Chapter Six

The Real Dream!

“A gentleman will not insult me, and no man not a gentleman can insult me.”
Frederick Douglass

January 15th marks the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the
beginning of massive celebrations nationwide in remembrance and honor of
Dr. King. However, I wonder, have we lost sight of his dream? Are we
confusing the many messages and goals of the civil rights movement with
King’s dream? Was the dream of Dr. King the same dream as Malcolm X,
Huey Newton or H. Rap Brown? Can today’s youth properly remember Dr.
King’s legacy by the words of Angela Brown or Donald De Freeze
“Cynque?”
When I see all of the “African American” celebrations on King’s birthday
I wonder. All I see are black people dressing in modern (not traditional)
African clothing, beating drums and tying colorful cloths around their heads.
It seems the focus of the celebration is centered on our African past instead
of our American future.
When I see the African dance groups, the African storytellers, the African
drum beaters and all of the crafts and clothing for sale during this season, I
must wonder, just what was the dream? It seems like there is a strong Pan-
African movement today, and every black celebration is moving toward the
African identity. If Martin Luther King, Jr. were alive today, would he be
wearing the African clothing and beating on a drum? Or would he be
reminding us of our American roots and encouraging us to take stock in our
“American” culture and become part of the American mainstream?
I went back and reread his books and speeches. It does not appear that he
thought very much about his Africanism (I am not saying he was not proud
of it). He focused on our Americanism. Dr. King seemed to be working
under the assumption that Black Americans had every right to assume full
partnership with America. We have farmed her land, built her factories,
worked free for generations, and fought and died in every one of her wars.
Black Americans were a very important part of building America into the
greatest country on earth, and we should be assuming our position in her
future.
Martin Luther King Dreamed Of A Day When All Americans Could
Participate Freely In the American Dream
Dr. King’s dream did not separate people into subcommunities trying to
keep alive every cultural tradition from our ancestors. Dr. King seemed to
be a patriot, someone who loved America, not for what it had been but for
what it could be, thus the dream.
No one is trying to deny the harm of slavery, but I am trying to call
attention to what slavery could not do to us: destroy our soul. Slavery forced
nine generations to develop self-hatred, no respect for families, little care for
education, and general hopelessness. But I choose to give more time and
credibility to the success of Black Americans despite the burdens of slavery.
We Should Not Focus On the Suffering Without Honoring the Victory
Over Suffering
Never, in the history of mankind, has a nation or nationality
accomplished so much with so little. We should celebrate the victory
instead of nagging about a need for the war. We won! Humanity won,
Africa won, and America has won. The slave master lost. He thought his
life-style would last forever and his children would also be masters.
Now our worst enemy seems to be ourselves. We are afraid to claim the
victory. Which is right in front of us and available for all who would claim
it. Freedom means responsibility! Responsibility for your own success and
for your own failures. If you can blame someone else for your failures or
look to others for your success, you are still a slave and dependent on the
master.
It takes guts to be free! It takes the willingness to fail and the willingness
to be responsible for those failures. Freedom is often a solitary journey and
others may not want to travel that path. Freedom is an individual journey,
not a group journey. Slavery was the group journey we experienced
together. You can experience freedom—but you must decide for yourself.
Affirmative Action and the Beauty of the AmericanConscience—None
are Free Until All are Free
We are a nation of conscience and action. More than once we have
examined our treatment of one another and literally torn ourselves apart to
change. We did that in the American Revolution, Civil War and the Civil
Rights Movement. America is not afraid to challenge herself and correct
past mistakes. America is a nation of courageous individuals struggling to
achieve harmony with the differences among us. Yes, this nation has a cruel
past. However, the very nation that created such cruelty and shame also was
the nation that tore itself apart to correct it.
We survived because of the conscience of America and a true dedication
to the creed that “All men are created equal.” We survived because most
Americans realized no one could be free until all of us were free. The
journey included struggling through the problems, because struggling
together made our nation stronger.
The treatment of Black Americans after the Civil War could not be
hidden, forgotten, nor accepted. Because it could not be ignored and would
not go away, it had to be changed. However, black people are not pet
animals in need of America’s care and protection. Without the ability to
compete, Black Americans will wither and die.
The well-meaning proponents of affirmative action only want to help us.
They feel our pain and want us to get better. I suspect the real motivation is
to alleviate their own feelings of guilt and shame. Because of the self-
esteem problems their ancestors have left them with, Black Americans have
been placed into the same category of “save the whales, rain forest and
spotted owl.” To be studied, adored, respected and protected. We have
become the special cause of many groups, and to some, we are the “white
man’s burden.”
We have achieved more in this country than anywhere else on the planet
because of competition—not compassion, sympathy, caring, or feelings. We
want to compete with white America. We demand a right to take all we can
earn. We will not be satisfied with a share of the pie that the leftists set
aside for us. We can earn more than your allowance. Keep the set-aside
programs and quotas; they only keep us from competing for the whole pie.
Most Americans Understand What Success Is
Success grows out of the problems you go through, not the problems you
go around. Affirmative action allows us to avoid the problems and keeps us
from growing. Could it be that the patronizing, sympathetic rhetoric of the
left only disguises their true intentions: keeping Black Americans from
competing and winning against them and their children?
James L. Robinson sent chills over the civil rights leaders with his book
Racism or Attitude, where he gave notice that Black Americans would no
longer blame White America for the troubles in our community. Robinson
says, “The great challenge facing Black Americans today is the task of
taking control of their own future by exerting the necessary leadership,
making the required sacrifices, and building the needed institutions so that
black social and economic development becomes a reality.”
Affirmative action allows liberals to feel like they are doing something
important. It makes the black recipients doubtful, resentful, angry and
unfulfilled. Your expectations become your “entitlements” instead of your
potential. Ambition, which takes action, turns into “set-asides,” which take
waiting. We know the game and we do not want to play anymore. All of
the leftist liberals and their self-appointed black tribal chiefs need to
understand we will never go back onto the plantation. We will never again
allow them to dictate, regulate, instigate, and humiliate us with “good
deeds.” We will compete with them so that what we gain will be ours on
merit alone.
We Have Begun To Look At the Results of Affirmative Action and Not
Listen To the Stated Intentions
Based upon that analysis, we reject affirmative action as divisive and
harmful. Let us outlaw discrimination based on race. Let us make hiring
practices based upon the color of our skin against the law. That would
affirm our national dream of colorblindness and reflect the right kind of
action.
I appreciate and understand the kindness and compassion of those who
want to “help.” However, I do not find compassion in the old saying. “If
you give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day. If you teach him to fish, he will eat
for a lifetime.” I understand your love, but please understand my frustration.
