Holding onto Power

 

Same Old Same Old

After listening to certain Senators this week try to eviscerate Judge Jackson with irrelevant questions, I found myself wondering where's the rebuttal from the media. The problem was, I found the lies made from whole cloth so disturbing, I just stopped listening to the Senate hearing. It turns out, the hearing is not a venue for truth. 

The questions by Hawley, Cruz and Graham were deliberately misleading. They tried to portray Judge Jackson as the embodiment of racist fears about woke education, conspiracy theories labeling democrats as child molesters, anti-American views, anti-law enforcement, and as a proponent of Critical Race Theory. None of that is true. 

I stumbled upon the quote below from Emma Gonzalez. Then the line from Stevie Wonder's Higher Ground came to mind. Then, the realization that nothing much has changed since the 60's and 70's, and that's the way those Senators want it.

 

We are grieving, we are furious, and we are using our words fiercely and desperately because that’s the only thing standing between us and this happening again.

- Emma González

Powers keep on lying

While your people keep on dying

World keep on turning

'Cause it won't be too long.

- Stevie Wonder

Politicians Do This All The Time

A comprehensive study about the causes of the riots in many of America's largest cities in the 1960's is another example. The Johnson Administration sought answers after the riots of the 60's. They wanted to know what were the causes of the riots that swept major cities in America. The answers were all there in the report put together by the Kerner Commission. The book, 426 pages long, became a best seller.

The Kerner Commission found there are two Americas. “Our Nation Is Moving Toward Two Societies, One Black, One White—Separate and Unequal” The report was released in 1968, after seven months of investigation. It attributed the riots to lack of economic opportunity for African Americans and Latinos, failed social service programs, police brutality, racism, and the orientation of national media to white perspectives.

The Smithsonian offers their article, The 1968 Kerner Commission Got It Right, But Nobody Listened

Bad policing practices, a flawed justice system, unscrupulous consumer credit practices, poor or inadequate housing, high unemployment, voter suppression, and other culturally embedded forms of racial discrimination all converged to propel violent upheaval on the streets of African-American neighborhoods in American cities, north and south, east and west. And as black unrest arose, inadequately trained police officers and National Guard troops entered affected neighborhoods, often worsening the violence. 

The report was controversial. In conservative circles it was considered flawed. Ultimately it was ignored. The mistakes made then are happening all over again. 

The article in Smithsonian points out, "Backlash was immediate. Polls showed that 53 percent of white Americans condemned the claim that racism had caused the riots, while 58 percent of black Americans agreed with the findings. Even before the report, white support for civil rights was waning. In 1964, most Northern whites had backed Johnson’s civil rights initiatives, but just two years later, polls showed that most Northern whites believed Johnson was pushing too aggressively."

Johnson, ever the politician, refused to endorse the report and failed to acknowledge investigative reporting from Newsweek that in many ways supported the Kerner Commission report.

White response to the Kerner Commission helped to lay the foundation for the law-and-order campaign that elected Richard Nixon to the presidency later that year. Instead of considering the full weight of white prejudice, Americans endorsed rhetoric that called for arming police officers like soldiers and cracking down on crime in inner cities.

Both the Kerner Commission Report and the Newsweek package called for massive government spending.

Kerner Recommendations  belonging.berkley.edu

I. EMPLOYMENT

1) Consolidating and concentrating employment efforts.

2) Open the existing job structure

3) Creating 1 million new jobs in the public sector in 3 years.

4) Creating 1 million new jobs in the private sector in 3 years. 

5) Developing urban and rural poverty areas.

6) Encouraging Business Ownership in the Ghetto

II. EDUCATION

1) Increasing Efforts to eliminate de facto segregation: Substantially increase aid to school systems seeking to eliminate de facto segregation either within the system or in cooperation with neighboring school systems.  

