Word: latently
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...Most of all," however, Maddox and Allen "are relieved. Relieved because white America did not receive a mandate to institutionalize its strong, latent prejudice." The assumption that a crime by a Black person would have indeed been a mandate for institutionalizing racism is a curious one. More than that, however, Maddox and Allen seem to have ignored the trend of U.S. history since 1865. America is moving away from its institutionalized prejudice, not toward it. The pace may vary, obstacles may still be in place, but the direction is unmistakeable. Progress can only be hampered, though, by the blind, irresponsible...
Charles Stuart knew this. By playing on the latent fear of "Black violence," Stuart almost escaped blame for the murder of his wife and soon-expected child. Stuart guessed correctly that the majority of white society would accept the fact that a Black man killed an innocent white woman without question. More than that, he knew that the majority of whites would be so intent on immediate retribution that they wouldn't closely investigate his story...
...warped brilliance of Charles Stuart is that he exploited the latent prejudice of middle-class white society. He wisely tapped the deepest well of racial and class bias of middle-class America. He animated the gravest fear of white America: a crazed, degenerate Black man kills an innocent, pregnant lawyer and child, destroys a family which symbolizes white middle-class prosperity. It was all so believable, so real. He created a story which so much of white America wanted to believe in order to justify its own racism...
...white-controlled media and police, of course, bought the story. After all, they had the very same fears and latent prejudices. The press, jumping on the story as if the death of Carol Stuart were so much more significant than that of James Moody, or any other person killed that day, added an element of class elitism to the web of prejudice. Additionally, much of white society already perceived the Black male as a murderous, adulterous beast as a result of this historically biased media portrayal. The press exacerbated this perception by referring to the supposed killer as a Black...
...aftermath of this case we are incensed by the persistent level of racism and ethnocentric ignorance of so many whites. Most of all, we are relieved. Relieved because white America did not receive a mandate to institutionalize its strong, latent prejudice. We can only hope that the underlying implications of Charles Stuart's skewed yet masterful ploy will be eradicated through serious self-reflection by the white community. H.W. Jerome Maddox '90 Valarie J. Allen...