renouncing whiteness

Nathan Newman nathan at newman.org
Mon Nov 27 13:54:48 PST 2000


----- Original Message ----- From: "Wojtek Sokolowski" <sokol at jhu.edu> To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com>

At 03:12 PM 11/27/00 -0500, Nathan Newman wrote, inter alia:
>The death penalty is actually similar. Blacks are actually not killed that
>much more often than whites for the same kinds of murder, but if you kill a
>white person (whether you are white or black), you are far more likely to
>get the death penalty than if you kill a black person. The judicial system
>just does not treat the killing of a black person as seriously, whether
they
>are killed by a cop or by a private individual.

-I do not think it is true. It is 'cross-racial' murders (i.e. black -perpetrator white victim, or white perpetrator black victim) that are more -likely to receive more severe punishment than "within -race" ones.

The idea that white killers of blacks are likely to get the death penalty is just false. There is a lot of discussion around these statistics in the 1987 Supreme Court decision McClesky v. Kemp, where death penalty advocates noted the comprehensive statistical evidence of disparate treatment of victims.

Wotjek, you can argue that class oppression is a key factor in general oppression in society, but in the criminal injustice system, racism is pervasive and basically indisputable. From police brutality to racial profiling to the death penalty, the statistics are overwhelming and Charles is right that you are far to the Right not only of Gore but to a large number of Republicans, such as the GOP governor of Illinois, who established a moritorium on the death penalty in the state because of the pervasive evidence of racism.

I had a rightwing Ayn Rand worshipping roommate this past summer and even he noted that a large number of conservative legal organizations have become increasingly against the death penalty because of the overwhelming evidence of racism in the system.

Yes, poor white people suffer in our system as well, and yes, race is a complicated phenomenon, but it is also undeniable that racism is not just pervasive but an overwhelming force in the policing and judicial system.

One result we saw in this election campaign is that one out of four black men in Florida have lost their right to vote in that state because of past felony convictions. When you see that disproportionate level of mass disenfranchisement of black men, you are just denying how the cancer of racism is undermining the most basic pillars of our politics.

-- Nathan Newman



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list