Racism: a Short History, by George M. Fredrickson (Book Review)

A concise survey of racism’s development since the Middle Ages is the topic of historian George M. Fredrickson’s book, Racism: A Short History. While the descriptor, short, is certainly apropos; the book covers over seven hundred years of history in scarcely one hundred and fifty pages; it is densely packed with information and weighty analysis. Fredrickson’s dual purpose in writing this book was to identify the historical roots of Western racist ideologies and to provide a comparative analysis of three twentieth century overtly racist regimes: Nazi Germany, South Africa under apartheid, and the Jim Crow era of the American South.

An important distinction Fredrickson makes throughout this study is between terms such as intolerance, discrimination and prejudice and the term racism. He identifies two characteristics which he believes are critical for racism to exist: "My theory or conception of racism, therefore, has two components: difference and power. It originates from a mindset that regards 'them' as different from 'us' in ways that are permanent and unbridgeable. This sense of difference provides a motive or rationale for using our power advantage to treat the ethnoracial Other in ways that we would regard as cruel or unjust if applied to members of our own group" (p. 9). Fredrickson identifies the roots of racism in the religious intolerance of late medieval Europe. While he believes evidence suggesting color-coded racism had not yet developed during this time period, he places significant importance on the evolution of prejudicial thought against the Jews. Next, he examines the period of European colonization and how this led to the emergence of the slave trade along with religious and cultural discrimination against various indigenous populations. Significant intolerance, hatred and fear also continued to be expressed toward the Jewish people in the form of severe discrimination, myths, and violent pogroms. Fredrickson places specific emphasis on Spain during this time period because “its attitudes and practices served as a kind of segue between the religious intolerance of the Middle Ages and the naturalistic racism of the modern era” (p. 40).

The “naturalistic racism” Fredrickson speaks of developed out of an ideological context of Enlightenment era rationalism and racial Darwinism along with a geo-political context of nation-building and colonization. This is when racism came into its fullness and found its most egregious expression in the form of overtly racist regimes. Fredrickson spends a significant portion of the book comparing the specific contexts, manifestations, and outcomes of three of these regimes which I mentioned in the opening paragraph. The book concludes with an evaluation of racism as it appears in the beginning of the twenty-first century. He contends that overtly racist regimes have crumbled, yet we have still “fallen short of achieving racial justice and equality” for those who have been and continue to be discriminated against (p. 142). In the end, Fredrickson theorizes that politicized religious and cultural conflict may take the place of racial conflict in this new century. This argument echoes the premise behind Samuel Huntington’s 1996 book, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, which contends that post-Cold War politics would be increasingly marked by conflict among the world’s six major civilizations, with the clash between Islam and the West being the central and most dangerous.

A major theme in Fredrickson’s book is the causative relationship between Christianity and racism. For the purpose of discussing current relevance, I will include with racism Fredrickson’s categories of cultural and religious essentialism. Given Huntington and Fredrickson’s forecast for the future, this theme is of significant relevance to our twenty-first century world, particularly concerning the current cultural and religious conflicts between Islam and the West. I will also add to this discussion an exploration of how fear plays a role in both religion and racism, as this is an important concept I gained from the book.

Fredrickson makes a case for how fear is at the root of racism. In the Epilogue he writes, "The emotion to which it appeals is either contempt or fear, depending on whether the dominant group views the Other as under control and securely 'in its place' or conceivably capable of competition or reprisal" (p. 148). The role of fear in religion is equally well established. One of the most widely used and abused methods of attracting religious converts is an appeal to fear of death and the afterlife. Both Christianity and Islam incorporate fear, though Islam is saturated with it. In his book, How Islam Plans to Change the World, William Wagner examines, among other things, how Muslims are trapped in fear both religiously and culturally including a fear of Allah, hell, apostasy, democracy, and Christianity.

While Fredrickson did not speak directly to the role fear plays in religion and how it may influence racism, I believe there is a strong relationship. Generally speaking, fear-based religious beliefs are naturally vulnerable to fanaticism and intolerance. In the face of external stressors or threats, fanaticism and intolerance can easily turn to essentialized or even racialized thinking in any but the most homogeneous society. Additionally, Fredrickson quotes a study by Hamish Dickie-Clark in which Dickie-Clark argues that, unlike primarily racial conflicts, cultural conflicts of a religious nature are “deeply imbedded in the matrix of faith and other-worldly authority.” As a result, such essentialized and prejudicial ideology is not “similarly open to logic and observation” (p. 147).

To connect this with Huntington’s argument, I see the mixture of religious intolerance, fear and racism (or, as mentioned, cultural essentialism) played out in the dramatic, ongoing conflict between the Western world and Islamic nations. At the time he wrote his book, this conflict had not yet ascended to the level of war as is now the case in our post 9-11 world. With brilliant prescience, Huntington summarizes this central clash of civilizations when he writes, "The underlying problem for the West is . . . Islam, a different civilization whose people are convinced of the superiority of their culture and are obsessed with the inferiority of their power. The problem for Islam . . . is the West, a different civilization whose people are convinced of the universality of their culture and believe their superior, if declining, power imposes on them the obligation to extend that culture throughout the world" (pp. 217-218). When civilizations are based, in varying measures, on religions which incorporate in significant ways the use of fear, these elements have a strong probability of coalescing in a way which leads to hatred; prejudice and racism; and violent, long-standing conflict.

The insight I’ve gained into the role of fear in both religion and racism has given me a greater understanding of the power these elements have in social and political contexts. I can see more clearly why different religions fight vehemently to protect their territory, literally and otherwise. This has enabled me to evaluate the role of fear in my own life and intentionally create change where my thoughts or behaviors were based on fear rather than on the certainty and security of God’s love. In essence, this has been the continual failing of God’s people throughout history. A failing we saw lead to the horrific tragedy of overtly racist regimes in the twentieth century. Now, in a new century, Christians continue to carry out this devastating pattern and we find ourselves embroiled in war as a result. Many Christians of this country are following a similar path of fear-based religious intolerance and prejudice that can lead to overt racism. This information is also useful in helping me realize the power behind racist convictions. Previously, I had a much more naive view that people held racist beliefs primarily out of ignorance and they simply needed to be enlightened. I now see prejudice and racism in our society as an expression of deeply held fears. My ultimate enlightenment, though, has and will continue to be in analyzing the role fear plays in my own thoughts and actions toward those I still find myself considering as the Other.