Racism

Part 2: I can no longer remain silent about racism in the World Bank

Recently, the Rev. Jesse Jackson wrote a column that ran in the Chicago Sun-Times suggesting a lack of racial diversity at the World Bank Group, where I serve as its 12th president.

Beginning with the contention that most white people view racism conceptually as bad, evil or at least something that is undesirable to be associated with, it is disheartening to see so much support for reactionary #AllLivesMatter, #BlueLivesMatter and similar

On June 27, 2016, Breitbart News, a conservative news outlet, broke an “Exclusive” story titled, "Hillary Clinton's Handpicked World Bank Chief Accused of Overseeing 'Systemic' Racism."

Across the globe we observe similarities and intersections in black people’s struggles in both Western and non-Western contexts. This stems from pervasive socio-political and cultural notions that black bodies can a) be commodified, hence b) be consumed and, when of no use, c) killed.

Since 1971, numerous World Bank reports have documented that racial discrimination in the World Bank Group is “systemic”.

I do not like white people.

Because of this affirmation some would call me a racist.

To this I answer, fine: I am a racist.

It was in Louisville, Kentucky, that I first encountered the problem that ultimately – but remotely – resulted in the tragic deaths of five policemen in Dallas, Texas, last week.

The problem? The hostility between Black men (especially young ones) and white police officers.

The end of juridical apartheid in 1994 brought hope to many, especially those who had suffered centuries of racial subjugation and exploitation. The much vaunted rainbow nation and the narrative of a non-racial society spelled a new beginning.

Muhammad Ali passed away on June 3 after a decades-long battle against Parkinson’s disease.