You do not need to “give” me anything. This is suggesting that you have it
and I do not. It is suggesting that you are superior to me, and I cannot
survive without your compassion. I do not believe you intended to give me
these feelings, and I hold no grudge against you. In addition, may I also
suggest that you do not have to teach me how to fish? Again it gives you a
superior position over me and is not good for my self-esteem to believe it. I
have a better saying for you (it is a “Masonism”): “Just open the gate and
let me on to the lake. I’ll need nothing else to feed myself.” I need you to
get out of my way so I can launch my own boat and feed my family and
myself. Thanks– and I will see you at sea.
Affirmative action was a good moral experiment, but it has failed and
must be replaced by fair competition. Competition makes everyone stronger
and that is good for the country. We are able to compete, and we can win.
Lower the barriers, remove the artificial obstacles, and let the games begin.
Jesse Jackson Has Lost Sight
On November 2, 1983, President Reagan signed a bill into law that
designated the third Monday of January as a federal holiday in honor of Dr.
Martin Luther King. The next day Jesse Jackson declared he was running for
Reagan’s job! I had long before decided Jesse would never be satisfied. I
had grown tired of waiting for the civil rights leaders to stop whining and
begin to celebrate the victory. I knew there were still problems in America,
but could we not find something that could lift our spirits?
No there was always a problem, always a crisis, always victims, never
victorious. Jesse Jackson was running for president only to demonstrate to
the Democratic Party how many Black American voters stood behind him.
His value as an activist was predicated on the number of the tribe he could
deliver to the master on Election Day.
The overseers no longer had to worry about keeping the slaves in the
field picking cotton. The new slaves were no longer picking cotton; they
were just having their votes picked by one political party.
It had finally dawned on me, as a young Berkeley student, that
Democrats really understood poverty and poor people. In my studies, I
began to think and rationalize. After decades of the war on poverty, some
things were clear, at least to the Democrats. It is worth repeating: they knew
that if you place poor people in one area together it is guaranteed to do
certain things. It is guaranteed to breed teen pregnancies, drug usage, bad
schools, low self-esteem, high tax and unemployment. They also know it is
guaranteed to breed “Democratic voters.”
They have found out that the poorer the community the more its members
are dependent on Democrats for services and the more they will vote for
them. You will never find a poor, economically ravaged community voting
for Republicans. It is in the best interest of democrats to have as many poor
and dependent people as possible. Every program they want will always
isolate the poor from the rich and provide services for the poor but never
provide services to get you un-poor.
However, the people may be beginning to wake up. No longer are we
blindly following our self-anointed leaders. Their crowds are smaller and
their effectiveness is weakening. Except for the media that love these
whining, negative social leaches, most Americans are not paying much
attention.
Instead of leadership, we have gotten the plantation mentality. Just look
at the controversy over “Ebonics.”
“The Ebonic Plague”
A group called the “Task Force on the Education of African-American
Students” claims many black students should be classified as bilingual
because they speak an inner-city dialect. Call it Black English, Ebonics,
Slang or Ghettoeze, it is not a different language but a handicap. Do they not
know their history; do they not know why black children speak in broken
English?
When Africans arrived here, they had to be “broken.” Being “broken”
meant having your heritage, culture and dignity literally beaten out of you.
The slaves were not allowed to speak any language except masters’
language. The Slave Breakers taught the Africans just enough English to
allow them to follow instructions. They could not pronounce their words
properly for fear of the whip.
The Slave Breakers understood that education and communication would
increase the opportunity of independence. They did not want a population of
Africans reading the Declaration of Independence or the Federalist Papers.
They wanted black people that could follow simple instructions and get back
to work. Their worst fear was a clear-thinking black population
contemplating equality.
There were laws against speaking proper English or learning to read and
write. Frederick Douglass, Denmark Vessey, Harriet Tubman and Toussant
L’Overture taught themselves enough to desire freedom, and that was the
fear of the Slave Breaker. Today the black community is still under the fear
and influence of the Slave Driver. These new slave drivers are saying we
should be proud of the broken language master’s whips have given us.
Black English has no social benefits for anyone; it prepares you for
failure and victimization. If the Oakland Board of Education members had
any interest in the future of their children, they would reject the
recommendations of this task force. Then they would embark upon a crash
program to encourage English and discourage the use of slang.
I cannot help noticing that all of the civil rights leaders have mastered the
English language. Louis Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson, Dr. Martin Luther King,
Malcolm X, Stokely, Newton, H. Rap Brown, all had a mastery of the
language. Even ex-slaves like Crispus Attucks, Frederick Douglass and
Booker T. Washington had complete mastery of our language. They knew
that education was freedom, and the slave master knew broken English was
slavery, why did the task force not know this?
However, let us get to the real reason for this task force. Black English is
not new. I recently wrote about Amherst College offering a course in it. I
remember colleges offering studies in this and other slang languages while I
was a student. Is it just an excuse for poor verbal skills in the black
community? Is it part of some conspiracy to keep the black man down? No,
it is simply about money and power and who will control it.
Millions of Federal Bilingual Education dollars are riding on this
decision. If Oakland can convince the Federal government to include Black
American children in their bilingual programs, local school districts will be
in line for more federal dollars. Black children will spend the school day
studying the root meaning of “Cool,” “What up,” and “Kickn it,” while their
white counterparts are studying college prep English courses. Maybe the
task force is depending on “Affirmative Action” to allow these black
children into college anyway.
It is shameful that these so-called educators are willing to sell the future
of these children just to manage more federal money. There is one often-
used word still with us from slavery, a word that is often used in the black
community. This word describes a traitor against the plot to escape the
plantation. This word is reserved for the black person who traded the plans
to the master for a scrap of food. For a little blood money the community
was sold out. It is called being a “sell-out.”
It seems like everyone is talking about the Oakland School Board of
Education and “Ebonics.” It has dominated the talk show topics, news
reports and general conversations among the population. We seem motivated
to assure each other of our mutual agreement that this is a silly, weak excuse
for failure.
The Oakland school board really opened our eyes to the failure of
government education. These professional bureaucrats spent millions of tax
dollars, tried numerous programs and still failed to teach the very basics in
education. They have come before us and have admitted failure; they have
recognized that the children under their care cannot read, write or speak the
native tongue of this nation.
After taking our money and failing, what do they do? They asked for
more money to teach teachers. Teachers already know how to read, write
and speak the language. These educators expect us to pay for a weekend get-
away conference so teachers can study “Ebonics.”
They tell us the black children speak a different dialect and cannot
understand the instructions given by teachers. This is strange since these
same children can understand television programs and music. They can read
comic books and the sports page but not textbooks. They can learn the lyrics
of the latest song the day it is released, and some can tell you everything that
happened on the television soap operas.
Nevertheless, we must be sensitive and understanding. One should not
criticize the Oakland School District; after all, they are the professionals.
Education! Do not try this at home, folks; leave it to the professionals. I will
not mention the church schools in those same neighborhoods that are
teaching English successfully. It would be too mean to draw your attention
to the private schools and home schools that are working in the community.
Therefore, I will not give in to the temptation.
