Sheryl Swoopes is right: Black people can't be racist

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Black or white, anyone can be prejudiced. I might not like you because of your skin color, and that makes me prejudiced. But it doesn’t automatically make me racist unless I also have the power to impact your life because of my prejudice. There are few, if any, areas of American life where Blacks hold such power. Thus, Sheryl Swoopes was correct. Blacks can’t be racist — but that doesn’t mean they can’t be prejudiced. They can.

This definition of racism opens the door to an intelligent and important conversation about the power gap between Blacks and whites. One that makes a distinction between racism and prejudice. Police brutality, overwhelmingly white-on-Black violence, is an example of racism enacted physically. Redlining, where Blacks cannot buy homes or receive loans in certain areas, is a form of economic racism. Preventing the teaching of Black history is a form of educational racism. Making it harder for Black people to vote is a form of political racism. A Black woman disparaging the abilities and career choices of a white female basketball player may be prejudiced, but it does not rise to the level of racism as defined by the Kerner Commission.

If we don’t talk about race in this country, all we will do is fight over it, often with deadly consequences. Today, there are too many examples of racism where violence, collective punishment and genocide pass as alternatives to dialogues.

And, if we are going to talk about race, a common starting point is necessary, and a decent definition of racism is as good as any. By saying Blacks can’t be racist, Sheryl Swoopes opened up a lane to the basket for a difficult, yet essential, conversation, and a path to restorative rather than retributive justice.

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