Part I
Concepts
1
Introduction to Oppression and Anti-oppression
Aim
- To present a picture of the general nature of discrimination and oppression.
- To illustrate their seriousness and pervasiveness, throughout the world and throughout history.
- To present examples and frameworks for understanding oppression.
- To signpost positive thinking as an approach to anti-oppression.
Human societies all over the world, and at all times in history, have been very sensitive to differences â differences of gender, skin colour, size, strength, ability, place of origin, language, religion, political allegiance and so on. This has combined with a strong sense of âbelongingnessâ â defining Self and Other â and the possession of power, giving control over âThe Otherâ. The result has been stratification both within and between societies, with subjugation of the weak by the powerful, often by violent means. Philosophy, religion, art, science and wealth (what we might call âcivilisationâ) have served to some extent to culturalise and socialise people into more peaceful and tolerant lifestyles, yet this has been accompanied by ever more sophisticated means of exerting power over others. Human divisions are today as prevalent and powerful as ever. The gap between rich and poor in the world is ever widening. Wars and genocides are as frequent as ever.
Discrimination and oppression
The experience of those against whom power is exercised is often one of being discriminated against and oppressed. In this book we draw a distinction between discrimination and oppression. Discrimination relates to inequality and unfairness. Power is exerted over those who are seen as different in such a way that fewer opportunities, fewer resources, less protection and fewer rights are available to them than to more powerful or higher-status groups. Oppression goes even beyond this, to involve a lower evaluation of the worth of individuals or groups, a rejection of them, exclusion from valued social roles, and even a denial of their existence or right to exist.
Discrimination and oppression are associated with a number of traits of human beings towards those they perceive as different. There may be prejudice â negative beliefs about people, often based on stereotypes and myths, and certainly based on lack of understanding and empathy. There may be devaluation â beliefs and actions that reflect a lower valuation of an individual or group: a valuation as of less worth, less significance, less importance, of people to whom all sorts of things can be done that would not be acceptable to oneself. There may be neglect â deliberate or unintended â resulting in negative experiences and risk of harm to health, welfare and even life. There may be ignorance â through lack of interest, lack of effort, or simply lack of information â resulting in damaging or upsetting behaviour towards others, however unintended. And there may be perpetuation of inequality â due to self-interest, lack of motivation for justice, or feelings of powerlessness. Such human traits as these are likely to operate in combination, making the tackling of discrimination and oppression a very difficult task.
Ignorance and prejudice
An example of a combination of prejudice, devaluation and ignorance is illustrated by this quotation from the 1908 edition of Chambers Encyclopaedia, under the heading of âNegroesâ:
The disposition of the Negro is usually pacific and cheerful. He is not easily depressed by poverty or thoughts of the future. Content that his immediate wants are provided for, he rarely prepares for a distant contingency. Eminently gregarious in his instincts, he is usually to be found in certain streets and quarters of the town exclusively occupied by members of his own race. His interest in the past is weak, and few or no reminiscences of his ancestral languages, traditions, superstitions or usages have been retained. His religion is emotional and exerts but a moderate influence on his morality . . .
Story-telling, singing and music are favourite diversions of the coloured population . . . They produce music of pleasant though not artistic character. No Negro composer . . . has attained celebrity. Their songs are . . . generally defective in prosody and without merit, being often little more than words strung together to carry an air . . .
The Negro is . . . unwilling to make the necessary mental effort to obtain [education] . . . [After puberty] there supervenes a visible ascendancy of the appetites and emotions over the intellect, and an increasing indisposition to mental labour . . . It is a rare exception for one of them to undertake the studies requisite for a profession; and when one does, he is content with what is barely sufficient for its remunerative practice . . .
Many thoughtful and learned men see in the increasing coloured population a standing menace to the institutions and culture of their country.
Given the same level of prejudice, devaluation and ignorance in relation to women (reflected, for example, in the male-oriented language in the above quotation), we can appreciate the struggle to overcome discrimination and oppression of someone like Condoleezza Rice, currently US Secretary of State, and her ancestors.
Condoleezza Rice was born into a ânegroâ (it would now be called âAfrican-Americanâ) family in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1954. Her father, and her grandfather before him, were Presbyterian Church ministers. They lived in a middle-class, though predominantly Black, area of town. Condoleezza attended a segregated school for Black children only. She had plenty of experience of discrimination and oppression. In 1963 one of her closest friends was killed when white racists bombed a Baptist Church Sunday School for Black children. Her parents were strong believers in the value of education, and Condoleezza was brought up under their belief that white supremacy could only be overcome by Black people being âtwice as goodâ. Condoleezza excelled at languages and music. Her family moved to Denver, Colorado, in 1967 and Condoleezza attended a Catholic girlâs school. At age 15 she enrolled in a music college with a view to becoming a concert pianist (she still gives occasional piano concerts). Not believing she was good enough to earn a living through music, she attended Denver University to study political science. She proved academically extremely able, obtaining her Bachelorâs degree at age 19, her Masterâs degree at age 20, and a PhD at age 26. She specialised in international affairs and became fluent in Russian, as well as being able to communicate well in German, French and Spanish. She was appointed to an academic post at Stanford University, rising to Professor of Political Science and Provost (senior academic officer) of the University. In 1990 she was appointed principal adviser on the Soviet Union to President George Bush Senior. In 2000, she was appointed National Security Adviser by President George W. Bush, and in 2005 became US Secretary of State. (Biographical information from www.answers.com/topic/condoleezza-rice.)