Because of the new kinder and gentler Mason Weaver, I will ask for the
expansion of Ebonics in concept. After all, if Ebonics will work for black
children speaking Slang, it would work for other cultures in our community.
I have been e-mailed some of your suggestions for Ebonics-style learning for
other ethnic and social groups.
In the spirit of diversity, tolerance and unity, let me share some of the
better ones with you. Coming soon to a government school near you,
Ebonics multiplied.
1. Irish-American—Leprechaunics
2. Native-American—Kimosabics
3. Chinese-American—Won-tonics
4. Japanese-American—Mama-san-ics
5. Jewish-American—Zionics
6. Eskimo-American—Harpoonics
7. German-American—Autobahnics
8. French-American—Escargonics
9. Danish-American—Pastryonics
10. Red Neck-American—Bubonics
11. Washington-American—Taxonics
12. Oakland School Board—Moronics
Sounds foolish, right? No matter who you are, it is equally insulting,
demeaning and condescending to you. So is Ebonics to black people. The
discussion should not be concerned with the merits of this proposal. We
should be planning for the immediate recall of this unqualified school board.
This is not only insulting, this is child abuse!
The “Ebonic Plague” is already a full epidemic! When school
administrators in Oakland California, proposed teaching “Ebonics” as a
second language, many of you did not know that “Black English” was
already part of the education program. Many of our children have been
subjected to the abusive and dangerous notion that skin color, race and
culture have a language of their own. The fight over “Ebonics” (or
Ghettoeze as I prefer) is not about preventing its start, but to stop the
existing program.
Since 1981 the California State Department of Education has carried out
a program called “Proficiency in Standard English for Speakers of Black
Language.” This program distributes Ebonics staff development and lesson
plan materials to school districts. The material explicitly directs teachers to
incorporate something called “Black Language” into the class work. It also
decides that “Black Language” is an appropriate alternative to correct
English in some situations.
I have received the official Lesson Plan Handbook for the program and it
is sad. The plan tells the teachers to “Kill these Myths.” The following is
what the lesson plan calls “myths:”
1. Standard English is the correct way to speak at all times.
2. Standard English is “white English.”
3. Poor people do not communicate as well as professional people.
Do you believe these are myths? Standard English is English; everything
else is slang. There is no “home language” and “school language,” but these
professionals think so. Slang should never be considered appropriate by
educators. We should encourage our children to speak English in class and
on the playground.
The lesson plan does the opposite. It encourages slang in some situations.
The plan has teachers brainstorming with children to think up situations in
which “school language” should be used and when something called
“playground language” would be better. This State of California’s plan
actually requires black children to be taught the use of “Playground
language” when talking to their “good friends” and “playing with their
brother.”
The proper use of language is to use it properly, always. The more you
use it outside the classroom the more proficient you will be. From 1973 to
1975, I studied Swahili as a second language. The Swahili students used the
language during lunch, social events, parties and whenever we came into
contact with each other. New students in the program and older students
always spoke Swahili to each other whenever social contact was made. The
out-of-school use of this language is the reason I still speak Swahili today,
twenty-plus years later. If I spoke Swahili only in class, and only English on
the playground, I would speak only English today. These educators do not
seem to know this, and that is why they are so dangerous to our children.
However, there is hope! California State Senator Ray Haynes introduced
Senate Bill 205 which would have prohibited the use of state taxpayer
dollars to fund Ebonic education programs. This bill would have eliminated
the State Department of Education’s “Proficiency in Standard English for
Speakers of Black Language” program. It would have preempted school
districts from applying for federal bilingual funding for Ebonics programs.
Senator Haynes’ bill failed to make it out of the committee, due to the efforts
of a Black State Senator named Diane Watson. In spite of Senate hearings
and testimonies of myself and others, Senator Watson acted to guard the
slave masters’ house while the slaves toiled in the fields. Again, we have
proven to be our worst enemy. If a white politician had suggested Ebonics,
there would have been rioting in the streets.
Senator Haynes is inspired by President Kennedy, who once said; “A
child miseducated is a child lost.” This is a very courageous move on
Senator Haynes part. The argument over “Ebonics” is presented as a “black
issue” but Senator Haynes correctly sees it as a California issue. Senator
Haynes has said, “Ebonics education has fast become a statewide concern
because, if implemented, it has the potential to miseducate an entire
generation of children by lowering academic standards and legitimizing
incorrect English.”
SB 205 and existing law require English as the basic language of
instruction in all public schools. This bill, known as the “Equality in English
Instruction Act,” recognizes that English is the language of success, business
and politics. Senator Haynes’ bill may be California’s best inoculation
against the “Ebonic Plague.”
However, what does history have to say about education of black people?
What would the ancestors from slavery days think of this proposal? Let us
look at the words of one of the great orators of our day. Frederick Douglass
fought slavery and mistreatment by way of education. In an era where
teaching a slave to read or write was against the law, he saw it as a ticket to
freedom. Here is an excerpt from his own narrative of his life. He speaks
about education and the system that benefits from your not having it.
Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave, gives us the best response to
Ebonics from his writings.
Frederick Douglass in his NARRATIVE
Very soon after I went to live with Mr. and Mrs. Auld, she very
kindly commenced to teach me the A, B, C. After I had learned this, she
assisted me in learning to spell words of three or four letters. Just at this
point of my progress, Mr. Auld found out what was going on, and at
once forbade Mrs. Auld to instruct me further, telling her, among other
things, that it was unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach a slave to read.
To use his own words, further, he said, “ If you give a nigger an inch, he
will take an ell. A nigger should know nothing but to obey his master to
do as he is told to do. Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world.
Now,” said he,” if you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to
read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever fit him to be a
slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his
master. As to himself it could do him no good, but a great deal of harm.
It would make him discontented and unhappy.” These words sank deep
into my heart, stirred up sentiments within that lay slumbering, and
called into existence an entirely new train of thought. It was a new and
specialized revolution, explaining dark and mysterious things, with
which my youthful understanding had struggled, but struggled in vain. I
now understood what had been to me a most perplexing difficulty — to
whit, the white man’s power to enslave black men. It was a grand
achievement, and I prized it highly. From that moment, I understood
the pathway from slavery to freedom. (Frederick Douglass, Narrative of
the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. Written by himself)
Edited by Benjamin Quarles. Pages 58-59.
All over the South it was against the law for black people (free or slave)
to be educated. There was a serious effort to keep reading and writing out of
the hands of black people.
In April of 1812 it was reported that Savannah, Georgia, had enacted a
city ordinance that called for a $30 fine for any person who “teaches any
person of colour, slave or free, to read or write.” So not only were slaves
forbidden to read or write, so were free Black Americans. The notion of
black people reading or writing or even speaking proper English was
considered useless.
South Carolina in 1749 (while still only a province) enacted this law:
“Whereas the having of slaves taught to write, or suffering them to be
employed in writing, may be attended with great inconveniences, Be it
enacted, That all and every person and persons whatsoever, who shall
hereafter teach or cause any slave to be taught to write, or shall use or
employ any slave as a scribe in any manner of writing whatsoever hereafter
taught to write, every such person or persons shall, for every such offence,
forfeit the sum of one hundred pounds current money.” It was against the
law to hire an educated black person.
