King helped end legal segregation; gap persists culturally, economically
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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.
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When 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
moonpie (anonymous) says...
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.
April 4, 2008 at 6:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
captivated (anonymous) says...
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.
April 4, 2008 at 7:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dmwallac (anonymous) says...
"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?
April 4, 2008 at 8:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
prosperous_hb (anonymous) says...
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.
April 4, 2008 at 8:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Riptide (anonymous) says...
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.
April 4, 2008 at 9:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
downtownsurvivor (anonymous) says...
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!
April 4, 2008 at 9:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
LadyTarHeel (anonymous) says...
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.
April 4, 2008 at 9:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oldglory (anonymous) says...
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.
April 4, 2008 at 9:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kma71 (anonymous) says...
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!!!
April 4, 2008 at 9:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
YankeeLiberal (anonymous) says...
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.
April 4, 2008 at 10:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
RTC (anonymous) says...
allwoman, I also agree with LadyTarHeel, and that was quite a profound statement you made yourself.
You are both awesome ladies.
April 4, 2008 at 11:09 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KidYendor (anonymous) says...
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.
April 4, 2008 at 11:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
YankeeLiberal (anonymous) says...
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.
April 4, 2008 at 11:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lilpenny0 (anonymous) says...
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.
April 4, 2008 at 12:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ConcernedDorchesterCitizen (anonymous) says...
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!
April 4, 2008 at 1:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
newto843 (anonymous) says...
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.
April 4, 2008 at 2:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bkeelin (anonymous) says...
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.
April 4, 2008 at 3:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
YankeeLiberal (anonymous) says...
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.
April 4, 2008 at 7:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
moonpie (anonymous) says...
LADYTARHEEL, The best post of the day. (even better than mine) And what you wrote is absolutely true.
April 4, 2008 at 8:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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