Conversations On Race Draws First-Timers To Discussion

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ - The 2019 Conversations on Race was held at Seton Hall University, drawing 200 people, many of whom were first-timers to the event series, to learn about the invention of race and its implications.

They were led by Dr. Nell Irvin Painter, professor emerita at Princeton University and
author of New York Times bestseller The History of White People, in which she discusses both the invention of race and also the frequent praise of “whiteness” for economic, scientific and political ends.

To begin, she introduced the topic by noting that most people don’t know why white people are called Caucasians, and to understand the answer one must go back in history to review the evolution of race.

According to organizers, Painter gave the audience an opportunity to understand "whiteness" and the creation of "blackness" in the context of historical racism and the ideologies of race.

For example, Painter said that the idea of race became useful in the western hemisphere in the 1700s, which coincided with the industrial slave trade. Although this wasn’t the first slave trade in the world, it was the biggest because of technology enabling people to transport millions across the Atlantic. Economy, imperialism, maritime market and
the slave trade helped create a concept of race, “human difference,” during the 18th century.

Painter noted that throughout the 20th century in the U.S., exclusionary ideas of whiteness were developed using science, economics, and politics, and that those racial definitions changed, and continue to change, to suit the needs of those in power.

After Painter’s speech, groups of five or more at tables came together to discuss the topic and their personal opinions on the matter through a trained facilitator.
Participants were also asked to choose one question to write on a card for Painter to answer at the end of the group discussions. Attendees wanted to know:

• how to confront institutional racism;
• the connection between privilege and construction of race;
• if race history would ever end

Painter related that we must all do our part to help confront racism and not be a bystander. In her opinion, race history will never end and the next defining factor of race will be nationalism. “Ethnic” and “racial” are the 21st century race dynamics and
every 10 years it will change.

“You make race," Painter said. "How you act on a daily basis makes race and things change.”

Painter suggested the following three books to read:

• Whiteshift: Populism, Immigration, and the Future of White Majorities by Eric Kaufmann
• White Identity Politics by Ashley Jardina
• Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America's Heartland by Jonathan M. Metzel

The program was presented by the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race, which is celebrating more than 20 years of being a nationally recognized non-profit organization committed to building a unique, suburban community that is free of racial segregation in housing patterns and community involvement.

To learn more, go to communitycoalitiononrace.org.

Thanks for reading! Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here. Have a news tip you'd like to share? Or maybe you have a press release you would like to submit or a correction you'd like to request? Send an email to russ.crespolini@patch.com

Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter by clicking here. You can also have them delivered to your phone screen by downloading our Apple iOS app here, or by visiting the Google Play store for the Android app here.