Friday, February 26, 1999
Civil rights movement achieved much, but must continue
RIGHTS: Equal education, opportunities needed to create level
playing field
By Adrian Haymond
When interpreting the civil rights movement, many on both sides
go to extremes, using hateful rhetoric and inflamed passions to
demonize the opposition while wrapping their own views in shades of
purity and absolute right. But there are always at least two sides
to every argument.
Can we then conclude that the civil rights movement was a
success? In many ways, it was; based from where we came, the
marches of the ’60s can be considered a triumph of the human
spirit. From the depths of intimidation, segregation,
dehumanization and humiliation, African Americans rose to claim
their place in many areas of society.
No longer are we restricted by Jim Crow laws, systematically
hunted down like dogs and exterminated, portrayed with blackface as
shuffling, bumbling buffoons, or forced to take menial jobs as
"befitting our station."
We have gained political power and representation, and both
major parties court our votes. We can go anywhere, do anything and
say what we want without undue fear of unjust reprisals.
A growing class of African American professionals and heroes
form role models for young people of all races to emulate, from
Arthur Ashe to Colin Powell, from Maya Angelou to Julian Dixon.
In the vast majority of cases, we can attend church without the
threat of cowardly thugs in white hoods; we can rail against
injustice without the specter of the rope, and expect proper
intervention from law enforcement when criminals threaten us. Many
African American conservatives, such as House Representative J.C.
Watts of Oklahoma, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and
Regent Ward Connerly insist that we as a people have achieved equal
rights in every aspect, and, to a degree, they’re right.
To many African Americans, the civil rights movement remains
unfinished, and I must agree. Schools in inner-city areas remain
substandard, with inadequate resources and uncaring instructors –
leading to very few viable candidates for college.
Economic opportunities are few and far between; without adequate
transportation to commute, many feel trapped in low-income
work.
Incidents such as the James Byrd murder remind us that some
people still consider us as less than human; people don’t even drag
dogs behind their cars or trucks. White-collar and high-tech jobs
for people of color are still of dismally low proportion.
In many areas, African American students are still being steered
away from technical majors to manufacturing or vocational jobs
which tend to pay lower and are being steadily phased out.
An unacceptable number of our men have entered into the penal
system – permanently scarred with the designation of "felon" or
"ex-con," while others choose the drug or gang culture as their
only reasonable way out of a dreary landscape.
The question is asked: "Why?" The most obvious answer is that
African American parents are not training their children, we
consistently make bad choices, we whine about the elimination of
our "entitlements" (including welfare and affirmative action),
"gangsta" rap destroys our moral compass, and we don’t take
responsibility for our actions. In some cases, this can be true (as
with any group). But the majority of African Americans are
hard-working, intelligent, ambitious and creative.
When children consistently see African Americans on television
and in movies portrayed as pimping, drug-selling, Uzi-pumping,
baby-dropping, shiftless and conniving psychopaths, it influences
their thinking of real persons (whether the viewers are African
American or white). Who’s going to take a chance of getting shot in
the "’hood" trying to help ungrateful people?
When other criminals consistently receive lighter sentences than
African Americans and Latinos, can we expect citizens to respect
the courts? Such a situation only makes sense if you believe the
book "The Bell Curve," which seems to prove that minorities are
naturally more violent and stupid.
When African Americans are pulled over, humiliated, handcuffed,
strip-searched "in the course of duty" by the police, there could
be a greater tendency to see "conspiracy" and "incompetence" (as in
the O.J. Simpson case) in the thoughts of African American jurors
than others.
When the "suspect" (who could be a businessman, a member of the
clergy, or just an unassuming citizen) sees nothing similar done to
other groups, that person must wonder.
In the spirit of "getting the most compatible group" to work
together, employers can obtain (or maintain) status quo (or "good
ol’ boy" networks) which block advancement by capable and willing
minorities.
Education is the key component in equipping the young for skills
needed tomorrow, and in changing romantic, yet damaging notions of
yesteryear. Since most neighborhood schools cater to those who
can’t afford to purchase food and equipment for children, funding
must target young people for achievement (without bureaucratic
waste or redundant and useless programs).
"Band-aid" practices, such as ebonics, passing students along,
steering kids to less-demanding vocations, must be thrown away. In
the meantime, affirmative action should be reinstated, but applied
correctly (high admissions and employment standards, race not a
sole determining factor), phasing out gradually as the effects are
felt.
Television shows can portray minorities in a variety of roles,
both good and bad. Instead of sensationalizing crime, news stories
can feature achievements of people from all races and all
neighborhoods.
Outreach programs should concentrate on giving kids hope of
escaping the cycle of violence, drugs and unsafe sex that trapped
their parents in hopelessness. Social and psychological barriers in
hiring practices must be lifted; competency must be the only
criteria.
Extensive training programs that allow willing people to obtain
marketable skills, which can attract businesses to previously
blighted areas, are necessary. Officials and private citizens must
prosecute civil rights abuses.
Finally, we as a society must look hard at the fairness of the
playing field. How can a historically impoverished people expect to
attain the same achievement as others without proper preparation or
compensation for sorely lacking skills?
Yes, we know life is unfair, but America is supposed to be a
country where we pursue "fairness." We make laws minimizing unfair
advantages in industry, which stimulates the growth of new
businesses and promotes fair competition; why should we not also
create civil rights laws that minimize unfair advantages in
society? Black people are not looking for handouts, entitlements or
welfare checks – most of us do not expect anyone to pay for 200-300
years of slavery and 100 years of Jim Crow laws.
We don’t come to take what’s not rightfully ours, and we want to
be graded on our own merits – if we’re not qualified, don’t hire
us! But we cannot assume that the field of competition is level;
too many signs in employment practices ("compatibility" tests,
networks, personal bias), school districts (little guidance,
steering students, inadequate funding), and government programs
(political expediency) point to the opposite conclusion. When this
happens, that’s when the civil rights movement will have run its
full course.Black History Month
Haymond is a senior budget analyst at the College of Letters
& Science.
Comments, feedback, problems?
© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]