Blog 3: Racism in North America

The black community, more specifically black men have struggled for many centuries when it comes to racism. In North America especially, there are more and more conversations regarding racism, with many saying that it has died down and that there is much less of it, Jordan Peele and Desmond Cole’s stories say otherwise. The movie Get Out produced by Jordan Peele from 2017, as well as Desmond Cole’s novel The Skin We’re In from 2020 grasp on many concepts, concepts which surround that of racism towards black men in the United States and Canada. These concepts are issues with law enforcement, casual racism or micro-aggressions as well as the ever so large white privilege.

First of all, law enforcement exists to enforce the law, yet they are far from just. Especially with the recent event and uprising concerning the death of George Floyd, a black man who was unjustly killed after a white officer refused to get off his neck during an arrest. Demonstrated by both authors, they both seem fed up with police officers. The example of this in Get Out is when a police officer asked Chris Washington, the protagonist of this film, as well as a young black man, for his drivers license even when it was his girlfriend who was driving whilst the accident took place (Peele). This can be seen in the video clip below. What Jordan Peele is trying to push is the fact that the law enforcement in the film is unjust toward black men. Considering that there was no probable cause or suspicion towards Chris, the police officers attempt to identify him appears to be based on prejudice. To is abuse of power by law enforcement and a perfect example of unjust treatment to black men in the United States, as this movie is based in the US. As if in routine, this is very similar to how black men are treated in Canada. As said by Desmond Cole in his novel, “Over the course of the next few years I would be stopped or followed dozens of times by police in Kingston and Toronto” (Cole 16). This quote mirrors the experience in Get Out, a young black man is being treated unjustly. Desmond Cole tells his personal experience of being a black man living in Canada. Cole is trying to imply that just for being a black man, he has been followed and identified by law enforcement explicitly based on prejudice. This is unjust towards black men and a clear example of racism being disaplayed. Both Peele and Cole are trying to display the fact that black men in North American struggle with racism from those in a position of power, specifically law enforcement.

Yet it is not just law enforcement. It is also random people who can display racist characteristics towards people of colour. They can be displayed through casual racism or micro-aggressions. Peele chooses to demonstrate this element through the white old men who were present at the gathering taking place at his girlfriend’s parents house, which of course the audience did not know until later in the film was a gathering for the auction of Chris Washingtons physical body. This is of course a reference towards black slaves being auctioned to rich white men. The white folks at this gathering would give racist remarks toward Chris in many ways. Whether it was the stereotype of black men being good in bed, or saying that black was in fashion, or trying to connect with Chris by mentioning a popular black figure (Peele). This is displayed in the youtube video below. The constant remarks by the old white people at the gathering were often seen as a  “backhanded compliment” to Chris Washington. It would seem that they were admiring him, more explicitly admiring his shell. Only seeing what was on the outside and less who he was. Only one person had a remark for his skill in photography, that being a blind man who proceeded to buy his body in order to see again. The constant commenting on Chris’ physique (of course hints at the auction coming later in the day) but also the fact that they are saying this without explicitly realizing what they are saying is negative, as they all seem extremely positive about it. They only seem to be commenting on his physical ability, look, one even mentions that being black is in fashion. This is important as it hints to how slaves used to be treated, not what was in the mind, but what they were physically capable of. The ability for those in privilege not to realize what they are saying is harmful is often regarded as an attitude those in white privilege have. Peele is trying to demonstrate how often black men are displayed to casual racism and microaggresions, especially in the United States, pushing for the case of how racism is still very present to this day. This is also the case in Canada, use Desmond Cole’s novel as an example. As writen, “Someone asked for the “skin colored” pencil”(Cole 14), as well as “In time I realized white people just assumed black people in their city were related. Schoolmates would ask if I was the brother of the other two Black girls in my class–even though our families were from three different countries.”(Cole 15). Both of these incidents display microaggresions. Although none of them were explicitly said in order to display racist connotation, they can often be interpreted as that and be harmful to the victim. In the quote regarding how schoolmates would assume all black people were related, this connects with white people of privilege only seeing black people for what they look like. The dark skin caused people to automatically assume that they were related, even when there are so many more aspects which can display an actual family relation to someone else. Growing up with casual racism all around is a negative thing, Cole’s novel perfectly demonstrates this. Both Peele and Cole’s examples of this display how black men have to deal with racism all the time and how it is still very much present.

Lastly white privilege is one of the hardest things a black North American man must live with. The main issue of white privilege is displayed constantly in both the film and the novel. Considering that both Canada and the United States are both countries which exist due to white men and women taking over and appropriating that land, it is inevitable that white privilege is everywhere. Take Get Out for example, the people at the girlfriend’s parent’s house all display a humongous amount of wealth, and they are all white, with exception to a few (Peele). This of course is a hint to how white people tend to be in better financial successs compared to people of colour. Of course this is Jordan Peele trying to explain through his movie that white people tend to be at the top of the financial ladder in many cases, whether this is due to generational wealth or how life is much easier when they do not encounter racism during their journey to it. This of course is apparent in the United States, as common knowledge is that most wealth is controlled by extremely rich white men. I mentioned before that white people tend to face less obstacles than people of colour, this is also something that happens in Canada. In Desmond Cole’s novel, it tells the story of a black man who struggles with enforcement, mentioning that it is racially motivated. As written here, “When John applied for liquor licences for gallery events, the police found further excuses to harass him. Interestingly, John said white gallery owners who heard his story were surprised he even bothered to apply for liquor permits; they admited that they never did” (Cole 5). White people live in privilige, often unknowengly. This quote is trying to show that black people face many more obstacles than white people trying to do the excact same thing, this is racism. Peele demonstrates how white people are much more successful, and Cole shows how black often face obstacles on their way to be successful due to the obstacles they face whilst subjected to racism.

To conclude, racism towards people of colour, and black men is still very present in today’s society, whether it is the United States or Canada. Jordan Peele and Desmond Cole expertly demonstrate how law enforcement, micro-aggressions, casual racism and white privilege will always be obstacles towards black lives unless action is taken.

Works Cited:

Cole, Desmond. “‘negro frolicks (January).’” The Skin We’re In, Doubleday Canada, 2020, pp. 1–17

“Get Out: Casual racism HD CLIP.” Youtube, uploaded by Binge Society, 24 February 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCijS9vAWPw.

“Racist Cop Scene Get Out (2017)” Youtube, uploaded by Fear: The Home of Horror, 21 December 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2vNiY_AuPs.

Peele, Jordan, et al. Get Out. Universal Pictures, 2017.