King helped end legal segregation; gap persists culturally, economicallyBy Adam Parker (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Friday, April 4, 2008
FILE/AP Since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. 40 years ago today, blacks have secured positions of power and influence that many of their ancestors could not have imagined. Related storyWhen Erica Nicole Veal moved to South Carolina from California in 1999, her race suddenly mattered. She was 14 years old, poor, black and living with her mother in a hotel room temporarily while attending public school in Columbia. The black students shunned her because she was perceived as an outsider, she said. She didn't use slang and had a Latino-tinged accent. "My friends made fun of the way I spoke," she said. But she didn't make white friends, either, because that would have marked her, making it even more difficult to join the school's black society. So during her middle-school years she was a loner. In Los Angeles she had a diverse group of friends. They were all poor, but didn't really realize it, she said. In South Carolina, race and class differences became more pronounced, she said. But by high school, she began to feel more comfortable hanging out with black friends. For Veal, the experience pointed to the black struggle for self-esteem, identity and achievement. Now 23, she is a graduate student at the College of Charleston, studying African-American history and culture. What she knows about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement she learned from books and stories. She said the struggle today has little to do with those historic legal obstacles and government- sponsored racism, and more with culture, identity and economics. How can blacks break the vicious cycle of poverty and failure? By discovering who they are, where they come from and what they have in common with all other people of color throughout the world, Veal said. Only then will the stigma of slavery and the self-hate that is its most insidious racial legacy be left behind once and for all, she said. Today, on the 40th anniversary of the assassination of King, and during an election year when a black man is running for president, some Americans are pondering the state of race relations, the progress the country has made and the problems that persist. The progress is pronounced. Since the 1960s blacks have secured positions of power and influence their ancestors could not have imagined. The chairman of Charleston County Council, Tim Scott, is a black man. The chief of the State Law Enforcement Division, Reggie Lloyd, is a black man. The third-most-powerful person in Congress, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, is a black man. Still, problems fester. The divide was set in high relief recently when comments by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, former pastor of presidential candidate Barack Obama, surfaced in the media. Some said Wright was guilty of hate-speech; others defended his right to criticize his country. Videos that have recently surfaced of white South Carolina troopers' allegedly harsh treatment of black drivers also caused an outcry. NAACP officials and other observers, such as political activist Andy Brack, have asked: When white drivers are pulled over, do troopers aim guns at them and handcuff them to their cars? Politics vs. culture The great achievement of King and the civil rights movement was the end of legal segregation. The integration of blacks into white society was the political outcome based on a political agenda, said Brack, publisher of the S.C. Statehouse Report and president of the nonprofit think tank Center for a Better South. King was fighting laws that were designed to keep blacks without rights. Integration called for full participation in civic life by all Americans, and government has done a pretty good job removing the legal and political barriers that stood in the way, he said. But while the political process can help resolve political conflicts, it can do little about cultural differences. It's important to remember that there is such a thing as a distinct black culture, especially in the South, Brack said, and it is at its most visible in church on Sunday morning. "That's the way it is." John Simpkins, professor of constitutional law at Charleston's School of Law, said America's cultural differences are not strictly black and white. "It's not just an issue of race, but of values inherent to cultural viewpoints," he said. Black culture tends to be more collective, and this tendency often can conflict with the predominant American value of individualism, Simpkins said. "The legal system is based on the individual," he said. We value property rights, say every vote counts, encourage consumerism and the singular pursuit of the American Dream. Meanwhile, most blacks maintain a set of values that accommodates the group, he said. The property one person owns is shared, exemplified by the problems related to heirs property, Simpkins noted. For blacks, communal ownership is legitimate, he said. "It's the exposure that culture has had to a legal system favoring the individual that has resulted in problems," Simpkins said. "African-American communities are in decline because there is no longer a collective to which a variety of people contribute." Getting over it W. Marvin Dulaney, 57, the director of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture at the College of Charleston, knows that blacks must make their way in the broader community and take responsibility for themselves, but he bristles at the notion that just because segregation is over, blacks should let go of the past. The legal structures of Jim Crow may have been toppled decades ago, but the effects of that era are still acutely felt, he