QSI Special: The American Caste System (6)

Isabel Wilkerson in her article, writes that Andrew Hacker [in his 1992 book, “Two Nations.”] states that, “No matter what happens, White Americans know that they can never become ‘Black.’” [So,] “White Americans of all classes have found it comforting to preserve Blacks as a subordinate caste: a presence that despite all its pain and problems still provides whites with some solace in a stressful world.”

James Baldwin confirms this psychic role that blacks and the American Caste system serve in his documentary “I’m Not a Nigger!”. He says, “What white people have to do, is try and find out in their own hearts why it was necessary to have a nigger in the first place, because I'm not a nigger, I'm a man, but if you think I'm a nigger, it means you need it.”