Virginia’s code of 1819 enforced that ”any school or schools for teaching
them reading or writing either in the day or night would be considered an
unlawful assembly.” (Sketch of the Laws relating to Slavery in the several
states of the United States of America by George M. Stroud, 1837.)
All over the South, dusty law books give testimony of the real history of
“Ebonics” and the Oakland School District’s goals, real or imagined. The
old southern slave states knew black people could learn to read and write. If
Ebonics was natural to black people we would not find so many laws
against teaching black people to read or write. What the slave master
understood, the school board members still don’t get, EDUCATION IS
FREEDOM!
Poor education is now a national disgrace and it covers all races and
classes. We are allowing our schools to graduate children unprepared for the
world, and that is child abuse. Even our colleges are bending under the
onslaught of high tuition and lower-achieving students from the nation’s
high schools.
A recent survey points to the ever-increasing cost of college education.
The top schools can cost close to $30,000 a year just for tuition and supplies.
When you add the cost of room and board, transportation and other costs, the
investment in a college degree is very high. I could discuss the real reasons
costs are increasing, but we do not have the space. I will not discuss the
tuition price-fixing or cost for professors not teaching, and we will leave for
another day the lack of quality instructors in our colleges.
What amazes me are the classes offered and the social engineering we are
asked to pay for. When you send your child to college, the minimal
expectation is their preparation to earn a living and compete in society.
However, a review of classes offered at some of the most prestigious
universities of our nation reveals an astonishing collection of useless classes
aimed at indoctrination, not education.
While parents are saving and sacrificing to pay for college education, the
colleges are offering classes in “Lesbian Novels Since World War II,”
“Queering the Renaissance” and “Witches, Saints, and Seers.” Classes are
offered as socially enlightening but in reality serve to desensitize us to
racism, homosexual lifestyles, witchcraft, anti-Americanism, and radical
Environmentalism.
At the University of California-San Diego, class number 156 of the
Ethnic Studies Department is titled “Civil Liberties —The Rights of
Criminals and Minorities.” It examines the rights of “marginal” groups as
aliens, illegal immigrants, and the mentally ill, all in the context of
discrimination. All of us should know our rights, but this class will focus on
America as discriminating against the criminals and mentally ill. Other
interesting classes offered this year are Political Science 107a, “Gay and
Lesbian Politics,” and the ever-popular Sociology 170, “Sociology of
Fashion.”
A look over the course description of UC Santa Cruz’s American Studies
175, “Generation X,” shows some confusion about what the class will offer.
“Twentysomethings? Baby busters? Slackers? Whiners?
Who/what/when/where/why is ‘GenerationX’—and who cares anyway?
Traditional and progressive? Wealthy or wannabe? White or Colorful?
Multicultural or uncultured? Repressive or oversexed? Spiritual or
technological? Courageous, apathetic, or terrified?” Did they leave anyone
out? What is more frightening than the empty-headed classes that will lead
to no future employment skills is that we pay for them.
While classes are overcrowded, tuition is rising and college stays are
longer, why fill the catalog with classes like “Black Marxism” (UC Santa
Barbara), “Imaginary Women” (UCLA) or “Inequality and Social Class”
(UC Riverside)? With cuts in research business schools and equipment, why
are we paying the professors to teach such feel-good classes? These courses
may be of interest, but the university-level education is not where to find it.
Maybe these professors should be at a junior college night school.
The problem is not limited to California schools or public schools.
Across the nation, we have an onslaught of social engineering classes
designed to give a certain political or social point of view. At Harvard, you
have a class on “Fetishism,” Princeton has “Income Distribution,” and Yale
offers “The United Nations, Statecraft, and the Search for a New World
Order.”
Who would think Amherst College would offer a course on “Black
English?” Instead of encouraging Black Americans to speak the language of
success, business and politics (English), we now have our own language to
claim. Isn’t multiculturalism great? These classes are usually considered
easy courses resulting in hig grads, so many students take them as electives.
The professors grade easy to attract the students, but the parents lose because
no educating is going on. These courses are great for the grade-point average
but a poor excuse for higher education. Poor education cannot serve society
except those who wish to control it.
As president of The Committee to Restore America, I traveled to San
Francisco for the University of California regents meeting on July 20, 1995.
They were gathered to vote on Regent Ward Connerly’s proposal to ban
racial preferences in hiring and admissions within the U.C. system. It was as
if I had never left the 1960’s with so many of the same groups doing the
same things as before. When I was a radical militant student at U.C.
Berkeley, I considered many of these groups my allies. We were demanding
equal rights and equal opportunity. We demanded the elimination of race as
a criterion for hiring. We fought against discrimination because it was
wrong.
However, something was different about the groups that gathered in
protest that morning. They were joined by a strange alliance. Other groups
like the Socialist Workers Party, the Communist Party and many other
openly anti-American groups had prominent positions. I began to think,
“What was the real goal of the 1960’s? Did we fight to destroy America, or
for inclusion ‘in’ America?” We were there in force and we were there to
speak out against racial policies that allowed for discrimination of one race
over another. These principles are what I fought and struggled for in the
1960’s and 1970’s.
As we observed the planned demonstrations and organized media events,
I soon began to notice other groups like ours. Hundreds of students and
citizens were standing together demanding an end to racism and
discrimination. Despite the news reports and sound bites, despite the
organized attempts to fill the campus with revolutionaries, despite giving
attention and importance to groups because they made the most noise, truth
prevailed.
America showed up that morning of July 20, 1995 and you would have
been proud of her. I believe most of the students there came to support the
proposal of Ward Connerly. They were not the loudest, they were not
marching and they did not try to disrupt the meeting, but they were there to
be counted. The fact that distracters could not close down the meeting was
due to lack of support rather than overwhelming police presence. As a
matter of fact, when Jesse Jackson finally led his march of protest, he had
very few people with him so few that the regents were still able to vote
without much disruption, and the police simply ignored them until they grew
weary and went home.
It was a great day for the civil rights movement. It was a great day for
America. It was the best evidence to date that the civil rights movement has
been won and the battle over legal exclusion is over. The July 20th, 1995
meeting was a victory celebration and a confirmation of the goals of the civil
rights movement. It was a declaration that the war has been won and we are
beginning to build up America. We are not allowing ourselves to be
separated into racial groups.
Despite the efforts of a dozen or so activists inside the meeting and a few
hundred bused -in groups standing outside, America won. We are a country
of conscience and a country of freedom. We have often fallen short in our
past and have many more battles to overcome. However, America has
regained her conscience. It was very encouraging to witness people, who had
previously been openly and legally discriminated against, stand up for the
rights of their past oppressors. Truth is not relative—it is absolute. It is not
directed by our will but directs the will of honest people. The truth has
determined that discrimination based upon the color of one’s skin or gender
is wrong for every group and should not be tolerated by any group.
