As you learned in the previous chapter, for something to be racist, there needs to be an element of power involved. But what do we mean when we say “power?” On a basic level, power means the “ability to…influence the behaviour of others or the course of events” (Oxford Dictionaries). The key part of this definition is the word “influence,” as it suggests that someone is able to persuade someone do to something (even if they didn’t necessarily want to do it).
Another element of power is authority—“the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience” (Oxford Dictionaries). An example of these two definitions at work is when you parent/guardian asks you to clean the dishes, let’s say. While you may not want to clean the dishes, you see your parents/guardian as someone above you, that you must listen to (a more powerful figure). Since your parent is an authority figure, you are swayed, practically forced, to do as they wish. This is power.
Types of Power
When analysing “power” as an aspect of racism, things are a bit different. There is “Individual Power” and “Institutional Power.” Though, before we get into it, here’s a quick refresher on what each of those are.
Definitions
Individual power is simply the power one person has over an another, like the power your parent/guardian has over you.
Institutional power is a bit different in the sense that an institution has power over many people instead of just one or a few. And because of that, it gives institutions, like the government for example, the “ability or official authority to decide what is best for others. The ability to decide who will have access to resources. The capacity to exercise control over others” (Vanderbilt University).
While your parent/guardian only has control over you and your siblings, someone in a powerful position, for example the Prime Minister of Canada, has power over many people.
Superiority
When someone has power, they might also develop a strong sense of superiority—the state of being higher in ranks than someone else—over those below them. And while there is usually always an element of superiority involved in workplaces—as someone needs to be the boss—it can be dangerous in some cases, like when talking about racism. Remember, racism is “discrimination against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior.” When someone believes that their race—which remember is a social construct that has no grounds in biology—is better than someone else’s, that person will always view themselves as more powerful, no matter what the situation is.
Power & Racism
So, now that you know all the aspects of power, racism, and superiority, let’s look into how they all connect.
Example of Individual Power: You might remember the incident with Amy Cooper— a white woman walking her unleashed dog—and Christian Cooper—a black man bird-watching, not related to her—that took place in New York’s Central Park in May of 2020 (CNN – Vera). When Christian asked her to put a leash on her dog (which is a park rule), Amy became hysterical, saying to Christian, “I’m going to tell them that there’s an African American man threatening my life” before doing just that (CNN – Vera). There are many things to analyse in this situation, so let’s take a look at it in sections.
Analysis Activity: Before completely the activity below, watch the full interaction between Amy Cooper and Christian Cooper.
- Pay attention to Amy and Christian’s attitudes and physicality (expressions, gestures, body posture) in the situation. How do they differ?
- Why do you think Amy reacted the way that she did?
- What was Christian’s goal in the situation? What was Amy’s?
- Who had more power in the altercation? How did each of them use their power? What type of power was demonstrated in this situation?
- How is, “I’m going to tell them that there’s an African American man threatening my life” a powerful statement? What baggage does it carry? What does is reflect about society?
- What do you think could have happened if Christian did not record the interaction? Do you think the power dynamics would have changed? If so, how?
Example of Institutional Power: As you may already know, the Canadian government has had a strained relationship with the Indigenous peoples since they began colonizing them in the 1800s. Later on in this curriculum we will go into more detail about the struggles the Indigenous peoples faced and continue to face, though for now we will just focus on one of the ways that the Canadian government (the colonizers) used their institutional power over them.
As Canadian settlers began to recognize the lifestyle of the Indigenous peoples (i.e., how they operated, what food they ate, how they educated themselves, etc.), they realized just how different they were to themselves. Though, instead of accepting the differences between the ethnic groups, they believed that the Indigenous people should live like them. The settlers believed that their way of living was better for the Indigenous peoples and would guarantee their survival, ignoring the fact that they had been living successfully in the region for thousands of years.
One of the ways in which they got the Indigenous Peoples to assimilate to their way of living was by forcing them to give up their traditions (ex., cultural, hunting, migratory habits). By doing so, they had more control over them in all aspects of their life. The government’s actions led to the death of 90-99% of the Indigenous population.
Analysis Activity
- How is the use of power different in this example to the Amy Cooper/Christian situation?
- In the Amy Cooper/Christian altercation, Christian had some power as he was able to film Amy. Why would it have been harder for the Indigenous people to gain power in their situation?
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