Albert Einstein stated that: “The discovery of the laws of nature by science can make an erudite man but does not make him a good person. The good man realizes the values within his consciousness, for the world of facts, which is science, leads no way to the world of values, which is consciousness. Facts do not produce values because values come from another region.”
And what region is this that Einstein refers to? A geographical region on the planet, or in the Cosmos... an enigmatic sign located in his complex mathematical calculations?
No! This region is the Christlike consciousness intrinsic to the human soul, which creates values and leads man to his spiritual evolvement. However, he has to allow himself to this evolvement or is at risk of becoming stagnant in his evolution and even disintegration. But this awareness is dormant in most individuals who still need cunning tools in their actions and reactions, which are the primary reflexes of their instincts or intellectualized mind. These primary instincts do not always add or even delay this evolvement since the forming elements of personality and character are rooted in his life story, dating back to the primaeval days of existence when man was given the free will leading to his destiny.
In one of the most effervescent moments in the history of the United States, when racism claimed countless victims in the brutality of the white man against ethnic and mainly African minorities, Einstein, in 1946, made an eloquent pronouncement on racial prejudice, showing that his rational scientific mind also lived the mystique of Reality and true human consciousness. It was a courageous attitude, a wake-up call about a situation that had dragged on for over 400 years, when the first slave ship arrived in the United States, in a country that took immense advantage of this labour force and became the wealthiest country but still handcuffed in its memories, and from which it refuses to free itself, as shown in the recent and bloody episodes against its population of African origin, even at the beginning of the 21st century.
In the years after World War II, Einstein took the stand to confront racism in America. As a musician himself and a great lover of classical music, he became close friends with prominent opera singer Paul Robeson and Marian Anderson, one of the most celebrated American opera singers of the 20th century. 1
Einstein co-chaired an anti-lynching campaign and was an outspoken supporter of William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, an American sociologist, socialist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author, writer and editor and the first African American to earn a PhD. from Harvard University. But it was in January 1946 he penned one of his most articulate and eloquent essays advocating for the civil rights of African-Americans. And, as described in Einstein on Race and Racism, the iconic physicist equated the ghettoization of Jews in Germany and segregation in America, calling racism America’s “worst disease.”
“The Negro Question” is an essay written by Einstein and initially published in the January 1946 issue of Pageant magazine, intended to address a primarily white readership:
“I am writing as one who has lived among you in America only a little more than ten years, and I am writing seriously and warningly. Many readers may ask: “What right has him to speak about things which concern us alone and which no newcomer should touch?”
What soon makes the new arrival devoted to this country is the democratic trait among the people. I am not thinking here so much of the democratic political constitution of this country; however highly it must be praised. I am thinking of the relationship between individual people and of the attitude they maintain toward one another.
In the United States, everyone feels assured of his worth as an individual. No one humbles himself before another person or class. Even the great difference in wealth, the superior power of a few, cannot undermine this healthy self-confidence and natural respect for the dignity of one’s fellowman.
There is, however, a sombre point in the social outlook of Americans. Their sense of equality and human dignity is mainly limited to men of white skin. Even among these, there are prejudices of which I, as a Jew, am clearly conscious. Still, they are unimportant compared to the attitude of the “Whites” toward their fellow citizens of darker complexion, particularly toward Negroes. The more I feel like an American, the more this situation pains me. I can escape the feeling of complicity in it only by speaking out.
Many a sincere person will answer: “Our attitude towards Negroes is the result of unfavourable experiences we have had by living side by side with Negroes in this country. They are not our equals in intelligence, sense of responsibility, reliability.”
I am firmly convinced that whoever believes this suffers from a fatal misconception. Your ancestors dragged these black people from their homes by force, and in the white man’s quest for wealth and easy life, they have been ruthlessly suppressed and exploited, degraded into slavery. The modern prejudice against Negroes is the result of the desire to maintain this unworthy condition.
The ancient Greeks also had slaves. They were not Negroes but white men who had been taken captive in war. There could be no talk of racial differences. And yet Aristotle, one of the great Greek philosophers, declared slaves inferior beings who were justly subdued and deprived of their liberty. He was enmeshed in a traditional prejudice from which, despite his extraordinary intellect, he could not free himself.
A large part of our attitude toward things is conditioned by opinions and emotions, which we unconsciously absorb as children from our environment. In other words, it is tradition — besides inherited aptitudes and qualities — which makes us what we are. We but rarely reflect how relatively small as compared with the powerful influence of tradition is the influence of our conscious thought upon our conduct and convictions.
It would be foolish to despise tradition. But with our growing self-consciousness and increasing intelligence, we must begin to control tradition and assume a critical attitude toward it if human relations are ever to change for the better. We must try to recognize what in our accepted tradition is damaging to our fate and dignity — and shape our lives accordingly.
Whoever tries to think things through honestly will soon recognize how unworthy and even fatal is the traditional bias against Negroes.
What, however, can the man of goodwill do to combat this deeply rooted prejudice? He must have the courage to set an example by word and deed and watch lest his children become influenced by this racial bias.
I do not believe there is a way in which this deeply entrenched evil can be quickly healed. But until this goal is reached, there is no greater satisfaction for a just and well-meaning person than the knowledge that he has devoted his best energies to the service of the good cause.”
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Paul Robeson was an American low-baritone singer, theatre and cinema actor who became famous for his cultural achievements and political activism. He was accused of being a member of the Communist Party, but there is no clear evidence. According to records released under the Freedom of Information Act, the FBI believed that Robeson could have joined the Party under “John Thomas”, but the Communist Party member book number is not known.
When Marian Anderson was invited to do a recital in Princeton, where Einstein was the professor and founder of the Institute for Advanced Studies, the hotel she was supposed to stay banned her presence. As soon as Einstein learned of the incident, he promptly invited her to stay at his residence, which the artist accepted!
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