said. Blacks were systematically denied access to wealth in the United States for nearly three centuries, he said. They were kept relegated to their own neighborhoods where they were subjected to discriminatory economic and political policies. The result, he said, is an inextricable intertwining of class and race. "The civil rights movement was good at removing race as a specific factor of oppression," Dulaney said, but it still left blacks poor. The government in recent decades has not addressed the problem of poverty very well, he said. It has retreated from its obligations to the poor and middle class, perturbed by what government officials perceived to be the social program excesses of the 1960s and 1970s, Dulaney said. Today, the middle class is increasingly squeezed, and the ranks of the poor growing, he said. The answer, in Dulaney's view, is twofold: Government should introduce a new "New Deal" — large-scale economic programs that put people to work by improving the country's infrastructure and institutions — and it should invest in education "to turn out students who can compete." "Someone is going to have to do something radical," he said, citing a recent experience. A group of young, low-income black men came to the Avery Center last week for a college preparatory program, led by Dulaney. Most of the men were hostile and inattentive, he said. They did not want to learn. "They are so conditioned to be angry and rebellious that even in a program designed to help them, they couldn't partake of it," Dulaney said. Piecemeal solutions will not fix the problem, he said. Society must change its priorities, setting access to a good education for everybody at the top of the list. Pessimistic no more U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn says he's a problem-solver, but there's one problem, the achievement gap between the older and younger generations of blacks, he can't remedy. Not long ago he would have expressed dismay and disappointment, he said. Despite the obvious gains since the civil rights era, he would have questioned whether the U.S. could ever transcend its racial problems. But in recent weeks he said he's had a change of heart, inspired like so many others by Obama's message of reconciliation and unity, a message informed by history and the candidate's own unique experience in America. "I've been saying for the last three or four weeks that there is a renaissance taking place among young people today that I've not seen since the 1960s," Clyburn said. "I thought I'd go to my grave never seeing that flame ignited again." Reach Adam Parker at 937-5902 or aparker@postandcourier.com. |
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Comments
This article has 41 comment(s)
Posted by moonpie on April 4, 2008 at 6:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
2008 and still there is segregation. There's also a double race standard. Self imposed? You can walk into any school, movie theater, church, mall, wherever there is a crowd and blacks will be in one place whites in the other. Poor is color blind though, there are whites and blacks that are poor. I think it's a choice. You may not say I want to grow up to be poor all my life but lets face it some make choices that will assure you will live in poverty and require assistance from the gov for your very existence. Like the Gadsen Green mothers, like the person that says I like the bottle better than a job (colorless). YOU MAKE THE CHOICE NOW THAT ALL THINGS ARE EQUAL.
Posted by captivated on April 4, 2008 at 7:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
moonpie - All things are equal where? I believe it will be many moons from now before our society really reflects any sort of equality. Statistics may show our society approaching economic, social and political balance, but then, we all know about statistics, don't we? Segregation and discrimination in our state are alive and well.
Posted by Early on April 4, 2008 at 8:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I don't think it is a good idea on so much focusing on the past and, I say that respectfully. Seems so much focusing on the past takes away from a clear future. Cultural differences are one thing but to say "that's the way it is" is not acceptable. Why does CCSD hire "cultural advisers" for a certain ethnic group? How do our Hispanic kids react to that when they don't have a cultural adviser? It makes me upset to hear my wife come home and say the cultural adviser told me not to discipline my student in this way or that way because he is culturally different. No, it's special treatment. As long as things like this continue, the divide will be wide and great. Learn from your ancestor, be proud of who you are but don't focus on it to the point where it consumes you.
Posted by ColdBeer on April 4, 2008 at 8:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
There are still many problems that need to be corrected. Only education, understanding, empathy and time will correct those issues. The problem is that we now have many issues that did not exist in the days of MLK and those new problems are not being addressed. I think MLK would be very disappointed in what the fight for racial equality has turned in to. Yes, the racism and bigotry need to be purged from society, but I doubt MLK ever though that those he was fighting for would ever become part of the problem.
I feel that we could round up every white racist on the face of the Earth and kill them and we could make sure that every law, in every instance, was 100% fair racially and yet we'd still see many of the same problems in the poorer communities, white or black. Not living responsibly, not earning your share, expecting other to do for you and committing crimes when they don't are not things that MLK ever had to address.
