Yesterday, I listened to the latest Redpilled America podcast titled, “Unity Night” in which hosts Patrick Courrielche and his wife Adryana Cortez sought to answer a question: “Who will create a post-racial America?” I’ve listened to this particular podcast since it launched last year, and I typically agree with most of their arguments. I’d recommend taking a listen; they practice the type of long-form journalism that is sorely needed in conservative media. 

However, this episode, as well as a few others, demonstrates a distinct lack of understanding of the black community that has become prevalent on the right. Put simply, their conclusion on this matter completely misses the mark and is an example of how right-leaning media perpetuates stereotypes of the black community that alienates black Americans who might be open to the conservative movement. 

In the episode, the hosts discussed an incident that occurred in 2010 when a predominantly white sorority called Zeta Tau Alpha won a major stepping competition. To give some background, stepping is a black American art form that originated in Africa, but became popular in the U.S. in the 1960s. Stepping — also known as step-dancing — is a form of percussive dance in which the performer engages in various types of dance steps that are accentuated by footsteps, loud chants, and handclaps.

Here is a video demonstrating the dance:

Soft beverage company Coca-Cola holds an annual “Sprite Step Off” competition in which various fraternities and sororities perform a step-dancing routine hoping to win the ultimate championship. In 2010, a controversy erupted when the white sorority took first place in the competition, beating out predominantly black groups. Despite the fact that the mostly-black audience cheered their performance, they booed when the team won. 

Later, after facing criticism, the competition’s leaders determined that there was an error in the judges’ scoring and gave both the white sorority and the second-placed black sorority the championship. It was seen as a cynical move designed to quell the outrage. 

Near the end of the episode, Redpilled America’s hosts concluded that this incident was somehow an example of widespread racism in the black community. They decried the fact that black Americans continue to take a skeptical view of race relations in the United States despite having had a black president. Courrielche pointed out that: “Even after historic gains, our black brothers and sisters continue their negative perceptions on race relations, and at times, behave outright racist as they did toward the Zetas winning the competition.”

Near the end of the episode, Courrielche concluded that it was the responsibility of black Americans to move the United States into a post-racial society:

“If not Barack Obama, who can create a post-racial America? The answer is clear: The ball is in the court of black America. They are the only ones that can help us realize Dr. King’s dream, because every time we appear to reach the promised land, Black America moves the goalpost.”

He then stated that after the Zetas won the competition, “the black community decided to judge the sorority, not by the content of their performance, but instead, by the color of their skin.”

Well, sounds pretty damning, doesn’t it? Not so fast. There are quite a few issues with Courrielche’s assertions. For starters, he never explained what “goalposts” were being moved. He seems to believe that once Obama took office, black Americans were supposed to immediately assume that racism had been completely eliminated. But nobody who was paying attention actually expected that to happen; it is not rational to assume that Obama’s victory would somehow signal the end of racism in America. 

In reference to the treatment of the Zetas, I agree. The black individuals who believed they shouldn’t have won due to the color of the skin were engaging in racist behavior. But the problem is that Courrielche subtly intimates that all, or most black people agreed with their treatment when he says “the black community” judge the Zetas by their skin color. 

That is simply not true. Even earlier in the episode, he quoted a black person criticizing their treatment. This was not a unanimously agreed-upon sentiment — black Americans disagreed sharply on this matter with just as many defending the Zetas as those attacking them. In an article for CNN, author Lawrence C. Ross Jr. argued that those arguing against their win were “100 percent wrong.” He wrote:

“We as African-Americans can’t protect cultural expression by creating fences that exclude. Those fences never work. But we can demand that anyone who seeks inclusion, and wants to participate in our culture, does so with the same respect and honor that we as African-Americans demand of ourselves.”

Isn’t it wrong to attribute certain characteristics or viewpoints to an entire community based on the actions of some? How often do we bash the left for doing the same to whites? In the end, Courrielche’s conclusion that the “ball is in black America’s court” is a fatally-flawed argument. 

The reality is that while blacks are not optimistic about race relations in America, the majority acknowledges that we have made progress as a nation. But just as the media wants us to believe that white supremacy is everywhere, they also want the nation to believe that all blacks are as obsessed with race as progressives are. Both conservative and progressive media showcase the likes of Ta Nehisi-Coates and other well-known race-baiters and make it seem as if most blacks are in full agreement with them. But the truth is that the majority of blacks are not hapless race-baiters. 

The notion that addressing racism in America is somehow the responsibility of black Americans is brazenly asinine given the fact that bigotry affects all of us. Yes, historically it has impacted blacks more than most others. Nevertheless, one only has to consume five minutes of progressive media to know that racist attitudes against whites are pervasive. The same goes for Hispanics and Asians as well. It is not up to one group to improve race relations; it is America’s. 

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

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