2) Provide Quality Education in Ghetto Schools

3) Improving Community-School Relations

4) Expanding Opportunities for Higher Education

5) Expanding Opportunities for Vocational Education

III. THE WELFARE SYSTEM
1) Provide more adequate levels of assistance based upon uniform national standards
2) Extension of AFDC-UP
3) Reduce the burden on state and local government by financing the cost of assistance almost entirely with federal funds.
4) Work Incentives and training –
5) Removal of Freeze on Recipients [a temporary budget decision]
6) Remove Restrictions on Eligibility
7) Develop a national system of income supplementation to provide a basic floor of economic and social security for all Americans.

IV. HOUSING
1) The Supply of housing suitable for low-income families should be expanded on a massive basis
2) Areas Outside of ghetto neighborhoods should be opened up to occupancy by racial minorities

V. POLICE AND THE COMMUNITY
1) The Need for change in police operations in the ghetto to ensure proper conduct by individual officers and to eliminate abrasive practices.
2) The need for more adequate police protection of ghetto residents, to eliminate the high sense of insecurity to person and property.
3) The need for effective mechanisms for resolving citizens’ grievances against the police.
4) The need for policy guidelines to assist police in areas where police conduct can create tension.

The consequences of inaction are all around us in urban and rural communities. As the wealth gap increases, the American Dream becomes more elusive. As the frustrations grow, the more divided we become, and the more likely our democracy will decay into autocracy.

Medgar Evers

Guided By Faith

Medgar Evers was one of many leaders of the civil rights movement that leaned heavily on their faith to give them strength against a system fueled by hate, only wishing to harm black Americans and kill them if need be. Those who would do harm to African Americans for seeking dignity and respect as promised by God, were protected by unjust laws and a system that legalized and encouraged racism.

"As long as God gives me strength to work and try to make things real for my children, I'm going to work for it - even if it means making the ultimate sacrifice."

-Medgar Evers

Medgar Evers was an activist and leader of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and early 1960s. He fought in World War II, and was part of the Normandy invasion. When he returned after the war, despite his service, he found barriers to his willingness to live the American Dream he fought for in the war.

He was undeterred. "Evers soon found that his skin color gave him no freedom when he and five friends were forced away at gunpoint from voting in a local election." (NAACP History) Despite this he enrolled in Alcorn State, majoring in business administration. According to the NAACP History site he soon became an activist as the president of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership (RCNL), a civil rights and pro self-help organization. He led a boycott against filling stations that would not allow Blacks to use their bathrooms. In 1954 he enrolled at the segregated University of Mississippi Law School. The NAACP took up his case and facilitated his enrollment.  In December of 1954, Evers became the NAACP’s first field officer in Mississippi.

Evers, activism made him a target of the segregationists. His public investigations into the murder of Emmett Till and his vocal support of Clyde Kennard left him vulnerable to attack. On May 28, 1963, a molotov cocktail was thrown into the carport of his home, and five days before his death, he was nearly run down by a car after he emerged from the Jackson NAACP office. Civil rights demonstrations accelerated in Jackson during the first week of June 1963. A local television station granted Evers time for a short speech, his first in Mississippi, where he outlined the goals of the Jackson movement. Following the speech, threats on Evers’ life increased.

On June 12, 1963, Evers pulled into his driveway after returning from an integration meeting where he had conferred with NAACP lawyers. Emerging from his car and carrying NAACP T-shirts that stated, “Jim Crow Must Go”, Evers was struck in the back with a bullet that ricocheted into his home. He staggered 30 feet before collapsing, dying at the local hospital 50 minutes later. Evers was murdered just hours after President John F. Kennedy’s speech on national television in support of civil rights. (NAACP History) 

His killer, Byron De La Beckwith, was not found guilty until 1994 because the all white jury deadlocked in the first two trials in the 1960's. New evidence found by the FBI in the early 90's led to his conviction. The 1996 film Ghosts of Mississippi tells the story of the 1994 trial.

Segregation Is Holding Us Back

Implicit Bias

Diversity and inclusion are indicators of a strong society. Still, segregation persists. 

WalletHub measured the gaps between blacks and whites across 22 key indicators of equality and integration in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Their data set ranges from median annual income to standardized-test scores to voter turnout. #diversity #inclusion #equality

Most Segregated States

The least diverse states are all up north. The results didn't surprise me, but I used to live in one of these states and I experienced some of the aspects of systemic racism, most notably, a bank loan officer who pulled out his redline map. He said I could not get a loan for houses in certain areas because they were black neighborhoods. 

