Where could America be today without racial barriers?
As a boy growing up on the banks of the Genetta Ditch because of racial prejudices, I was suppose to give up and be a “nobody”. But I thank God for having parents with good values, work ethics, judgment, foresight and etc. These intrinsic values instilled in me at a young age allowed me to escape the socio-economic chains of slavery, but not without scars. We were poor by today’s standards, but we didn’t know it because we were taught to wash it when dirty, pick it up from your yard, say yes sir and yes ma’m etc.
Racism persists where members of a different race from one’s own are not seen as persons who have mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, and a personal life filled with joys and sorrows, hopes and dreams. Because they are of a different race, for the racist, they are sub-humans.
Thankfully, its most overt forms have been all but erased from current-day America. Jim Crow laws are long dead. Lynchings are banished to the past, an ugly shadow of bigotry and hatred from a bygone era. But in its more subtle forms, racism is very much alive. And its effects can be devastating.
Remember now, I do have scars. I arrived home from the Vietnam War in February 1965. And in April 1965 we were hemmed in by police officers (white) on horseback at the corners of Ripley Street and Washington Avenue, simply because the Negro was “tired of being tired” and marching to have a peaceful demonstration at the Capitol. I was fighting in uniform to keep America free, yet I was not free.
Where could America be if she freely made use of Black America’s skills and talents? Remember, I escaped the snares that were set for me. I had to study harder, run faster, work longer, be better than whites, pay more for products, overcome double standards, etc.
We are still faced with double standards, one for whites and one for Blacks. White radio talk show hosts, local and national started bad mouthing President Obama two years before he became president, and have not stopped as of this writing.
Let me prove this double standard stuff. In the Montgomery Advertiser editorial page 1D, “These folks are not giving Gov. Robert Bentley credit for all of the reductions in spending his administration has already accomplished. This administration is well on its way to appropriately balancing the budget. However you cannot correct years of mismanagement in one year, especially with this economy. You cannot run a state on taxes based mostly on income when income is down. Gov. Bentley’s administration is already well into a program to improve Medicaid, but it can’t be accomplished overnight. We need these three years that a 'YES' vote on September 18 will give Alabama”. But President Obama is not measured by a down economy, but rather on skin color.
Institutional racism, wherein minorities are assigned low priority by government, business and other organizations, is often practiced without intent, which makes it all the more difficult to recognize and root out. The term itself, though around for five decades, can be difficult to understand, particularly for people who hold the majority in a community or in the country at large.This is one way to understand it. People often say it’s not what you know, but who you know when you’re seeking a job or some other benefit that puts you in a better position in life. If you accept this premise, you accept the idea that favoritism is practiced in the workplace and across all of society. Where favoritism is practiced, prejudice is practiced, as well.Racism generally is not the motive of someone who hires the friend of a friend for a job or someone who guides the sale of real estate toward an acquaintance. They’re merely lending a helping hand to a person they respect. But that leaves others, often minorities, left with less of an opportunity for employment or good housing.There’s no doubt that Montgomery County and the United States as a whole have come a long, long way in addressing social inequities. But prejudice and social injustice still exist and play a prominent role in determining the opportunities people enjoy.Institutional racism is a slippery term with an elusive character. But it is the responsibility of all Americans, particularly those in positions of authority, to recognize it and to controvert it.
Racism has reared its head in a very ugly way in the United States over the past few months. Everyone in the working-class movement, all progressive people must call this racism out loud and clear, and organize in solidarity with African Americans and all people of color.
This is especially important now. The corporate media have closed ranks against oppressed peoples. They have been purposely spreading disinformation in an attempt to break up the embryonic solidarity that was developing in reaction to the election of President Obama. Where could America be? Montgomery Advertiser Editorial Page 6a “America is better off with Obama”.
Racial prejudices wither with exposure to the light of day. They fall apart when persons of different races genuinely connect as human beings, when they get to know each other a little better. Listening to the voice of a person and to what that person has to say is a good way to get to know him or her. Where could America be? Montgomery Advertiser Editorial Page 6a “America is better off with Obama”.
I have fought and ran too long to catch up and keep up with the American dream, that I am out of energy. Where would I be if there were no barriers?
Dr. James A. Nuckles is a retired educator and the senior pastor at Stonetank Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Montgomery.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Where could America be today without racial barriers?
