On Origins of Hatred Toward Negroes

There exists at the present time, as there has in the past, wide-spread feelings of hostility toward the Negro. Many explanations have been advanced in the attempt to account for this state of affairs, but a large proportion of these reasons seem to fall within the category of rationalization. These include explanations of a cultural, economic, or educational nature which do not adequately account for the extreme emotional nature of the conflict

One of the first steps in trying to reach an understanding of a problem is to uncover and identify the contributing factors. In this instance, many of the underlying causes are unconscious and are not readily accessible to conscious scrutiny. By applying psychoanalytic means of speculation, perhaps we can shed a ray of light on this ubiquitous problem. Much of the enmity in regard to Negroes seems to be directed toward males. This is partly due to the fact that women in particular often feel attracted to men of a racially more primitive type and the unconscious jealousy that the perception of this attraction causes in men of the women's own race leads to brutality and violence(5). In this connection, it is easier to assume aggression by Negro men than to admit the unpleasant possibility that Negro men may be sexually attractive to white women (3). Many of the abhorred characteristics commonly attributed to Negroes are contrary to the facts. The beliefs that they have huge genitals, are oversexed, and especially prone to assault are unfounded. In fact, studies show that broken homes, dependency, and fear create a passivity and impotence in Negro males to a very large extent (11).