities in Africa, China, Japan, India, and what is today’s Indonesi...

Table of contents

• The Engineering of Racism
• About the Author
• Dedication
• Copyright Information ©
• Acknowledgement
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: The Meaning of Racism and the Concept of Racial Engineering
• Chapter 3: Engineered Beams of Racism: Superiority Complex and Religion
• Chapter 4: The “Scientific” Pillar of White Supremacy and Racism
• Chapter 5: Brutality As Part of the Engineering Design of Racism
• Chapter 6: The Government’s engineering of Racism and White Supremacy
• Chapter 7: The Judiciary and the Construction of American Racism
• Chapter 8: Mutational Racism Adapting to Changed Circumstances
• Chapter 9: Social Media and the Stoking of Racism
• Chapter 10: Can Racism Be Extinguished in the United States?
• Works Cited