Gandhi Was A Racist

Why critical race theory is critically important

Jeffrey Kass
6 min readJan 12, 2022

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Classic view of Mount Rushmore
Image: Jess Kraft/Shutterstock

Since moving to Denver 10 years ago, I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met who adore Mahatma Gandhi. He’s a hero in nearby Boulder.

I personally was never a huge fan, because during the Holocaust Gandhi said that the Jews shouldn’t fight back and instead just accept their deaths. Enlightenment, according to Gandhi, never supports any form of violence even if it’s to fend off genocide and the gassing of six million Jews.

The ethics of Judaism require self-defense when attacked, but I’ll leave that discussion for another time.

People worldwide grew up learning about Gandhi as the epitome of peace and nonviolence. The poster child for love if you will. It’s what we’ve been taught without contradiction. But Gandhi’s years living in South Africa, where he fought for the rights of Indians under apartheid, tells a more complete story. Since we’re all on the topic of truthful history these days.

As part of his advocacy for Indians, in 1893 Gandhi wrote to the white supremacist Parliament of South Africa and stated that a “general belief seems to prevail in the colony that the Indians are a little better, if at all, than savages or the natives of Africa.”

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Jeffrey Kass

A Medium Top Writer on Racism, Diversity, Education, History and Parenting | Speaker | Award-Winning Author | Latest Book: Black Batwoman V. White Jesus | Dad