Multiculturalism and Racism
Abdul Majeed
PLCY 802
Professor: Dr. Bolek Kabala
June 7, 2021
As explained by Robert Miles, most followers of Marxism agree that racism is not
acceptable and it is seen as a deterrent to the development of a full class of consciousness (Ashe
& McGeever 2011, p. 2011). Multiculturalism seeks to include the contributions and views of
“diverse members of society while maintaining respect for their differences and withholding the
demand for their assimilation into the dominant culture” (Egan 2021). Multiculturalism is a
response to liberal democracy which expects equality for all under the law by grouping everyone
under the umbrella of ‘citizenship’ and ignoring other important factors and attributes which
makes the members of the society unique. According to Egan (2021), this creates a “tendency to
homogenize the collective of citizens and assume a common political culture that all participate
in” (Egan 2021). The concept of liberal democracy tends to minimize the ways and
characteristics which confirms that citizens are different and not equal in any given community.
Conservatives and liberals both assume that justice is attainable through the equal distribution of
wealth (Kanpol & McLaren 1995, p.13).
Furthermore, Leonardo explains that the critical study of race is not a study of race at all
but rather “an analysis of class antagonism found within capitalism” which ultimately gives rise
to the “reality of racial division” which is not caused by the class structures that Marxism
advocated for. According to Leonardo (2013), “Marxism conceives of race as a social relation
within a general study of economic stratification” and should not carry weight because it
represents an idea or mindset of a particular group over the other (Leornardo 2013, 5). It is
therefore important to note that, Marxism integrated racialization as a “function of development
within the general political economy” and much of this is traceable to the beginnings of race
relations as a way for the “capitalist elite to convince working-class Whites to embrace their
Whiteness, thereby dividing them from workers of color through racial affiliation (Leonardo
2013, 6). Capitalist used racial inferiority to cheapen the cost of labor (Willhelm 1980, 98).
Race has become an “ideological concept without scientific merit, therefore not real”.
Consequently, if the belief in race is based on “ideological explanations of genetic inheritance”
of humans, then it highlights the importance of ideology to understanding race (Leonardo 2005,
402). Also, Leonardo continues that unfortunately, Marxism is another “color-blind attempt at
evading analysis of race relations, which makes it compatible with the continuation of racism,
rather than an intervention” (Leonardo 2013, 6). Similarly, multiculturalism which is an
extension of Marxism decries racism, but “undermines the moral and logical foundations” for its
criticism (Fischer 2021).
The fight for equality did not start with the Civil Rights Movement, but in the 1950’s the
White domination over the African Americans had reached levels that generated significant
suffering for blacks who were controlled economically, politically, and personally (Morris 1986).
African Americans have since slavery fought for equal rights, which was equally faced by White
resistance which was supported by the states and their representatives. The U.S. Senate served as
the battleground in the fight by the southern states to preserve Jim Crow. Throughout the
twentieth century several bills created to protect the rights of African Americans routinely passed
in the House of Representatives only to be defeated in the Senate. According to Finley, senators
from the south acknowledged the “primacy of their role in defending segregation” and labelling
the Senate as where the “battle will be won or lost” (Finley 2008, 4). Similarly, Nixon crafted
his position on desegregation to “appeal not only to the South but to members of the “silent
majority” throughout America” and to ensure he secured his seat (Sanders 2002, 337). Southern
resistance sometimes went beyond been directed toward the civil right movements and at times
directed towards the courts, other states, and the federal government. The Brown v Board of
Education decision in 1954 highlighted the political resistance to the Supreme Court. Most
southern leaders saw the decision as a “direct threat to the Southern way of life” and this started
several attempts “impeach the justices, link the court’s decision to the threat of Communism, to
nullify the court’s authority in matters relating to schooling, to change the conditions for
appointing judges” and so forth. These actions attempted to limit the influence of the courts in
the South through the doctrine of interposition (Heath 2017, 2). This theory allows a state the
right to place itself “between the federal government and the citizen whenever the state adjudges
a federal statute or court decision to be unconstitutional or harmful within its specific
jurisdiction” (Brisbane 1956, 12). All these actions sought to ensure that White privilege and
superiority was protected, and black inferiority would remain the norm across the nation,
especially in the South.
The biblical worldview beyond a doubt denounces racism and teaches us in Genesis 1:27
that He created all humans in His image. The quest for ‘success’ and ‘wealth’ has been the
motivation for mankind to ignore the teachings of God to feed our greed which ultimately leads
us to feel superior over others. As believers, we must not turn a blind eye to actions that
encourages others to dehumanize others and that no one race is superior or better than the other.