Posted by dmwallac on April 4, 2008 at 8:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"NAACP officials and other observers, such as political activist Andy Brack, have asked: When white drivers are pulled over, do troopers aim guns at them and handcuff them to their cars?"
No, white drivers get kicked in the head while attempting to surrender. Honestly, do the people who ask these provocative questions ever actually try to find an answer?
Posted by raregar67 on April 4, 2008 at 8:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Early...I think I understand your post but I must admit I learned a lot about the 60's and the Civil Rights act of 1965 from the program "Strength From Selma" on public tv last night. I agree it isn't wise to get mired in the past, but it probably is good to ..."remember the past, or be condemmed to repeat it."
Posted by prosperous_hb on April 4, 2008 at 8:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I think one of reason for back in the past to paint of picture of then and now. Clearly, it shows that we still have a long way to go. If Dr. King was still alive, I think things would be a little better b/c he was one that a mouthpiece for all people, not just one.
Posted by Riptide on April 4, 2008 at 9:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)
One of the major problems pointed out in this article is this collectivist attitude in the black community. American culture is not base on collectivism but on individual achievement. Also, this sense of entitlement to other people’s wealth. Again, our society is base on opportunity to create wealth not to live off other people’s earnings. Socialism or the welfare state is a failed concept no matter how you package it.
Posted by downtownsurvivor on April 4, 2008 at 9:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
As long as discrimination is on earth , there will continue to be racisim! People are discriminated against due to hair, size, education,employment, location,sex,etc.! Martin Luther King fought a good fight! However, race does not matter It is the ignorant people in the world! We have to realize that we all had to start somewhere to get where we are! Whites have to open their eyes to see that everyone deserves a chance! Whites have damaged black people and still are! Blacks need to open their eyes and know that they can make a difference! The white man has nothing to do with your decision making!
Posted by LadyTarHeel on April 4, 2008 at 9:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)
There is an episode of the cartoon "Boondocks" where Martin Luther King Jr comes back and sees how the black community has turned out. If you haven't seen it, you should. As an African-American woman, I can truly say that racism is still alive. I think that we should always remember the past and let it be a stepping stone for the future, not a dweling place for self-pity.
I think the best way for us to remember Dr. King and all those who fought in the Civil Rights Movement is to take advantage of every opportunity out there. I get so sick of hearing I can't get out of the hood because the white man is holding me down. That's complete bull and I do believe the people using it as a cop out know it's bull too. I mean, if that were true, would I be three years from finishing a Ph.D. in science, a field not known for the over abundance of black women? Nope. Sorry to go off on a little tangent, but it just makes my blood boil when I think about the state of the African-American community and how so many just blatently disrespect what people like Dr. King sacrificed their lives for. As a community, we need to get out there and take advantage of all opportunities set in front of you. I know that I did and I can credit that and parents who lived through the civil rights era for that.
Posted by wpc3iop on April 4, 2008 at 9:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Personal responsibility and hard work are the keys to achievement...whether you are black OR white!
Posted by oldglory on April 4, 2008 at 9:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Moving to SC from VA was as though I was stepping back in time. It took me back to the 1950s when everyone was enraged. It took some time, but eventually equality won out. After living here for two years I am unable to accept the racism which exists on BOTH sides in SC.
Posted by kma71 on April 4, 2008 at 9:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Good for you LadyTarHeel!! I have to agree. My wife earned her masters degree while working 40+ hours at a hospital on the night shift. She seized the opportunity for an education and she busted her butt to get one.
There is opportunity out there. You just have to be willing to grab it when you can. If you decide not to grab it, don't blame me or anyone else! And don't expect me to help pay your way! Put up or shut up!!!
Posted by NCHeat on April 4, 2008 at 10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
WAY TO GO TARHEEL LADY. YOU STAND OUT AS A SHINING EXAMPLE OF WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE FAMILY VALUES AND A NEVER GIVE UP ATTITUDE. I SALUTE YOU!!!
Posted by YankeeLiberal on April 4, 2008 at 10:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
OldGlory, agreed...we moved to the state back in late summer 06, and I knew we were in trouble when an employee of a sandwich shop in Murrells Inlet said to me (but not before he kind of looked around to see if anyone was listening!!), "You don't want to send your kids to schools on the Waccamaw Neck, you know, cause of those Georgetown blacks....". It IS like going back in time here. I don't look forward to when I need to explain to both of my young daughters why people fly confederate flags out of their trucks, what slavery meant, and why some people here display that flag proudly...and why so many here (like some on this post) seem to be in terminal denial about racism here.