Now we must move to address the real problems of preparing ourselves
to compete. Some groups are not competing in the marketplace as well as
others. The solution cannot be to discriminate against the achieving group.
The solution should be identifying and rectifying the problems within the
underachieving group. We can do that both as a nation and as a community.
Yes, racism is still among us, prejudice still raises its ugly head, and some
people still consider one gender less capable than the other. However, we
have broken the back of Jim Crow, and the false images and stereotypes are
falling fast.
It was great to visit the Bay area again. It was heartwarming to see so
many of my old comrades in the struggle stand up for America. It was nice
to hear them say, “We have won.” Now comes the hard part: the peace. In
order to have peace, we must be willing to depart from some past allies and
join some past adversaries. However, the same American spirit that won the
battle can win the peace!
Civil Rights Groups Have No Shame
The battle over affirmative action is really heating up. All of the social
groups that cater to “victims” finally have an issue for which they can rally
the troops. The anger and distortions have only begun as they try to separate
and alienate us from each other. Before the issue of affirmative action
arrived we could only guess at their true motivations. We were just
confused; they would claim to be for the people but then advocate programs
that only hurt and redirected progress.
Like the black leaders, these social groups receive their power and
influence by providing services for the poor. They get funding and status by
keeping the disadvantaged dependent upon them. Therefore, they have no
real interest in resolving the problems of our society, only exploiting them.
Take Jesse Jackson, a man desperately in need of an issue. He visited
California often in 1995-96 to protest the affirmative action progress we
have made. Even the press ignored him and they are his meal ticket. So
what did he do? He decided to protest and demonstrate at the U.C. Board of
Regents meeting in San Francisco on July 20th. Though he had been invited
publicly to participate, he declared that he would disrupt the proceedings and
risk arrest. He claimed he would “lay his body on the line” to keep “us”
from going back thirty years. Even at his planned civil disobedience, the
fifty ministers that he promised were ready to go to jail turned out to be
closer to five. The demonstration was so small that when they blocked an
intersection to force their arrest, they were just ignored.
The real problem is that Jesse Jackson has made a lot of money on
poverty and misery. He reminds me of the tribal chiefs who sold black
people into slavery for a few trinkets and gifts. I firmly believe that Jesse
Jackson understands what real progress is and how to achieve it. He has
done well and so have his children. They do not wait for government set-
asides and special programs. His family members are self-motivated, have
become educated and are all achieving their goals here in America.
Nevertheless, according to Jackson, that is not good enough for you and
me. We must continue to depend on the group to lead us. We must continue
to follow the tribal chiefs who dictate to us. If we set out on our own we are
called names like “Oreo,” “Uncle Tom” and so on.
Jesse Jackson demonstrated in San Francisco because his income was at
stake. He must reenergize the hopelessness in the black community so they
will look to him as their savior. Jesse Jackson will continue to fight real
progress in the black community, because real progress reduces the need for
leaders—and Jesse Jackson makes his living being a leader.
I hope the black community will not fall for this insult to our intelligence.
However, unless there is a special government program with government
administrators looking over them, some groups will continue to fight against
us. Real freedom means independence—not co-dependence.
The black community is fully capable of standing on its own two feet.
We have never needed Big Brother, Uncle Sam, or benevolent liberal
democrats to “ride cover” for us.
Jesse Jackson is not alone. All of the old-time civil rights groups have
joined the battle for the same reasons: because they need an issue. The black
community rejected their whining and scare tactics long ago. The NAACP
had financial problems because of a drop in membership, not corporate
sponsorships. They have been out of step with the black community for
some time and we have not followed them. The press has followed them
and reflected their dogma as that of the black community. The same is true
of the Urban League and the Congressional Black Caucus. They all need
hate and anger to survive. They all depend on non-thinking followers that
depend on their leadership. This is why they have raped the community
with outcome-based education and poverty programs that lead to more
poverty. This is why they favor programs that force fathers out of the family
and drugs into the neighborhood. This is why they want midnight basketball
and not midnight libraries.
If the NAACP, Urban League, Operation PUSH and Congressional Black
(African American) Caucus want a real issue they can sink their teeth into, I
have a few suggestions.
Take on the welfare system that is destroying our people, or the public
school system that has had disastrous results on our children. Join us, the
real community, and speak on the positive elements of black people instead
of crying about how weak we are and how much we are in need. I call upon
these groups to recognize that they have been used like social pimps to abuse
the community and it is time to stop. I know you may lose a lot of power
and influence in high places, but you will gain the respect of your people.
The Day of Atonement Began Long Ago
The “Day of Atonement” or the “Million Man March” was supposedly
the reconciliation event of the black man to his family and community.
They are great slogans and inspiring goals for those easily led by emotions,
but why do responsible men need to hold a public demonstration
proclaiming dedication to their families? Are we to believe that black men
have just discovered family, community and responsibility?
Let us be honest—this event was simply the media’s coronation of Louis
Farrakhan as tribal chief of the “Black nation.” This event continued the
separation of the American culture to one of many nations within a nation.
Now we have the homosexuals, poor, Black Americans, Mexicans, AIDS
patients and women all proclaiming to be victims.
I watched much of the activities in Washington. Even if I could accept
the spiritual conflict of a Muslim leading Christians, I could not overcome
the vast contradictions in what was said. The mixture of atonement with
blame and threats to white people and Black Americans who do not agree
with the tribal chiefs seemed insincere.The call for leadership from
embezzlers, unrepentant womanizers and out-of-touch socialists could not be
taken seriously.
History may record 1996 as the year of “assigned leaders.” Here in
California, Democrat Assemblyman Willie Brown attempted to assign the
Republican Speaker of the Assembly. Someone seems bent on assigning
Colin Powell as the Republican nominee for President. And now a head of a
relatively small organization has been elevated to prominence and crowned
leader of a whole race of people. There are probably over 20 million Black
Christians in this country even if you deduct the thousands of renegades who
follow Farrakhan. Why would the media consider the few thousand Black
Muslims as a viable voice in our community? Why the attempt to direct and
assign the role of “speaker to the black people?”
I have been asking myself if there is anywhere else we could look for true
leadership in our community. I have found many organizations that have
been practicing peace, love and responsibility for years. However, because
they are not angry, violent or threatening, they are not “news.” Maybe if
they felt more like victims and believed in massive conspiracies they could
get more coverage. On the other hand, if their leaders called for separation,
intimidation or reparations from white America, they would be news.
Nevertheless, these groups, individuals and organizations are simply
going about their jobs of building up the community—and it is working.
They saw the success in motivating people to change their life-styles, and
their success was a threat to some. Now the nationalist leadership has taken
the spotlight away from the real success stories and turned over the vision to
fallen rejected philosophies and groups. Again, we are led into slavery by
our chiefs.
