Are we there yet?
Edward Benson
Duke University
DURHAM, N.C.
I was reminded recently of the continuing struggle of African Americans to live in a just society, and of why Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday observance is so important to each of us.
During the sermon in our church this Sunday, the pastor recounted a childhood incident in Fayetteville, N.C., in 1964. Entering town, just after the city limits sign, he encountered a large road sign which read, "You are now entering KKK country."
The pastor's father was then working to bring about integration, so perhaps it should not have been surprising that the family was called, anonymously and he was warned to stop his activity. My pastor continued, "The caller said that we had a present on the front lawn ... My family went to the front door, and of course you know what was there, a burning cross."
The mother of the family began to put it out, fearing that the neighbors would know that the Ku Klux Klan was targeting the family; but the father stopped her, saying, "I want them to know. Let it burn." And while the children felt an intense hatred for the KKK, their father said only, "No ... If you answer their hate with hate, you only increase hatred in the world. The hate must end with us."
It was a profound, life-altering experience for a child who would one day be called to the ministry — a day when childhood seemed to end and a recognition dawned, not only of the evil in the world but of the capacity for evil in oneself.
The sermon was impressive.
Then, as the pastor asked for prayer requests, a young white man in the congregation stood and said that he wanted to give thanks that incidents like those just described no longer occur today.
Fair enough. But I suspect that not everyone in that church shared his response. In particular, I could not help but think that black members of the congregation might have had other impressions.
Blacks and whites both recognize that, over time, the lives of African Americans in the United States have improved remarkably. Their ancestors started here as mere property. "Pursuit of happiness" once included property rights so sweeping that ownership of another human being was not only allowable, but to some, fundamental. Eventually, slavery became so fundamental to the financial success of Southern elites that they were willing to go to war over it.
After the Reconstruction, whites reclaimed social supremacy, and civil rights for blacks again languished. The steady growth of a black intelligentsia finally paved the way for the movement that was dramatically personified by Martin Luther King Jr. That movement helped Americans see the vicious manifestations of racism in this nation.
In the last 50 years, in a single lifetime, this nation really did begin to live out the meaning of his creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." And yet, in our current society, there is much room for improvement. Perhaps most importantly, it is clear from many recent polls that while whites often see past progress as most striking, blacks as often see the remaining problems most clearly.
Yes, blacks are no longer property or repressed freemen. Yes, whites who seek to help them no longer find crosses burning on their lawn. But blacks comprise a percentage of the prison population far above that which they comprise in the total national population. The average black household's net worth is 10 times less than the average white household's.
Such statistics go on, and most whites either don't know them or don't particularly care to. And since legal discrimination is outlawed, the problem's solved, right?
Only the facts show that it is not. And blacks, who cannot ignore those statistics because they live them everyday, can feel like only they can understand their problems, and whites don't give a damn.
Which is not true. Some whites just don't see it from the same perspective. And like most people, until they see it, first-hand, inescapably — in short, the way blacks see it — they can't understand. But understanding is possible and essential.
Doubtless, our society will always be imperfect. But in striving for improvement, we ennoble ourselves and our nation. The effort matters and not just in today's situation. It is caring, and doing, that make us better people.
Thus, a day which makes us remember that, a day which honors Dr. King, is not only good for the nation, it is good for each of us, as well.
Edward Benson is a student at Duke University. This column first appeared on Jan. 17 in The Chronicle and is reprinted here courtesy of the U-Wire.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
All Viewpoint Stories for Thursday, January 18, 2001