Posted by allwoman on April 4, 2008 at 10:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
ladytarheel: "I think that we should always remember the past and let it be a stepping stone for the future, not a dweling place for self-pity."
This is a statement that I agree with wholeheartedly. We should never allow the past be the crutch on which we lean and an anchor that keeps us down. Instead we need to use it as a bridge that links us to our past along with a brighter and successful future.
Posted by raregar67 on April 4, 2008 at 10:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey liberal yankee: You sure got a cute way about you. "It is going back in time here." Now isn't it true you moved south b/c the instructor had to tell you time and again the ski pants go on 1st, then the skis? You are as transparent as a skeleton walking into a bar and ordering a beer and a mop! Rte 77, 81, and 95 go North and South pal, not happy...finish the sentence.
Posted by RTC on April 4, 2008 at 11:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
allwoman, I also agree with LadyTarHeel, and that was quite a profound statement you made yourself.
You are both awesome ladies.
Posted by Jane on April 4, 2008 at 11:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I do wonder when the man said not to send your kids to the Waccamaw Neck it might have had more to do with the way the students act as opposed to the color of their skin. I have a friend whose family came from a country south of the border (legally). She spent her first year at a mostly white school and then the next year she was put in a mostly black school. She said they acted horribly and didn't want to learn and food fights were the norm. Her mother had to pull her out and put her in a different school if she was going to learn. Before anyone calls me a racist, let me say, I could care a less about the color of a persons' skin,it is how they act that counts. I grew up all over the country and had wonderful friends who were black. It was a culture shock for me moving from VA to Sc in Jr. high. I could not believe how rude the blacks were to me once I got here and I know it was because my skin was white. Racism goes both directions. I know blacks were treated horribly by some whites, but not by all whites. 300,000 whites died in the Civil War to free blacks. In 1854 whites formed the Republican party to stop the advancement of slavery into the western territories. No person has done more to help blacks than white Americans. Unfortunately, one of the worst things whites did for blacks was encourage them to quit their jobs in the 60's and go on the gov't dole (I know, I know, more whites are on welfare than blacks). Unfortunately, though this encouraged women (of ALL races) to have children out of wedlock. 70% of all blacks are now born out of wedlock and raised without a father. This to me is at the root of blacks problems today.
I wish blacks would quit with this group identity and just be an individual. Most whites could care a less that you are black ,as long as you are a good person who cares?
Veal said, "How can blacks break the vicious cycle of poverty and failure? By discovering who they are, where they came from and what they have in common with all other ppl of color throughout the world." I disagree. I say quit thinking about your skin color. Want to break the vicious cycle of poverty? Put a premium on learning and doing well in school, graduate high school, don't have children until you are married and this will get you far. It works. I have too many wonderful friends who are black who have done just that. They view themselves as Americans and put a premium on education and family and don't blame others for their failures.
Posted by KidYendor on April 4, 2008 at 11:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
To break the cycle of poverty we must dissolve the LBJ Great Society experimental programs of the sixties. They have destroyed all that was good about America.
Posted by allwoman on April 4, 2008 at 11:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
RTC-
Thanks for the compliment. I really believe everything I type on these boards. I say them to any and everyone I speak to, even if I get those backward glances from some of my "peers" who feel I am being a sell out for thinking the way I do. Some of them feel as if I am saying racism doesn't exist. I have to tell them that I know it exists but I cannot sit there and allow someone else's ignorance hinder me from moving forward in my life. That would be very stupid on my part. "Yeah, I'll show 'em. They don't like me because I am Black, so I'll just not succeed. I'll sit back and be the lazy good for nothing nig that they feel I am anyway. That will really get 'em." I mean, who are you hurting, really? Surely not the racist person. You are giving the person what they want. I feel you hurt those that dislike you more by doing what they say you cannot.
Posted by raregar67 on April 4, 2008 at 11:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey liberal yankee dude...Where does it say we have to change how we do things in our sub-tropical paradise just to please you? Get w/ the program son. "Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty I'm free at last."