Do not blindly follow the leader. The path to true righteousness is narrow
and less traveled. True community spirit stems from faith and hope not
faithlessness and hopelessness. I salute the organizations and groups that
have been toiling for years in our communities. These groups have had little
recognition but also tremendous success.
1. Jesse Peterson and B.O.N.D. (Brotherhood of New Destiny) have
represented thousands of young urban black males determined to rebuild
their lives and revitalize their neighborhood. From California and across the
nation, B.O.N.D. has given hope and alternatives to helplessness.
2. The Institute For Responsible Fatherhood and Family
Revitalization. In Cleveland, Ohio in 1982, this organization was founded
to bring young men back to the families they had created. They believe that
a young man dedicated to protecting his own children will not participate in
gang activity in the community. Their program discovered that once men
had taken responsibility for parenthood they began to work, go to school and
marry the mothers of their children. They have received a $1.5 million grant
to expand their program to other cities, including San Diego.
3. Bishop McKinney’s “Block Busters” are dedicated Christian men
who meet at St. Stephen’s church in San Diego, California, for prayer. They
then go out and witness to gang members, drug dealers and prostitutes.
They are an all-male group that is doing a very dangerous job in spite of the
odds.
Then there are the nonracial groups that provide directions for
community harmony on cultural bases, not ethnic considerations.
4. “Breaking Down the Walls” began in Oceanside, California, in 1995
to bring Christians to repentance and confessions of racial divisiveness.
Four thousand people met at the Oceanside band shell that year to show love
for fellow citizens. Recently this multi-racial group received a citizenship
award from the N.A.A.C.P. for its efforts.
5. “Promise Keepers,” founded by Colorado State football coach Bill
McCartney, assembles hundreds of thousands of men each year. They
proclaim seven principles to responsible manhood and community living.
All these organizations and the thousands like them are working for
peace in action, not a piece of the action. They labor without recognition
while we pay attention to those who make the noise. While we spend our
emotions let us remember, sometimes the squeaky wheel does not need oil,
it may need replacing.
The Return Of the American Spirit
As the century comes to a close I have been reflecting upon the struggles
and battles we have been engaged in. As a community, nation and culture,
we are in the midst of tremendous social and spiritual debates. We are
beginning to challenge ourselves as a people and that can only be healthy.
No longer are we leaving it up to so-called experts to dictate the direction
our society is to go.
Our nation is beginning to distinguish between intentions and results. Far
too long we have allowed educators, politicians and social leaders to take
control with good ideas and great intentions. Even when the results have
been disastrous we continue to allow their leadership and directions because
they were the “experts.”
We continue to allow experts to tell us condom use is a healthy and
effective way to discourage teen pregnancies and sexual disease. Even when
the evidence shows that the more you instruct “safe sex” the more dangerous
and irresponsible the teenager acts. Nevertheless, with the overwhelming
evidence that condoms in the hands of children are dangerous, our “experts”
continue to push them.
In California, we have taken the educational system from 1st in reading
to 50th in just eight years and the “experts” still want to give us more of the
same. They have come into our community with smiling faces and college
degrees explaining how they will help us. The results have been less
education and our children are less prepared to compete with their children.
Education is far too important an issue to leave up to experts. Our
forefathers learned to read and write by candlelight when it was illegal to do
so. Why can we not learn in these great schools? It is not possible to destroy
the education system this way by accident; it must be by design.
Once again, we have been following the tribal chiefs who make their
money and gain their power off the community. The spirit of those same
black power brokers who sold us to the slave masters are now delivering us
to the new masters of poverty. Every family must be in control of educating
its own children. Do not surrender your parental responsibility to child-
abusing systems that turn out gang members.
What can we expect from a system that tells children to “Just say NO, but
if you can’t, here is a clean needle?” And now they are telling our children
to keep marriage for later, yet still give them condoms. It’s no wonder that
our children have no respect for us; we are sending them mixed messages.
Then there is our government school system that has been
enthusiastically following educational techniques that are total failures.
Instead of correcting what the evidence shows is ineffective, they blame the
failures on not enough money or the lack of parental involvement. School
grades are dropping, kids have lower self-esteem, parents are burdened with
high taxes and teachers are striking for more money. With the new attempt
of government to dictate the careers of children and eliminate standards and
grades (School to Work programs), the citizens are finally waking up. The
system will not educate, but indoctrinate our nation’s children.
For 220 years this country has tried to live up to the creed and principles
laid out in our Declaration of Independence and Constitution. We have not
always reached those goals, but we have been always seeking them. We
celebrate the love, sacrifices and gifts of our forebears and reflect on what
we will leave our children. American must constantly reexamine herself and
redirect her efforts to the ideas of freedom and personal responsibility.
It seems every problem that faces us today has a government solution,
not an individual one. We are accustomed to looking to the government to
resolve every need and attend to every problem we have. Instead of being
independent, we have become co-dependent. Today there are no activities
that do not have a government hand in them. In the land of the free and the
home of the brave, we can do nothing without government regulations,
license or permission. Think of one activity or one action you can perform
without government regulation or input. Try to think of one thing you have
done, since you woke up this morning, which does not involve a government
fee, tax, assessment, regulation or authority.
You would think that citizens of a nation that prides itself on individual
freedoms could have many things that they freely enjoyed. I have been
looking hard for that free activity; perhaps you can help me find it. I cannot
think of one thing we do that is free from our big brother in government. If
you can, please write me and let me know what you find.
I thought death was free until Bill Clinton added back taxes to people
who had died before he was elected. Then someone mentioned reading the
Bible was free, but that would depend on where you read it and if someone
was offended. How about swimming in the ocean? That must be free of
government regulations. It is free except in a surfing zone, or when the
beach is closed, or someone else has a conditional use permit.
The Constitution guarantees someone the right to keep and bear arms
with no infringement, who is that person? You have protection from having
your property seized, unless you are suspected of certain illegal activities or
some obscure animal may want to reside with you.
We cannot drive our car without seat belts and speed limits and cannot
repair our home without permits. We would never consider going to a store
or restaurant that did not have the proper government stamp of approval. I
know we need some government protection and oversight, but do we need to
be totally watched over?
Are we children and the government our parent? Oh, that reminds me, we
cannot even raise our children because the government is now the parent and
knows what is best. On the job, government tells private employers what
salary they can pay workers. Government will dictate insurance, vacation,
hiring and firing in private companies. Now the President wants to direct the
way businesses handle overtime and workers health benefits.
I would have never imagined a nation that prides itself on freedom
becoming so dependent on its government. Why? What happened to the can-
do spirit? We need a renewal of the property rights, individual responsibility
and pride that brought us to where we are. As we remember the celebrations,
picnics and fireworks of the July 4th weekend, let us also remember the
reason. By self-sacrifice and dedication to principles, our nation stood up to
every threat to its freedom.
What we need is a return to the spirit that made this country great. We
need the spirit that allowed our prosperity and growth. We need the spirit of
1776. They dream of liberty from an overbearing government, not a
nightmare of having an overbearing government.