Could it be because of systemic barriers? 

Here's a series of videos that define systemic barriers.   

Race Forward

They include:

The Wealth Gap

Employment

Housing Discrimination

Government Surveillance

Incarceration

We cannot do anything about the past. We can do something moving forward.

Stories Evolve - Have We?

I had so much optimism that through journalism I could change the world. It turned out it was not that easy. I had to reach an understanding that through reporting I could lead people to the facts and by doing so they could connect the dots. With any communication, it's a two way street. The intended recipient has be willing to receive the message.

First, there were news papers. Followed by the evening news. "And that's the way it is..." That was followed by cable news and the 24 hour news cycle. Outside of journalism there's talk radio and now, there's social media.

Social media is a lot like the informal way news used to be passed among individuals and groups where people would discuss events in less formal situations. Ideas and opinions were passed back and forth among like minded individuals. There was a danger in this. Misinformation often got reinforced. But, for those who wanted to dig deeper there was also journalism and the academic pursuit of knowledge.

I have an example from my hometown from the late sixties and early seventies. Racial discrimination, fear and hatred colors this story.

Redlining/Discrimination

In the late 60's there were a series of equal housing marches led by a Catholic priest. The first marches were on the south side of the city. A few hundred marchers were met by thousands of angry white protester vehemently opposed to allowing people of color into their neighborhood. White protesters scream racial slurs, unfurled confederate flags, wore white hoods, started fires and threw bricks at the marchers. The police were there to make sure the marchers did not get out of line.

In the summer of 1970 the marches moved to one of the suburbs in the inner ring. The suburb was considered to be affluent and a good place to raise your kids. The streets were safe. The schools were excellent. The city next door had high rates of poverty and crime. Moving out of the city was problematic for people of color because of redlining. The conversation went something like, "I don't want those people moving into my neighborhood because soon they'll take over, and you know what they're like. Besides, my property values will fall. The streets will be filled with thugs and drug users and welfare and their children will take over the schools."

Hatred/Fear/Bigotry

After the marches in the suburb, a new high school was damaged by fire. The opening was delayed for a year. In discussions with friends and acquaintances, I was told the fire was set by angry black people jealous of the advantages the suburb offered to its residents. The conversation was concluded with, "It seems obvious, doesn't it?" About a year later, an investigation reveled that the fire was set by a white teenager. He was a stoner who accidentally set the school on fire. The truth was finally out there. Did it register with anyone? It did with me, but I was already wary of the common knowledge version of the story.

The people who insisted to me that somehow the protesters had burned down the school never acknowledged their mistake. The actual facts did not align with the narrative they had already put in place. This isn't much different that what we're getting from Social Media today. Only it is amplified many times. Today anybody can publish anything. If those thoughts align with prejudices they are offered reinforcing truth.

Listening

We must learn to listen. We must be open to views that might offer new vistas and new understanding. Journalism plays an important part but, can only change minds if people are willing to accept the message. Take consolation that the facts are there and that over time story will evolve and offer a better understanding of the issues. There's only so much journalism can do. We can do our job. Peel back the layers of a story and uncover more, but it is up to the audience to filter the information through their lens. Finally, without journalism we are left with alternative facts, and that's a dark place, indeed.

Still the Same?

As a final note...the city I grew up in is still considered one of the most segregated in the country. According to a report in 24/7 Wall Street, "There are numerous ways to calculate segregation levels. One standard measure, which indicates the proportion of black residents who would have to relocate to match the distribution of whites, pegs the Milwaukee area as the most segregated city in the nation. More than three-quarters of white area residents live in predominantly white 
neighborhoods, while more than one-third of black residents live in predominantly black neighborhoods, each well above the respective average shares for large U.S. metros."

The shaded grey areas show a more diverse mix than when I lived there. That is progress. Yet, as the election demonstrates, fear, hatred and bigotry, stoked by talk radio and social media, still has a strong pull.