So said President George Bush in his address to the NAACP today, his first visit to the annual convention during his 5 years as president.
“I understand that racism still lingers in America,” Bush told the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. “It’s a lot easier to change a law than to change a human heart.”
For once, the president and I agree on something.
“For nearly 200 years, our nation failed the test of extending the blessings of liberty to African-Americans. Slavery was legal for nearly 100 years, and discrimination legal in many places for nearly 100 years more.”
Thank you, Mr. President, for pointing that out. More people need to understand that even through slavery was outlawed in 1865, the Jim Crow era that followed was an extension of it that continued at least until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Virginia was one of a number of states to have participated in schemes designed to prevent blacks and poor whites from voting, by instituting a cumulative poll tax as well as literacy tests.
Given that this is quite recent history – during my lifetime – it is no wonder that racism still lingers in America. That is not to say that we haven’t made progress – we have. But we still have a ways to go and those who believe all that needs to be done has been done are, I believe, mistaken.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Vivian J. Paige = freakin’ rock star.
It’s dizzying to think of how much race matters in this country, and how big of a factor it is, but we either don’t like to talk about it or we don’t realize it’s there. And it’s totally something that needs to be discussed, because if we don’t talk about it, it is like the problem never existed.
Great post!
Vivian, thank you for the great post. Sorry some others just don’t get it. There has been a lot of progress over the past 30 years for blacks and other minority races. But there’s miles to go before there’s real equality and healing.
Please keep up the good work. And I do mean good. Pointing this out is being on the side of angels.
I appreciate the kind words, JR, Melissa and AIAW. Today I was talking to somebody about the fact that Virginia Beach has only ever had one black person elected to city council and that Norfolk has only ever had one black person elected to a city-wide office. The facts are the facts. We have to talk about this stuff. If we don’t, we have no chance of eradicating it.
@hrc”And if your definition of racism is one race having a power over another, then racism is done in this country. That is not my definition, but under yours, racism is gone. I can look at it no other way.”.
And that’s the pity of it. The first thing you should probably do is admit that you are ignorant of what racism is and try and learn. It is obvious you do not. The second thing you should do is open your eyes as well as your ears… it appears you do need to look at some things in a completely different way.
Yet, no examples of how I am wrong. Just berating, saying racism is present (and under what I said above, it is not. Maybe in other forms, but not from what I said above) without being able to see it and point it out. Not under the defintion above is rasicm still around. Now if you want to talk about other ways racism is around, that is fine, but what race has power over another at this point?
Berating will change no one’s minds or end racism. My eyes are open, as well as my ears, are yours?
Part of the concept of power relates to who is in the position to make decisions. Let’s look at Norfolk, for example. We have a majority (5-3, formerly 4-3) white council, which makes nearly all of the decisions for the city. Underneath many of their decisions is the question of race. Until the latest school board was appointed, Norfolk appointed all of its boards and commissions with the same racial makeup as council. It’s not speculation on my part that this is the case – council admitted it a while back. Yes, the police chief is black and the city manager is black – and they serve at the pleasure of council.
The large majority of CEOs are white, the large majority of our elected officials – locally, statewide and nationally – are white. Those inside the newsroom of newspapers across the country are white. So when reports are made, hiring decisions are made – these people, some consciously and some unconsciously – make biased decisions.
There is a website at Harvard (can’t locate it right now) that has a test you can take. Most people are surprised that they carry racism deep within their being. It is a part of the fabric of America, and one without easy answers.
Do you understand a bit more now?
I understand Y0UR views, but they are not mine. You are trapping yourself in your own perceptions, seeing an invisible prison of bias that does not exist, at least not at the level you think it does. The power structure you speak of on the council comes through elections. CEOs have worked their way to the top, and that is not determined by race, not anymore. Everyone has their own power to work hard and be successful. Your race does not matter.
I am sorry you do not feel that way, but my opinion is what it is. It does not conform to what the media thinks it should be, which is probably why my view seems so “radical” to those up here. Believe me, its not.
Perceptions? Hardly. Did you see this post?
Not perception, reality. If everyone had an equal bite at the apple, do you think those numbers would be that way? Absolutely not.
How I wish we lived in a world where race didn’t matter. It does matter – but as a white male, it will never affect you. I’ve been in the working world longer than you’ve been alive. And I can say unequivocally that it matters.
Heck,even your president acknowleges that it does.You are just too young and too naive to recognize it.
Now here is what is amazing. You want a dialogue about race, but as soon as someone has a different view, they have no right to dialogue. I am dismissed as a white male and young. Apparently, my right to dialogue in this debate is nonexistant.
Interestingly, my father and grandfather have the same opinion about TODAY’s environment, and they were around when racism was present. They see how far things have come, and they don’t think racism exists to hold people down as much as you think it does TODAY.
For the record, the president was correct in saying that racism still exists in America. It does exist, just not in the form that holds people down like it once did. Everyone has the same chance.
My right to dialogue has apparently expired on this topic, until I either grow older or change my mind. Hypocritical calls for dialogue will not work when you don’t like what you hear.
Alright, Vivian, this is my last post on this thread. I am sure I will comment on other posts about these topics. At least you know where I stand 🙂
It’s not a matter of a different view – you are convinced that the playing field is level and I know it is not. When I was your age, I thought so, too. Then I stepped into the real world and found out differently. You will never have to find out – simply because you are white and male, two things that remain valuable in our society.
Dialogue is about give and take. I have given you ample opportunity to acknowlege that white privilege exists, that the playing field isn’t level but you refuse. I’ve given you information on how racism persists in our society, how institutionalized it is, and you fail to acknowlege. I talked to my (white, 60-ish) walking partner about you yesterday and she was amazed that you were unable to see the white privilege that you enjoy.
For someone so young, you have convinced yourself that everything you need to know about life (and not just on this topic) you already know. And that is sad.
@hrc “seeing an invisible prison of bias that does not exist, at least not at the level you think it does. The power structure you speak of on the council comes through elections. CEOs have worked their way to the top, and that is not determined by race, not anymore.”
If you really believe that, then your ignorance is a true example of how ignorance is a crime. You need to come back from whatever planet you are currently residing on. However, I suspect that you aren’t interested in dialogue in the least , and never really were, but that you are very interested in obsfucation and clever words aimed at baiting. You do that well.