The Belief Factor and the White Superiority Syndrome
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
From the Beginning:
The Black child is loved. Fed. Cared for. And poisoned!
Poisoned! Intentionally?
May be and may be not! But poisoned nevertheless!
How is this?
The Black child is mind-poisoned! He is mind-poisoned slowly and almost imperceptibly by Christian theological icons and images of a White-Male God-image, which he internalizes; and such internalization produces in him the mind-set that White people are better and smarter and more God-like than Black people.
And how is this?
The Black child is mind-poisoned by a set of subliminal teachings and indoctrination such as the following:
1. That the God of all the worlds sent his only Begotten Son who is depicted as a White Male, to earth as a salvation for all mankind;
2.That the Son of God died on a cross for and all of humanity, including the Black child, and that he (the Black child) must acknowledge the 'Lordship' of this White Male in order to go to heaven when he dies.
3.That the God which the Black child worships has selected another group of people and not Black people as the 'Chosen' people.
4.That he, a Black child, is already guilty of sin at birth (Original Sin) and that this guilt can only be forgiven by his Lord (the Son of God), who is depicted as a White Male, if he (the Black child) acknowledges and worships this Son of God. earth.
Our Basic Hypothesis restated is that the internalization by Black and White people of the above set of beliefs lead to the worship of a White-Male God-Image and thus promote a state of mind we call the White Superiority Syndrome; and that this syndrome : (1) forms the psychological foundation of many Black people's sense of inferiority to white people and of many White people's sense of superiority to Black people; (2) serves as a cultural, and social catalyst for racism, with its attendant negative consequences, and (3) acts as a de-motivational force to many Blacks, but as motivational enhancement to many Whites.
* * * * *
The Instrumentalities of the White Superiority Syndrome (WWS):
We assert that the psychologically internalized imaging and worshipping of the White Male God-Image is the principle psychological catalyst under-pinning the White Superiority Syndrome in both Black and White people. This syndrome serves as the etiological basis and rationalization for a series of anti-black activities and discriminations by Whites against Blacks, which we refer to as 'Instrumentalities of the White Superiority Syndrome'. These instrumentalities include but are not limited to the following: (1) White economic and employment discriminations against Blacks; (2) White isolation and segregation of Blacks into often filthy and unhealthy ghettoes; (3) White manipulative control of Black educational systems, and often the active promotion in higher educational institution of the thesis that Blacks are intellectually not as bright as Whites and that social policy should be adjusted to acknowledge this fact; (4) White control and manipulation of the mass-media which is used to portray adult Blacks as children, clowns, socially dependent on White benevolence, or as violent or immoral in character and ethics; (5) A white controlled criminal justice (police force) system that sternly and often teaches Blacks by unfair treatment and undeserved punishment that their Blackness is not liked or appreciated and is of less value than Whiteness.
A Closer look at the Instrumentalities of the White Superiority Syndrome
There are several acceptable ways of describing the White Superiority Syndromes instrumentalities. Each of these social and cultural discriminatory actions has been studied and written about by many able researchers and educators. For this reason, we shall only broadly sketch and discuss them in order that the reader may appreciate the orchestrated manner in which these instrumentalities re-enforce each other.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
How do we learn to believe that White people are "smarter," "better," and "more beautiful" than Black people? This book, The Belief Factor and the White Superiority Syndrome, explains how both Blacks and Whites acquire the White Superiority Syndrome: a belief or sense that White people are superior to Black people. This book explains how the White Superiority Syndrome is a direct fall-out of the religious icons and teachings of Christianity that place one aspect of the Deity, the God-force of life, in the form of a white male humanoid. This book explains that, absent some intervening agent or action, the picturing of God as a White Male humanoid is the root catalyst leading to a sense of superiority, and racism on the part of many White people, and to a sense of inadequacy and inferiority on the part of many Black people. The book makes it clear that the racial discriminations that are learned are not necessarily directly taught but are acquired subliminally from the belief system, its props, and the societal milieu.
This book details a process that will neutralize the subliminal learning that now leads to the White Superiority Syndrome. This book notes it is the Black man's burden to change certain aspects of his adopted Christian belief system and of his way of "seeing" God, if he ever wishes to free himself of the inevitable sense of inferiority that he now experiences and to eliminate the roots of racism.
The Belief Factor and the White Superiority Syndrome is a "must read" for students and teachers of race relations, social stratification, student achievement, and urban education; and for all Christians, both Black and White, who want to understand why their religion has not yet freed them from racism. Readers will gain insight into and a better appreciation for the everyday power and politics of the mind.
About the Author
Christopher C. Bell, Jr., Ed.D., was born and raised in Campostella, a small suburb of Norfolk, Virginia. He attended Virginia State University and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the army upon graduation. He served twenty years in the army and retired as a Major. While in the army, he completed a Masters of Education (Ed. M.) degree in Education Administration from Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts.
After his retirement from the military, Dr. Bell resumed his graduate education. He completed a Certificate of Advance Graduate Studies (CAGS) in Administration, Supervision, and Social Policy from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education and a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree in Organizational Development from Boston University's Graduate School of Education. His employment history includes managing and supervising job training programs in the U.S. Department of Labor, mid-level management positions in the District of Columbia Public Schools, and serving as a management analyst in the U.S. Department of Education.
Dr. Bell's study of the works of scholars and his own observations into the workings of the societal structures that surround human beings have kept him constantly involved in searching for the root causes of what he defines as the White Superiority Syndrome. His search of the relevant literature and his own experiences have compelled him to tell the truth as he views it. And his view includes the scenario that the roots of racism are deeper than social prompts and direct suggestions. Dr. Bell concludes that the roots of racism are part and parcel of America's dominant belief system. Without malice and with some regret, he concludes that many Black people must change their religious beliefs and their God-consciousness, if they are ever going to see themselves as "beautiful, competent, and deserving of life's treasures" as they imagine White people to be. Some researchers have dared to write tangentially about this truth, but they have been ignored. Dr. Bell dares to write "right on." He hopes his small contribution in this book will help the "new" theological "Change-makers" of the Twenty-first Century to begin their tasks in earnest.