Posted by Newt on April 4, 2008 at 11:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Jane - even though you have black friends and are tiptoing around in your last post...I smell the slightest hint of racism.
Do you designate all your friends by their skin color? "300,000 whites died to free blacks" but the majority of whites did not see anything wrong with slavery or with the views that they were somehow less than whites. There are always enlightened people who see the truth for what it is, but they were in no way the majority!
I find it strange that you do not think knowing your past and your people is a good idea. Look to comments by allwoman to find truth: "We should never allow the past be the crutch on which we lean and an anchor that keeps us down. Instead we need to use it as a bridge that links us to our past along with a brighter and successful future."
Posted by YankeeLiberal on April 4, 2008 at 11:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hello my Raregard friend, you are right, you don't have to change anything about how you "do things" for me.
I can either head back to where I came from (a possibility), deal with blatant or subtle racism without saying anything (sorry, no can do there), or jump into the debate and also teach my kids that it (and all of its symbols) are wrong. There is nothing mysterious about someone mentioning "those Georgetown blacks...", no way to misinterpret that comment except for what it was. That's like when someone says, "you know, I'm not racist, but..." and then the epithets happen. If you can't admit that among all of this area's nice points (weather, polite people for the most part, food, family-centric nature) there still exists blatant, unapologetic racism, then you win, don't change for me. I can't get with that program though, and again, I am not looking forward to explaining this to my girls.
Posted by Jane on April 4, 2008 at 12:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Newt, I agree we should not forget the past nor should we wallow in it (I am 1/4 American Indian and I don't "wallow in the past"). Blacks were doing extremely well right after the Civil War ended. They were starting their own businesses and NC had more blacks elected to the state legislature shortly after the war ended than anytime since. What happened? The Southern white democrats inacted Jim Crow laws to keep blacks down. Republicans throughout our history were the ones to fight for blacks, unfortunately too many have forgotten that and most now vote for the Democrats, the party that kept them down throughout our history. I fail to see how it is racist to point out what actually happened. Pointing out that blacks are just as capable of whites gives me the "slightest hint of racism"? How? I refuse to believe that blacks are less capable. Pointing out what I think would help them does not make me racist. I don't believe in the "soft bigotry of low expectations". Pointing out that I have been mistreated by blacks make me racist? How? Is it only ok for blacks to talk about mistreatment from whites but not the other way around? Why? Alot of whites have helped blacks throughout our history. Blacks have it alot better here than in Africa where they are being raped and butchered by the 100,000's to millions today. Good luck being a black Christian in parts of Africa today. They are being butchered by muslims. The black Christian women of the Congo are being brutally raped by black muslims for simply being Christians (and a woman) By the way, more white Europeans were enslaved by the folks along the North African coast than all 13 colonies combined. I think all of us could find some kind of grievance. Never forget the past, but don't use it as an excuse for lack of success nor as an excuse to teach hatred like Obama's preacher Rev. Wright who teaches hate against whites. That does nothing to help bring the black community up. Hatred either direction is wrong. That does NOT make me racist. I resent your saying that to me. I was raised by good decent parents who taught me it does not matter the color of your skin. How dare you call me racist. As far as I'm concerned Newt, you owe me an apology, but I won't hold my breath!
Posted by lilpenny0 on April 4, 2008 at 12:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I also agree with both allwoman and LadyTarheel. I grew up in downtown Charleston and none of my friends went on to go to school except me. At the time, I thought I was being a sellout because I wanted something different than what my peers were doing. But in time, I realized that there are so many opportunities in this world, not just this country, made available to anyone who REALLY wants it. In order to achieve, you not only have to want it, you have to be willing to work hard to have it. Anything worth having is worth working hard for. Most people in poverty don't want to work hard at anything, they would rather look for the easiest route to something...whatever it may be. I believe that in order to disband that way of thinking, it starts with parents and education. And not just any parent, but GOOD parents. Not just any education, but an education that actually provides students with a sense that they can achieve their goals with the knowledge they are receiving. Only with a combination of these two things, along with the understanding of your fellow man/woman and the will to do what's right in order to MAKE this world a better place for yourself, your family, and friends will we be able to work past all our difference...rich, poor, young, old, Black, White, whatever.
