Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson urged a crowd of 439 in-person and 330 virtual attendees to take a closer look at social dynamics and challenge their views on value and status during the fourth annual James W. Fowler Ethics Event hosted by the Emory University Center for Ethics on Oct. 16. The event, which was held at the First Baptist Church of Decatur, was a chance to reflect on the roots of race in America and discuss how individuals can shape the future.
Center for Ethics Associate Director Kathy Kinlaw (79C, 85T) said that Wilkerson, formerly a James M. Cox Professor of Journalism at Emory, was chosen to speak at the event to focus on divisiveness in society. Wilkerson touches on this in her two New York Times bestsellers, “The Warmth of Other Suns:The Epic Story of America's Great Migration,” which traces the migration of African Americans from the Jim Crow South, and “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents,” which details racial stratification in the United States.
“[‘Caste’] was very compelling because she was looking at the origins of our discontents as really a people, as human beings, and she's looking across the United States but far beyond the United States as well,” Kinlaw said.
Wilkerson began her speech by emphasizing her identity as an African American author.
“My mission has been to use the power of language and narrative to change how people see the world,” Wilkerson said.
As the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in journalism for “Caste,” Wilkerson sees U.S. society through the lens of a caste system that is often more closely associated with India. She dove deep into Martin Luther King Jr.’s comparison of African Americans to the lowest tier of caste in India: the “untouchables.”
Wilkerson described caste systems as an “artificial and arbitrary graded ranking of human value within a society,” noting that it can lead to access or denial of resources and protection from authorities.
Originally, there was no need to classify people based on race because all of the early European colonists looked similar, according to Wilkerson. However, she explained that the concept came into use when the colonists began to classify enslaved persons by race.
“This is an example of one of the ancient pillars of caste which is purity versus pollution: the idea that people who are assigned to the very top of the hierarchy … had to protect themselves against the presumed pollution that would occur with proximity to those who are designated beneath them,” Wilkerson said.
This hierarchical cycle of oppression based on race has endured, according to Wilkerson, who cited the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 as an example. Referencing a circulated video of scenes after the Capitol had been cleared of the mob, Wilkerson said a crew of Black and brown janitors were brought in to clean up the aftermath.
“There was a police officer standing over them as they went about their humble work,” Wilkerson said. “I saw instantly the people assigned to the subordinated caste for 400 years in our country still consigned to their historic role of serving and cleaning up after the crisis that had been created by those who had had more power than they did.”
While the United States has made progress in overcoming limitations like these, Wilkerson said that there is still work to be done. She emphasized the importance of education and knowledge in breaking down this caste system.
Local resident Amy Speas attended the event and agreed that students on college campuses have the power to make significant strides in eliminating hierarchies.
“What a wonderful opportunity you all have to break down the social divisions,” Speas said. “Get to know your neighbor, particularly neighbors that don't look like you, and I'd say that applies to both university social systems as well as all social systems.”
Referencing her handwritten notes from Wilkerson’s speech, Speas also reflected on Wilkerson’s book, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents,” being banned in school systems across the nation.
“I'll echo her own words and say … there should be no banning of knowledge, including ‘Caste’ and many other books that are now being banned,” Speas said.
Julie Zaharatos, a fan of Wilkerson’s book “Warmth of Other Suns,” said eliminating hierarchical divisions is an evolving process.
“We need to acknowledge where we've been if we're going to get past some of the divisions that we have now,” Zaharatos said. “You think you're done but you have to keep working at it — actively working.”
What resonated most with Ayanna Rutherford, another community member, is Wilkerson’s insistence that “no one benefits” from a rigid caste structure.
“It's a lot of work to be in a dominant position and a lot of work in a subordinate position that kind of removes your focus from your greater purpose in life,” Rutherford said.
News Editor Spencer Friedland (26C) contributed to reporting.
Correction (10/24/23 at 3:25 p.m.): A previous version of this article stated that 150 people attended the event. In fact, 769 people attended the event.