Bias in history
One phenomenon that perpetuates prejudice and ignorance is the writing and teaching of history from a particular perspective. History is likely to be written and taught from the perspective of the dominant culture of the writer or teacher. Thus, for example, European history recounts the world explorations of Europeans: Cook, Columbus, Cabot, Marco Polo. This perspective is often called Eurocentric; it sees Europe as the central, dominant culture in the world. Unlikely in European historical accounts, at least until recent attempts to present global perspectives, are descriptions of world explorations by Africans (Karenga, 1993) or the Chinese (Menzies, 2002), for example. The tendency of different cultures to see themselves as the most important is reflected in geographical names: the term âMediterraneanâ means âcentre of the worldâ, as does the word âChinaâ (âZhonghuaâ in Chinese, meaning âcentral countryâ).
The telling of history from a particular dominant cultural perspective renders the contribution of people from other cultures invisible. We will give two examples of this, both involving the relegation of Black people to a lesser role than they deserve in accounts from a Eurocentric perspective.
Mary Seacole
Many British accounts of the early development of modern nursing practices derived from experience in the Crimean War place emphasis, usually sole emphasis, on the role of Florence Nightingale. Often omitted from mention is the equally valuable contribution in that context of a Black woman nurse, Mary Seacole.
Mary was born in Jamaica in 1805. Her mother ran a boarding house for injured soldiers, and taught Mary her basic nursing skills. Mary travelled widely to complement this knowledge, including visits to Britain. On one of these visits, in 1854, she asked the War Office if she could be sent as an army nurse to the Crimea so that she could work with wounded soldiers. This request was refused, but Mary financed her own travel to the Crimea where she established a âBritish Hotelâ providing accommodation for injured officers. From this base she would travel to the battlefield to tend to individual wounded soldiers on the spot. Amongst the fighting men she became as well known and respected as Florence Nightingale. Her reputation followed her on her return to Britain, and in 1857 a festival was held in her honour at which thousands of people contributed to a fund to support her. (Information from www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/seacole_mary.shtml. See also Robinson, 2005.)
Mary wrote an account of her life, recently re-published by Penguin (Seacole, 2005), though she still does not achieve the prominence of Florence Nightingale in accounts of nursing in the Crimean War. However, there is a Mary Seacole Centre for Nursing Practice at Thames Valley University, founded in 1998 by Professor Elizabeth Anionwu. She named it after Mary Seacole âas so few people seemed to have heard about this amazing Jamaican woman and her enormous contributions to nursing soldiers in the Crimean warâ (www.maryseacole.com).
The focus of the Centre is âto enable the integration of a multi-ethnic philosophy into the process of nursing and midwifery recruitment, education, practice, management and researchâ.
Exercise
Have you ever heard of Mary Seacole? Find out about her life and contribution through the Internet, libraries or other sources.
The British slave trade
In 2007 Britain celebrated the 200th anniversary of the passing in Parliament of a Bill to end the British slave trade. William Wilberforce had given a speech in the House of Commons in 1789 which lasted four hours, passionately arguing the case for the abolition of the slave trade. It took him another 18 years to gain enough support for the Bill to be passed. There is no doubt that Wilberforce was the leader of the movement to achieve this, and that his actions were the most powerful and effective. He is certainly appreciated amongst Black people. There is a Wilberforce University for Black students in America, and a Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation, based in Hull, whose patron is Archbishop Desmond Tutu from South Africa. However, the story is often told as if Black people, whether free or slaves or ex-slaves, played no significant role. Melvyn Bragg, for example, draws attention only to white British contributors to the anti-slavery movement:
Elizabeth I had said that the slave trade would âcall down the vengeance of heavenâ, and there was a strain in English life and thought which was opposed to the slave trade from Elizabeth up to contemporaries of Wilberforce. William Paley, for instance, rejected slavery in his book Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy. Adam Smith, in The Wealth of Nations, condemned slavery for rather different reasons, as an inefficient system of production, as slaves had no prospect of owning property and were promised no incentive to work. (Bragg, 2006: 158)
Krise (1999) assembled an anthology of literature from the West Indies written between 1657 and 1777. This includes several anti-slavery pieces by Black writers, for example A Speech Made by a Black of Guadeloupe (1700) and The Speech of Moses Bon Saam (1735). Carretta (1996) similarly edited a collection of writings by Black authors in the eighteenth century. These include: Narrative on the Uncommon Sufferings and Surprising Deliverance of Briton Hamm...