Posted by Early on April 4, 2008 at 12:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
YankeeLiberal, I don't get it and many will disagree with me but I DO NOT associate the confederate flag with slavery. I guess being higher educated make the difference for me and the problems come from the uneducated on both side. Slavery was only a very, very small part of the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln had slaves up till 2 weeks before the war began and only got rid of them because he was asked by his party to do so. The Civil war represent taxation and annexation, the invention of the cotton gin and taxing agriculture, the "either your with me or against me' mentality SO, that flag doesn't represent "slavery" to me but a CIVIL WAR! You people from up north hear too many selective stories. Would be the same as I was taught that ALL people from the north are RUDE!
Posted by LowcountryMoose on April 4, 2008 at 1:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There were, are and always will be two Americas. One composed of achievers and one of underachievers. I believe that parents hold the key to which group their children will join.
Posted by ConcernedDorchesterCitizen on April 4, 2008 at 1:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Early,
I am of German descent, can I hang up the Swastika at my home without offending others? You know, the Swastika didn't have anything to do with killing, it is revered in my country as a symbol of our perfection, and it is only unintelligent people who post that think that. And just because my religion believes the Jews killed Christ, doesn't mean that I hate those "penny pintching" fellows.
Your argument falls flat - give it up!
Posted by Elmer_J_Fudd on April 4, 2008 at 1:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Great...No one on this thread is comparing MLK to Jesus Christ as they are in another...how retarded is that?
Anyway, to jump into a conversation, the swastika was bastardized by the NAZIs to turn a symbol of the Jewish faith back upon them (look at its history with the Jews). Heck, it is even a symbol that is Native in the New World...Native Americans had the same swastika symbol for different meanings. In fact the swastika is almost universal among cultures and dates back more than 3000 years....from Troy, to Druids, to Buddhists, Jains, Hindus, and many, many more.
So, ConcernedDorechesterCitizen, I would say you could hang the swastika just fine...just don't hang the Nazi flag or the bastardized version of it (with the painful, hurt causing colors associated with its misuse).
Actually, do me a favor, bud...read "Twisted Cross: The German Christian Movement in the Third Reich" and you may see a few things of interest. Also for the history of the swastika go the library or a university history department and I am sure you will be enlightened.
Posted by Newt on April 4, 2008 at 1:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Jane - No, please don’t hold your breath…I’m hearing the same ole racism that I heard in the previous post. “I agree we should not forget the past nor should we wallow in it (I am 1/4 American Indian and I don't "wallow in the past").” Big woop…we are all of mixed race, and eventually everyone will be brown. Then we will be able to see an America with no racial issues, but I’m afraid we will find another reason to discriminate against others.
“They were starting their own businesses and NC had more blacks elected to the state legislature shortly after the war ended than anytime since. What happened? The Southern white democrats inacted Jim Crow laws to keep blacks down. Republicans throughout our history were the ones to fight for blacks, unfortunately too many have forgotten that and most now vote for the Democrats, the party that kept them down throughout our history.” Yes, I know my history but at what point did the parties switch sides. You cannot be insinuating that the Republicans are the saviors today! Not with election rigged and redistricting to keep the minority vote (mostly democratic votes) down. Things started to change for African Americans when the KKK was formed. Fear mongering, hate spewing terrorists!
I understand how horrible the situation is in the Congo and in Africa, but we are not talking about Africa…we are talking about America! When we discuss how all someone has to do is work hard and pull themselves up by their boot straps; we must ensure they are given an even playing field. When schools like Angle Oak Elementary are supported monetarily the same way Mt. Pleasant Academy is, then we can start talking apples to apples.
You refer to Rev. Wright…you know what, if I had been kept down, profiled by police, followed when you go into a store for fear you will steal, offered “equal but separate” as OK, disproportionately incarcerated, not to mention lynched, beaten, churches burned, children killed, humiliated and trampled on for generations, I think I might be a little PO’d! I think I may get up in-front of like people and state my grievances! I think I might feel that America didn’t really represent me or my concerns! And don’t forget this is America and he does have free speech, just like us!
It amazes me that people do not take hard looks at themselves! The undercurrent of racism is rampant in most people, and I am not saying I am any different. What I am saying is that I stop and evaluate why I am feeling certain way and address the driving fears, instead of tossing them at someone else’s feet. I think you believe you are a fair minded person, yet your post does not mirror your beliefs. Self reflection can be difficult, but it is very refreshing, I hope you will give it a try.
