BAEC Bulletin | Fall 2021 | 5
Letter from the President
I have a confession to make: I am a racist. That I am a racist is hard for me to admit to you. That I am a racist is hard for me to admit to myself. It would be easier to deny my racism. But I am a racist. I write this letter, because I want to discuss my form of racism, what has been called white privilege, in the hope that my confession will foster conversation. No, I haven’t engaged in any hostile acts of aggression designed to degrade an individual or a group. My ancestors did not own slaves. I have never lynched or stomped anyone. I don’t ride around with a white hood on my head or flying a Confederate flag. I don’t take part in neo-Nazi skinhead meetings. I didn’t storm the Capitol on January 6, and I don’t condone the views of those who did. Although I have used the N word, I find it offensive. No, my racism is not deliberate, intentional, premeditated, overt, conspicuous, readily explainable, or even always conscious. I am certain that most lawyers embrace the American mythology of the self-made man. We believe that we have achieved success solely through our own talent and hard work. I know that “I worked my ass off in law school.” I still “work my ass off,” often seven days a week. I would contend that I have earned my success. We subscribe to the principle of meritocracy most recently espoused by Barack Obama, the view that talent and effort should determine one’s reward. We want to operate as if this meritocracy governs all of us. Despite maintaining this belief for many years, I must now be more honest with myself…and with you. I did receive a “boost” in life. I am a third-generation lawyer on my father’s side. I am a fifth-generation lawyer on my mother’s. I am the grandson of two former bar presidents (Hugh McMaster Russ 1946-47 and Willard Marsh Pottle 1965-66). That I would attend college (and probably law school) was just assumed. And, I attended one of the best colleges in the country, if not the world. I started with an unquestionable advantage. I now understand and today publicly acknowledge that advantage -- that boost-- as white privilege. White privilege masquerades as something else –something legitimate, accepted, and unremarkable. My skin color is white. It is assumed I can pay for my meals and that I belong in expensive places. I am included easily in what
some call the “power elite.” I was educated at schools that value legacy. I am a lawyer, and the exams I took to become one were written by white people. I own
Hugh M. Russ, III
my own house in a nice suburb, and it was easy to arrange a low-rate mortgage. I have means. I personally know leaders in business and industry and government. I can call a doctor when I am sick, and that doctor usually looks like me and listens to me. My children went to excellent schools, and their teachers cared about them as individuals. Now adults, they have good jobs, and they knew how to apply and interview for them. I am comfortable in places like the Buffalo Club, City Hall, and Federal Court. My original boost is now my children’s boost, more white privilege. Here’s where the boost extends into something harmful. My racism operates at the structural level of society, for my benefit, because my place is assured. Over 25 years ago, UB Professor Henry Louis Taylor, Jr. defined structural racism: Racism can also be covert and operate at the structural level. Structural Racism is usually subtle and refers to the operation of established institutions in such a way that African Americans are denied access to resources, and institutions are operated, so that Blacks are placed in a disadvantaged position vis-à-vis European Americans. This form of racism is systemic because it causes the very operation of societal institutions to erect barriers to Blacks’ securement of good jobs and opportunities, quality education, and healthcare and decent housing and neighborhoods. Structural racism is the most dangerous and insidious form of racism. In structural racism, policies are formulated and implemented with little or no regard for the impact that they have on the Black community. And even when it is discovered that certain activities are detrimental to Blacks, they are not stopped. Simply put, structural racism exists when issues are defined, policies formulated, decisions made, agendas set, resources allocated, and beliefs, values and attitudes promulgated and enshrined in such a way that Blacks are held back and permanently tied to the bottom of the economic ladder. Even 25 years after Taylor advised Buffalo of this phenomenon, we have not recognized its obvious impact. As Santayana warned, “those who do not remember the past
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