Leid Stories - 11/22/13

Racism: A Psycho-Historical Perspective

 

The presidency of John F. Kennedy, assassinated 50 years ago today, was born in the crucible of dramatic change, both in the United States and all over the world.

 Yet, as “liberal” as he is widely portrayed, Kennedy had to be pushed, embarrassed, even threatened, into altering in significant ways, let alone utterly destroying, America’s longstanding racial codas. Kennedy was no match for racism.

Our guest today, world-renowned scholar Dr. Joel Kovel, helps us understand why no U.S. president can “solve” racism. Integrating historical, social and psychodynamic perspectives, Kovel illustrates that racism “is not the simple delusion of a bigoted and ignorant minority, but as a set of beliefs whose structure arises from the deepest levels of our lives -- from the fabric of assumptions we make about the world, ourselves and others, and from the patterns of fundamental social activities.”