Posted by Elmer_J_Fudd on April 4, 2008 at 1:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Newt, Jane
Get over the semantics. Someone will always be called a little racist by someone else if they do not share EXACTLY the same ideology. To some, any statement of black versus white or them versus us constitutes racism. It does not matter if you are only using adjectives meant in a non-divisive manner...they will see it as a reason to complain. Many whites will complain about reverse discrimination as racism...everyone will complain about something.
Since no one really has the exact same ideology, just accept the facts...to someone, everyone is at least a little racist. You can do nothing about except move on and be the best person you can.
Posted by allwoman on April 4, 2008 at 2 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Elmer_J_Fudd-
It's been a while. How's it been going?
Posted by Elmer_J_Fudd on April 4, 2008 at 2:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
allwoman,
It has been fine but I have just been very, very busy. And it is not even rabbit season or duck season (is it?).
Posted by allwoman on April 4, 2008 at 2:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It could be, I am sure it is somewhere!
Posted by newto843 on April 4, 2008 at 2:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The part of the article where it states "In Los Angeles she had a diverse group of friends. They were all poor, but didn't really realize it." is where I can relate most. Things are very black and white out here. I am more familiar with the economic divide than the racial one.
Posted by bkeelin on April 4, 2008 at 3:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Newt,
The first movie ever viewed in the white house was "The Birth of a Nation", it described how blacks were less human than whites, how they were not as smart as whites and many other demeaning statements. The President who viewed the movie said it was all "terribly terribly true". This president was Woodrow Wilson and he was a democrat. This movie was then shown throughout the country and the KKK ran with it. The first black Sec of State - Colin Powell appointed by a republican, the first black female National security advisor - Condi Rice appointed by a republican, the first black female Sec of State - appointed by a republican. Republicans don't want blacks to be poor and live on welfare they want blacks to get jobs and become self sufficient, they don't want anyone on welfare for that matter. It is democrats who want to keep blacks on the welfare roles to keep control of their votes. It is democrats who want to expand welfare to bring more people under their control.
Posted by allwoman on April 4, 2008 at 3:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
People all over the world, join hands
Start a love train, love train
People all over the world, join hands
Join a love train, love train
The next stop that we make will be England
Tell all the folks in Russia and China too
Don't you know that it's time to get on board
And let this train keep on riding, riding on through
People all over the world, join hands
Start a love train, love train
People all over the world, join hands
Join a love train, love train
All of your brothers over in Africa
Tell all the folks in Egypt and Israel too
Please don't miss this train at the station
'Cause if you miss it, I feel sorry, sorry for you
People all over the world, join hands
Start a love train, love train
People all over the world, join hands
Join a love train, love train
People all over the world, join hands
Start a love train, love train
People all over the world, join hands
Join a love train, love train
Posted by Harpo on April 4, 2008 at 7:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It's all about attitudes. If you're constantly in my face
with a loud foul mouth, loud music, outlandish clothes and
a go-to-hell attitude then I'm not having a darned thing
to do with you and I'll go out of my way to avoid you.
That means I won't hire you or live near you if I have a
choice.
That has nothing to do with the amount of melanin in your
skin and everything to do with your behavior. If you're a
decent person to be around, I'll go out of my way to get
along with you and count you as a friend.
It's really as A B C simple as that.
Posted by YankeeLiberal on April 4, 2008 at 7:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Early, thanks for the reply, and btw, I am educated (four year business degree), military veteran, and I would yet agree that most people who do not associate the confederate flag with slavery at all are the ones who are not educated. We're not talking about rude people here, we are talking about a stain on our country's past. When I see the confederate flag, I react with outrage and embarrassment, because it IS a symbol of slavery and oppression, and like Newt said, the playing field is not level, never was. I am sure you're a really nice person, but your argument does fall flat. If a symbol offends, whether it is the swastika or the confed flag, it is for a reason, either of genocide or of legalized owning of another human.
Posted by moonpie on April 4, 2008 at 8:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
LADYTARHEEL, The best post of the day. (even better than mine) And what you wrote is absolutely true.