This idea of black patriotism seemed to have struck a nerve with some.
Judging by my mail, calls to the radio program and E-mail, some readers
believe a black man should not long for a return to the “spirit of 1776” here
and now! Some have pointed out the plight of black people in the America
of 1776. It has been suggested that I would be a helpless slave during that
period.
Of course the America of 1776 had many problems, but is there a
difference between the spirit and the condition of a nation or a time? The
conditions of 1776 were harsh on black people as well as poor white people.
The social condition of America was not satisfactory; however, that was not
the spirit. I am fully aware that Thomas Jefferson and the framers of the
Declaration of Independence were speaking only of white male property
owners. They excluded poor whites, women, Indians and slaves in their
dream of a free society.
However, the spirit of 1776 was much different from the condition of the
times. Even during the discussions of the Declaration of Independence, the
subject of slavery was a common topic. It was clear to many that a nation
cannot truly be free until all of her citizens were free. It is my opinion that
spirit of freedom for white male property owners spawned the eventual call
for freedom of all. It was the principles laid out in those days that rallied the
abolitionists, woman’s suffurage and the civil rights leaders to follow.
A nation may never live up to the spirit or principles it has adopted, but
great nations always try. It appears those black people living during that
period understood the call for liberty. A look at history would discover many
freed and enslaved Black Americans willing to die for the liberty of white
landowners. Why? Could it be that they knew what would follow? If the
“spirit” of freedom takes over a land, freedom itself will follow.
That is why Crispus Attucks willingly led the citizens on that
demonstration now known as the Boston Massacre. This escaped slave,
living in a land that did not appreciate him as human, stepped to the front of
the crowd that day. He had lived under slavery and freedom and was willing
to die for freedom, even the freedom of someone else. Crispus Attucks
became the first casualty of the American Revolution, the first to die for the
birth of a new country. It was not for his country he died. Attucks gave his
life for the call of freedom. The condition of America was hostile to him, but
the spirit of freedom was worth his life to him. He died for the spirit of
liberty and so did many slaves and freed black people after him during that
conflict and every war America fought.
My family, the Weaver family, still owns property in Starksville,
Mississippi. The family cemetery is there, with the graves of Weavers dating
from before the Civil War. The property has been traced back to the Weaver
family of 1829. Black people owning large amounts of land in Mississippi
during slavery? Would Mississippi, the cruelest slave state, allow a black
family to prosper? Yes, in the midst of cruelty and death, the spirit of
freedom still survived.
I do not know if I would be a slave or free in 1776. I would not want the
conditions of that era to return for black people or white. However, the Spirit
of 1776 spread freedom all over the world. From the slave revolt of Haiti to
the French Revolution, the spirit of 1776 was a call for freedom of freedom-
loving people. Yes, we could use that spirit again today.
The 1990’s Have Been Great for America
We have seen the sleeping giant of values, patriotism, and competition
finally stir. America has been at war for the last 40 years and has not known
it. Our institutions have been bombed and invaded and we have not fought
back. We have seen the proudest people in the world become ashamed of
success and shy about competing. The very elements that have made
America great have been labeled “selfish, greedy, and oppressive.” Those
elements of our society that produced the greatest standard of living for
everyone who lived here are being revisited by Americans. They are the
principles of competition with equal rights, not special rights. Principles are
goals, not a comparison to reality. We may never reach the pinnacles of our
principles, but we must always try.
What happened to America? How did we get so far from the path of
greatness that directed us? Did we become so complacent, so arrogant in
our achievements that the enemy just walked in and took over? It seems we
just did not recognize the enemy or appreciate his strategy. American
socialism is not a religion or even a philosophy; it is a life-style. Someone
asked what the difference was between a socialist and a communist. A
communist is a socialist in a hurry. Socialism is a gradual process on many
fronts. It will grow on you like cancer. Communism is the result of a
revolution and is very rapid. We are ready for communism, but are
defenseless against the onslaught of socialism.
There Are No Great Conspirators Designing the Fall Of the American
Culture, But There Is A Life-Style That Is Contributing To It
The hatred for the rich, multi-culturalism, government dependency, and
poor education have been a life-styles-driven phenomena. Coupled with the
“victims”; black people, women, teenagers, elderly, immigrants, the poor,
AIDS patients, and students. No one is “responsible,” and therefore we have
a culture of blame.
In the 1990’s we began to see black men marching on Washington D.C.,
women protesting in China, “starving children” marching against Congress
and the elderly marching against the budget. Have you noticed that it is all
your fault and you are to blame?
Black Americans are still waiting for their forty acres and a mule, women
for their equal rights, AIDS victims for more funding, the poor for more aid,
and all are placing blame and angrer at someone else. Finally the American
culture is returning and the “can- do” spirit is rising up in our communities.
Organizations of self-help and personal responsibility are taking the
forefront in social directing. The Concerned Women for America, Promise
Keepers, and local groups like The Committee To Restore America, are all
standing up to be counted and to be responsible. Citizens are taking pride in
America and the rights of the individual are being recognized. We have a
long way to go after forty years of not fighting back. However, I have seen
more battles won and more American spirit than ever.
The American spirit was not dead; it was just asleep. Welcome back,
America! Now let’s return to our own American life-style. As imperfect a
people as we are, we can never respect group rights over individual rights. It
has been a great year and I am confident about our future. God bless
America!
Even with the so-called “black church fires,” the true spirit of the
American population comes shining through. The national attention has now
turned to a supposedly increased incident of arson at predominantly black
churches. Moreover, this has also increased calls for action by the civil
rights leaders. I have two questions. If someone is burning down churches, is
that a civil rights problem or a Christian problem? In addition, are the
numbers of church fires increasing over previous years? The number of
arson church fires could be growing, or simply reported more often.
News organizations are giving out many statistics on the number of fires
and type of congregation. It would be very hard to classify a church by its
“color,” so many of these “black churches” may not be black. I contacted the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Arson and Explosive Division-
Arson Enforcement Branch, for the accurate number. They have a list of
active investigations of predominantly black churches in the Southeast
United States since 1995: twenty-five, in 1995: five, in 1996: twenty. These
and the following figures are as of June 7, 1996.
The ATF has investigated 47 church fires since January of 1995. Within
that number are 25 black churches, 8 Jewish synagogues and 14
predominantly white churches. I would imagine there are many more
predominantly white churches in America than black, so 25 black churches
burning to 14 whites would raise many concerns. We do not know the
answer to this question, but we can tell the numbers are not increasing,
except this year.
From October 1991 until January 1995, there have been a total of 95
churches burned. This is an average of 30 fires a year. This total included all
church fires black, white and mixed. My computer database lists 266,550
churches and shrines in America with an additional 12,266 organizations. I
just do not think 30 fires a year is a national news item with over 278,000
targets.
