Is this remark racially insensitive?:

[Clintonista2]

I wrote a paper for philosophy class, and I have this sentance in it, which, after rereading, comes off as kind of racist (It's not intended to be that way). I am discussing the act of "bearing witness", which is when a member of an advantaged group speaks out on behalf of a disadvantaged group (example- White supporters of the civil rights movement). Do you think I should change it? It's:

"White supporters of the civil rights movement often added credibility to the racially charged topic."

[datasuspect]

1. which philosophy class?

what is the topic of the paper?

[Clintonista2]

10. Ethics & morality, the topic is Laurence Thomas's "Bearing witness"

[bicentennial_baby]

2. I don't know if it's inherently racist, but...

it does not sound right...if you know what I mean. It sounds kinda like the civil rights movement wouldn't be credible sans whitey. I would qualify it or expand it some, if I were you.

[HEyHEY]

3. What you're trying to say is

That having white folks involved made it harder for other white folks to dismiss.

[Clintonista2]

12. exactly!

Many whites saw it as a Black Vs. White issue, by having whites stand on the side of the african american community, it made other whites re-evaluate the issue.

[democracyindanger]

4. Explain in whose eyes

credibility was raised and you should be alright:

ex: "White supporters of the civil rights movement often added credibility for millions of other white Americans who had yet to take sides."

Or something.

[darkstar]

7. good fix

:hi:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

5. i would add the phrase: to other whites

otherwise it sounds like you are using white as normative. as though the only credibility that counts is the credibility of white folk.

[Sanity Claws]

6. I'd change it

It sounds like the movement lacked credibility without white supporters.
That's not true.
How about using the word "visibility" instead of credibility? Or perhaps rewrite it so that the meaning is that white people woke up because a white person, someone they idenitified with, spoke up.

Good luck on your paper.

[NewHampster]

8. Caucasian

would work better

[philosophie_en_rose]

9. Yes.

Because you imply that whiteness = more credibility.

[skygazer]

11. Yes, you should change it

I know what you mean but it's not expressed well. Perhaps something like, "White supporters of the civil rights movement often caused other whites to take a more objective look at the issue."

[kath]

13. or something like "the participation by whites in the movement led to increased visibility and

broader support"

Also, this may have been fairly late in the movement, but some white musicians (and probably other celebrity-types) participated in some of the marches and this probably helped increase white support as well
We have 2 Peter Paul and Mary tapes for kids ("Peter, Paul and Mommy" and "Peter, Paul and Mommy Too"), and on one of them there is an incredibly moving track of "We Shall Overcome" with kids singing along that always brings tearrs to my eyes. In the intro to the song, they say something like "we sang this song with Martin Luther King, and now we'd like you to sing it with us"
(for those of you parents that hate all the sappy, crappy kids music out there, those two are real gems - we played the first one so much we wore it out and had to buy a new copy!)