The Invisible but "Good Whites" - Why Are We SILENT about Them?

Dr. King once said that: "In the end we will only remember the silence of our friends"!

Every non-White person loves to talk about racist White folks. Heck, even if I would admit that I have given it too much of my time more often than not. But are we doing that to the detriment of "the good Whites or that of society at large?' What do I mean?

Many Blacks and other minorities seem to assume that ALL WHITE FOLKS ARE RACIST and EVIL, even though they know that is not really the case. I have personally been helped by more good White folks than I have been hurt by bad ones over the years. In fact, other than close friends and family members, I have been helped emotionally, and financially by White folks a whole lot more than by Black folks.

Perhaps my attitude had something to do with it, or perhaps I have been just lucky or perhaps both are true. But, based on my experience over the course of the last three (3) decaces, I posit that modernly 3 out of 4 (75%) of modern White folks are NOT as racist as their parents used to be, if they are racist at all. In fact, the Younger Whites have seeminlgy become very open to dicussing race. They are very equipped to talk about Blacks and other minorities because more likely than not they have very close minority friends that they have learned to trust and cared about despite the stereotypes that relatives might have shared with them about such groups. In short, they have way more than that "ONE PERFECT BLACK FRIEND" that their parents or grandparents used to have or tell Blacks/Minorities about. Who wouldn't like to be THAT BLACK PERSON'S FRIEND, HUH?

But this article is not about Black folks or other minorities, it is rather about the "Good Whites! They were with Dr. MLK Jr., they were with Rosa Parks, they marched with Blacks, and gays, and Jews, and even helped elect the first African-American U.S. President etc. Many of them dated, and married interracially and sacrificed their inheritance, allowance, and relationships with relatives and friends to that end. They helped create jobs, travelled the World not for any gain but because they FEEL SORRY for impoverished and disenfranchised Blacks or other groups. They found orphanages, and even adopt Black kids and non-Whites.

So, why are they invisible?

Well, because, just like it's not fun to talk about the "Good and Overachieving Blacks Who Beat the Odds", it's equally not FUN to talk about "Good Whites". Rather, it is fun to talk about the deplorable ones, the KKK members, the bigots and racists who did not hire someone purely based on the basis of his race. These are the Whites who affect the pocketbooks of Blacks and other minorities. Hence, they are the VISIBLE WHITES. The ones that we love to talk about or hate.

But must talk about the "Good Whites' too. In fact, we must make them the center of attention so much, that the Visible Whites would want to give an arm and a leg to become invisible too. Blacks could not have beat the institution of Slavery alone. It took a plethora of "very good Whites" to help along. Let's talk about these good White folks too and thus NOT include them in a general group. Many White men, and for sure a greater percentage of White women had always been a strong partner to Black and other minorties in their struggle fro equality. Whether explicitly and or secretly, their contributions to the quest for civil rights and equal treatment under the law are often forgotten, leaving them invisible. They cannot and should NOT be forgotten. They don't deserve that! They are not our enemies. They are our friends, and our silence about them can hurt both their view of Blacks and those of other groups in the long run.

On this note, perhaps we should accentuate the positives, the "Good Whites" and engage them and discuss our issues with them and just perhaps they can be better ambassadors at presenting those very issues to the "Not so Good Ones" (i.e., the Bad Ones).

Dr. Lorins is the editor-in-chief of LorisPost.com. This article was sponsored by www.RapidGigsPlus.com