Race Anyone?

There are simply no limits to the heights a young black person can reach in the twenty-first century. We have a black president, a black Supreme Court justice, and we have two very prominent blacks in the Cabinet with another awaiting confirmation. Do a number of people still hold racist beliefs? You bet, but I would qualify that remark by asserting that racists come in all skin colors. That is reality, and anyone unwilling to acknowledge that fact sees the world the way they want and not the way it is. Moreover, it is becoming increasingly impolite and unacceptable to express racist views even in the company of one's colleagues and friends (and totally unacceptable in a group setting). Frankly, I think a good amount of progress has been made over the past sixty years, and we should feel good about that fact.

Yet, there is a very sizeable segment of the American public that seems unwilling or unable to give our society any credit whatsoever on the race question. Specifically, I would point to white liberals of the intellectual class. For whatever reason, they don't seem happy unless they have oppression to rail against. Whether they are motivated by guilt because they come from a better circumstance or by a notion of their own moral superiority, the white intellectual class wring their hands over every -ism in the book: racism, sexism, ageism, lookism, weightism, etc. Frankly, it is not a world view that puts tremendous demands on the individual. As long as you see yourself as believing the "right" point of view, there's no need to examine a situation closely or take any action of consequence to make it better. You're okay because you're not as bad as the fill-in-the-blank (racists, sexists, homophobes, and so forth).

Also, I believe that something is very badly amiss in the perspective of many in the black community, especially the leadership. Whatever Dr. King's personal failings, he had the right idea. America could only reach its full potential and overcome its past if whites and blacks truly came together in a meaningful fashion in everyday life. In one word, America needed a top-to-bottom integration. Today, however, it seems to me that the black community is running in reverse, separating now more than ever from the mainstream of America's culture and everyday life. Nowhere is the divergence sharper than in the political sphere, where blacks overwhelmingly, without fail, back Democratic candidates. It's not even the opposing viewpoint that stands out so much as the white-hot vitriol with which America's black leaders make their case. As a practical matter, allegations of racism (such as those spewed at John McCain by John Lewis during the presidential campaign) should not be levied the moment a controversy erupts. I think it is exceptionally rude and unfair to levy this charge unless every single possible alternative explanation has been exhausted. The charge of racism, falsely leveled, poisons the well long after an event has passed.

As a real-world example of the changing racial dynamic in America, look at the 2000 NCAA basketball tournament. In a first-round matchup, the University of Mississippi was paired against tiny Iona College of New Rochelle, New York. In 1957, Ole Miss found itself scheduled to play Iona, which had a single black player on its roster. Rather than compete under this circumstance, Ole Miss forfeited the game to Iona. In 2000, the University of Mississippi invited that black gentleman to attend the game as their guest. The unhappy souls who want and need to feel bad can probably find something negative to say. I think it's a nice example of white people of goodwill attempting to come to terms with a less-than-ideal past. As a further point, it should be noted that in 2000 all five starters and the head coach for the University of Mississippi were black.

Unfortunately, individuals who accuse others of prejudice have a decided advantage in debate. A person can show or explain who he is, but it is impossible to prove that he is NOT something. In the same way, it is a difficult task to prove that society is not a certain way (i.e. thoroughly and insidiously racist) in the face of strident attack. But that should not deter fair and honest people from keeping up the good fight against unwarranted, hateful namecalling.