By Deborah M. Walker
On November 4, 2008 the first black president was elected and America ushered in a new era of change. The election of President Barak Obama symbolized the fulfillment of a dream but reality is racism is far from over says Dr. Robert Gray director of the film “Mobile in Black and White”.
According to Dr. Gray, inequalities in the structure of America’s social, economic and political systems have created structural inequities that affect us all. Often unintended, these inequalities go unnoticed and ignored by society and remain powerful forces.
“The reality is that schools in Mobile, Alabama and Lansing, Michigan have inequitable funding, and black schools tend not to be as well funded as white schools. It’s not because somebody’s saying I’m going to be racist here and make sure the white schools get money. It all happens sort of unconsciously and unintentionally.” says Gray.
Dr. Gray says society needs to be intentional about stopping these processes. And he says these inequalities are woven into the laws and practices of America’s institutions, and unless something is done, these innate biases will continue to create structural inequalities.
Dr. Gray set out to expose structural racism and inform people of their common misconceptions and ignorance regarding these modern discriminatory regulations and practices. Dr. Gray’s film “Mobile in Black and White” tackles the problem of structural racism by examining the way structural racism works and how it affects today’s generation.
“[This film] tries to shift people’s concept of what racism is from an individualized concept, where one person has mean thoughts or feelings or even expresses those mean thoughts or feelings on an individual basis, to something that is more structural, that is built into the fabric of our society,” says Dr. Gray.
Rick Laub promoter of “Mobile in Black and White” and friend of Dr. Gray says the problem with structural racism is the lack of attention by the public. Laub says making people aware of the problem and getting them involved will get people to make small changes individually and big changes societally.
“It’s not that they are purposely being swept under a rug,” says Laub. “People just don’t realize it because it doesn’t get a lot of press.”
Dr. Gray says he started the project humbly. He was working on a race relations committee when the project began as a set of interviews on a website and it grew from there. With the help of Joe’l Lewis and Brian Butler the film expanded into a four part series where each segment is followed by a discussion.
Dr. Gray says the discussion makes the biggest difference. According to Dr. Gray, revisiting the effects of a film segment the following week helps to change an individual’s mindset.
“When you go to a feature film no matter how good it is you go and you’re moved and you think you’ve changed your mind on things. Then you go into the world and it changes you back in a couple of days,” says Dr. Gray.
Both Dr. Gray and Laub agree raising consciousness and getting the conversation going will make people realize there is a problem. Only by addressing the problem openly can a universal solution be reached says Dr. Gray.
Dr. Gray say his film focuses on Mobile, Alabama but the same concept can be applied anywhere. He says his film examines institutions such as the school system and the inequalities that exist within those organizations.
“Mobile is sort of the subject of this and there are some things specifically about Mobile, but the concept of structural racism I think applies in every other city in the country as well as it does in Mobile,” says Dr. Gray. “I lived in Lansing for six years. It has as many structural inequalities as Mobile does.”
Dr. Gray says his film highlights other areas where structural racism is prevalent. He says unequal treatment in drug convictions and arrests continue to be an issue that creates adverse outcomes for minorities.
“If a community is 80 percent white and 20 percent minority the illegal drug usage in the community is pretty much 80 percent white and 20 percent minority. But the arrests are 80 percent minority because the police come to the poor communities of color and set up roadblocks and that kind of stuff. They don’t do that in the rich white communities. They don’t go to the dorms of Michigan State and search for drugs,” says Dr. Gray.
Dr. Gray says one reason for the mistreatment is poorer people cannot afford proper legal representation. He says it is easier to get convictions from people who cannot afford lawyers.
“You could find drugs in office buildings more easily than housing projects yet police don’t raid downtown buildings they raid housing projects,” says Dr. Gray.
Dr. Gray says the situation is better in some circumstances but inequalities such as in housing practices still exist. He says his film touches on these inequalities in an attempt to make people aware of how these practices shape neighborhoods. Dr. Gray says this process is universal and the effects can be felt close to home.
“You can draw a circle around where almost all the black people in Lansing live in the 90’s and my guess is that it probable hasn’t changed significantly since then,” says Dr. Gray.
Dr. Gray says that although Mobile is 50 percent black and Lansing is 6-10 percent black the level of segregation is still the same. He says in Lansing there is clearly a black high school and a white high school.
Dr. Gray says one reason for this inequality is people believe racism and discrimination no longer exists and that people believe we live in a post racial society and that the problems that once ripped the country apart has over time disappeared. Dr. Gray says this is not true. He says the discrimination happens in the hiring practices, education, justice system and all other structures that affect daily living and quality of life.
“People who are responsible will deny blame. Most of these people genuinely believe they are not responsible. But the outcomes keep happening because the processes are the same,” says Dr. Gray.
Dr. Gray says the younger generation needs to see society from a more structural viewpoint for the situation to change. He says the policies of America’s fundamental institutions have not changed since they were written.
“The Alabama constitution was written in 1901 and the reason they wrote the constitution was to basically and explicitly maintain white supremacy and to prevent African Americans from voting or anything else. That is still the constitution that Alabama operates under today,” says Dr. Gray.
Dr. Gray says he would have liked to discuss the problem with more young people during the making of the film however, Gray says, young people do not understand the concept of structural racism. Gray says when people do not understand the concept of structural racism they fall into the mindset of individual racism.
Dr. Gray says it is time to take action. Today’s generation must get involved and demand change. He says the first step is to become aware of the problem. Dr. Gray says his film gives insight into structural problems of a post industrialized nation and allows an open discussion afterward.
Laub says for him the most important part of the evening is not going to be the showing of the film but the discussion afterwards. Laub says it is important for people to speak out and share their experience with structural racism and how they are affected by it. Laub says he hopes to get more participants from the African American community involved.
“I’ve been trying to reach out to different people that has ties to the African American community in Lansing to try to get some representation at the movie. A mix of folks there will be helpful to the conversation,” says Laub.
Laub set up the discussion panel. Laub says the discussion should last 20-30 minutes. Laub says he hopes to have a good turnout.
For those who would like to check out parts of the film can go to www.mobileinblackandwhite.org. There you can watch an introduction to the film and clips of the film.
This was printed in the March 22, 2015 – April 4, 2015 edition.
