Malcolm X - Dialectical Journal No. FIFTEEN!

CHAPTER 6 ~ Page 93

"The white racist won't tell you that is also works in reverse. When it got late, Sophia and I would go to some of the after-hours places and speakeasies. When the downtown nightclubs had closed, most of these Harlem places crawled with white people. These whites were just mad for Negro "atmosphere", especially some of the places which had what you might call Negro Soul. Sometimes Negroes would talk about how a lot of whites seemed unable to have enough of being close around us, and among us -- in groups. Both white men and women, it seemed, would get almost mesmerized by Negroes."

Why are people racist? The hatred, or fear rather stems from something unknown. This passage seems to dictate that because of society's engrained views on the Negroes, everyone is told to hate them; therefore not understanding or getting much time with/around them. Now while the contempt for Negroes was felt throughout many white folks, a large majority of them had some subconscious curiosity. There had to have been some questions, and this may not be the right word to describe such behaviour (of those who surrounded themselves by the blacks) as slightly hypocritical.