Is the Turpeau memo racist?

Is the Turpeau memo racist or plea for naked self-interest

Judging from many Fresh Loaf commenters, the answer to that is, “Duh!”

But that wasn’t my first reaction when I read the instantly notorious memo by longtime political operative Aaron Turpeau, which calls for black leaders in Atlanta to rally behind a single black mayoral candidate in order to avoid seeing the election of Mary Norwood.

To me, the memo wasn’t racist so much as it was a plea for naked self-interest — although arguably wrong-headed, outdated and certainly politically incorrect.

Let me explain. I’ve always defined racism as the belief that there are inherent differences — character, intellect, ability, etc. — between people that directly result from race. Racism can be in the form of conscious prejudice — Jews are greedy, blacks are lazy, white men can’t jump, etc. — or the vague sense that one person is in some way inferior to another simply because of the color of his skin.

But I don’t think Turpeau was motivated by the kind of racism defined above. In fact, he was quite clear in explaining his goal:

There is an unstated assumption that having a black mayor in Atlanta is equal to having a black social, economic and political agenda or at least someone in office who would be sensitive to that agenda if not a full promoter of that agenda

In other words, having an African American mayor is a benefit to black Atlantans and their “agenda”; therefore, blacks should take steps to ensure that City Hall stays black.