The real concern is that people are burning down our churches. The color
of its congregations is not as important. The response should be from the
Christian community, not from the civil rights community. Although arson
of black churches brings up painful memories of the struggles for civil rights
in America, we cannot allow a few racists still among us to divide us along
religious lines. The Christian community is not organized along racial lines
but along theological and spiritual lines. Our services may be segregated by
racial lines, but we all have the same faith and hold the same principles. That
is why the calls for action by the Christian Coalition, Promise Keepers and
other Christian organizations are a welcome sign of unity in the faith.
In addition, of course, with every crisis come the politicians. Bill Clinton
used his weekly radio broadcast to show his emotional connection to the
recent reports of church fires. He stated, “I have vivid and painful memories
of black churches being burned down in my own state when I was a child.”
This statement was given with care and emotion–and apparently in complete
fantasy. The President has vivid memories of events that just did not happen.
Bill Clinton has vividly remembered something that never occurred.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported June 3, 1996, that the state
historian, the president of the Arkansas NAACP, and the former president of
the Regular Arkansas Baptist Convention (a group of 530 black churches)
could not recall any church burning in Arkansas during the civil rights
period. Do not forget President Clinton also had a vivid memory of not
inhaling marijuana during this same period. Maybe Clinton just thought he
saw churches burning. I would not like to think our President would use this
tragedy to play on the fear and anger of the Klan and the terror of the “Night
Raiders” of history. I personally resent the President’s disregard of my faith
and his flagrant tear at the emotions of Black Americans.
The media reports of church fires have captured the imagination of the
country. Stories of predominantly black congregations being burned out by
racist white people have been plentiful. In this book, I have discussed the
numbers of fires in 1996 compared to previous years. We have had the new
Black Panthers offering protection, Ku Klux Klan offering organization and
the government offering more control over our lives. Only the people
affected are offering solutions.
The current levels of church fires are not out of the ordinary, nor are they
targeted at any racial group. If anything can be learned, it is that hatred of
organized religion is not restricted to race or denominations. White and
black churches are burning; even Jewish temples are being torched. We have
had arrests of teenagers and church members as well as the local Klan.
Recent wire service reports have covered Ku Klux Klan members
charged with church burning in South Carolina. Other reports suggest
mentally ill members of burned churches, drunken teenagers, disgruntled
members and conspiring pastors may have been involved in many burnings.
All of this points to a big non-story for the national news. The fires are not
unusual nor are they a trend.
Since January of 1995, 207 churches have burned and 12 desecrated in
America. Of the burnings, 39 were found to be accidental. Despite charges
of no help from the government, there have been arrests made in 54 of the
cases, and 69 people have been taken into custody. Investigations are
ongoing in 114 cases. There have been many reports of the 70 black
churches burned since January 1995. Little of the coverage has reported that
only a third of these fires are suspected to be racially motivated.
While it is it is easy to focus on the anger, fear and despair of stories like
these, but there is another story. It is a story of what happens to a community
struck with a disaster. What happens is that communities all over the nation
are discovering each other in the midst of tragedy. When a church burns
down it affects the entire community, and everyone must respond.
All over America, Americans are responding by volunteering to help
each other and rebuild these churches. White congregations are helping
black, and Christians are helping Jews, and the walls that separate us are
crumbling in the mist of these fires. Relationships are being forged that will
never be broken, and people are coming together on their commonality
rather than dwelling on their differences.
We keep hearing about “multi-culturalism” and all of our differences, but
these communities have discovered the ties that bind us. The real stories of
these churches burning have been the community efforts to rebuild the social
fabric along with the buildings. Communities that grew up separated by
racial distrust and fears are now working together side by side. From South
Carolina to California, people are disproving the notion that we are a divided
nation. From President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore to Newt
Gingrich and the Promise Keepers, church rebuilding has been an
involuntary reaction to hatred.
White and black congregations who have never communicated with each
other are now worshipping together and rebuilding together. Children are
learning to play with each other and seeing their parents working for the
community. Out of the tragedy of the fires will rise healthy relationships and
love.
We have learned a great lesson: hatred can only destroy and only love
can build. The hatred that sought to destroy has only hastened its own
destruction. The community did not respond with hatred, suspicion or anger;
it responded with love, and love covers a multitude of sins.
Equal Rights, Not Special Rights….The Movement Continues
We have never been one individual or one culture! The beauty of the
black community has always been the diverse cultural aspects of its people.
Since slavery began in 1444, African slaves came from different tribes with
different languages, traditions and cultures. We were forced into one
language and one culture but have always kept some differences. It seems
there are some elements in America who still expect us to be predictable and
controllable. I hope they handle disappointment well.
The Black Community Today Is Multi-Cultural
There is no “Black Culture.” Some black people like jazz, blues, rap, or
gospel music. Some are Christian and some are Muslim. Well, I have news
for you! Some are even conservative and some are liberal, some are right-
wing and some are left-wing. Someone once said, “It takes two wings to get
the plane off the ground.”
My question to you is, do you recognize only one wing? Do you
purposely seek out only one small section of our community for comments
and reactions to current events?
I have heard estimates that there are between 10,000 and 300,000 Black
Muslims in America, but Minister Farrakhan is the one the media turn to.
They ignore the 28,000,000 Black Christians in America.
Seventy percent of the black population has managed to live above the
poverty level, but only those Black Americans in our community on
government assistance are portrayed.
With approximately 80% of black youths graduating from high school,
why is our image that of illiterate dropouts?
The conservative movement is the next logical step in the civil rights
movement. Approximately 25-33% of the black community considers
themselves conservative, and over 50% aren’t sure. We are mainstream we
have a long tradition and our opinions are based upon well-thought-out
logic.
We are standing up today to declare that we are like any other
community in America. Our strength lies in our differences, and the media’s
nonrecognition of these differences is our weakness.
The black community is not a tribe; and we have no tribal chief speaking
for us. We are a hardy people who not only have survived slavery, but have
thrived.
Why is it newsworthy that a group of Black Americans are stating our
commitment to families? When did it become news that black people are
not demanding a handout? Who told you that it is strange and different for a
group of black people to desire to participate openly in the American dream
and not depend on the “American dreamers” for permission?
There is no criticism of White Americans as being odd if they are
conservative, right-wing or capitalist. Black people fitting this description
are not only criticized, they are considered traitors to their people. Are we
stereotyping tens of millions of people? We love America and what it has to
offer, and we intend to participate fully in the American culture.
The dream of Martin Luther King was of a country where Americans
participate openly in the American dream. We agree with that. Why is that
news?
“We are not militant, only confident! Never angry, but aware! Not
vicious, but victorious!” Mason Weaver
We are not going to quietly allow our critics to name-call, spread lies of
our motives and unjustly criticize our political and social beliefs. We will
continue to respond to the issues affecting our nation, as we will continue to
stand for the principles that have made us great.
And we will continue to answer our critics with “THE TRUTH, RIGHT
BETWEEN THE LIES!”