Pagw z.
di d Observer, July 29, 1987
Along the Color Line
CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL
by 13« M anning Marable
A NEWS SERVICE
OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
Dr Manning M. 'able is professor of sociology and political science
at Purdue University
Along the Color Line" appears in over 140
COMMISSION FOR RACIAL JUSTICE
newspapers internationally
Gunnar Myrdal: The Death of White Liberal Sociology
There have been few texts on U.S. racism which
have been more influential than Gunnar Myrdal's clas­
sic, "A n American Dilemma". Initially published in
1944, the study was cited as the major scholarly sourcp
refuting the existence of Jim Crow segregation in the
U S. Supreme Court's Brown decision ten years later.
Myrdal's death last month at the age of 88 marks the
passage of a great liberal economist and sociologist.
But the contradictions and severe shortcomings of his
intellectual legacy must also be addressed, if there is
any possibility of achieving his humane social and racial
ideals.
Born in Sweden Myrdal was originally trained in law
and classical economics. But as a young scholar, he
wisely broke with his profession to condemn social and
economic policies which contributed to class inequities
inside Swedish society. Myrdal s 1931 text, Mone­
tary Economics," urged politicians to combat the Great
Depression by accellerating government spending.
Many of his liberal concepts foreshadowed the work of
economist John Maynard Keynes, the intellectual archi­
tect of the modern welfare state in both Western
Europe and the U.S.
In 1938, Myrdal was invited by the Carnegie Corpor­
ation to conduct a two year, $250,000 research project
on U.S. race relations. Accepting the challenge, Myr­
dal coordinated a capable team of scholars, including
Black liberal intellectuals Ralph Bunche and Kenneth B.
Clarke. The massive research project culminated into a
large, two volume work, which represented a landmark
of American social analysis. In Myrdal's view, the es­
sential "American dilemma" was the vast distance bet­
ween the nation's democratic ideology and its adher­
ence to rigid racial segregation and other forms of social
injustice. He challenged white leaders to extend Con­
stitutional rights to Blacks, and predicted that racial
prejudice would gradually subside as trade unions, poli­
tical parties and business would move to dismantle Jim
Crow. For over a generation of social scientists, "An
American Dilemma's" basic prescriptions formed the
intellectual foundations of white liberal social policy on
the "Negro Question".
But despite Myrdal's political ties with European
social democracy and similarly liberal political currents
in this country, his grand social vision was profoundly
flawed. Theoretically Myrdal attributed racial prejudice
and conflict to the existence of what he termed Ameri­
can's "caste system," which supposedly paralleled the
Hindu caste social system of India. The problem with
this analogy was that "caste" in India was tied to
strongly religious rituals, inflexibly rig id social norms,
and rooted in several thousand years of social history.
These social conditions had nothing to do with Ameri­
Assembly Improved
When the 64th Legislature Assembly departed Salem
late last month, it left behind some solid blocks with
which Oregonians should be able to build a stronger
economy.
Acclaimed by some as the most productive regular
biennial session in decades, it was one that was ap­
proached with trepidation by those concerned about
the state's lackluster climate for business.
Although there were tentative signs of recovery from
years-long recession, many were skeptical about the
Assembly's ability to make the hard decisions to accom­
plish much that would continue an upward economic
spiral.
The House of Representatives was precariously
divided among 29 Republicans and 31 Democrats. The
situation was ripe of counterproductive partisan games­
manship.
Senate Republicans had gained another seat in that
chamber, becoming a significant 13-member minority to
the 17 Democrats in the majority caucus.
Democrats in both House and Senate were wary
about new Gov. Neil Goldschmidt's ability to work with
the legislative and biennial budgetary processes.
And major issues, such as school finance, the liability
insurance crisis and high cost of workers' compensation
insurance had all faced lawmakers before without satis­
factory resolution.
There were some positive signs apparent, however.
This was an experienced b o d y-fe w e r freshman law­
makers than ever before. And both parties in each
chamber re-elected that same leaders who guided them
last session.
On top of that, the returning leadership appeared
united in intentions to achieve solutions for major pro­
blems.
That unity was put quickly to a surprise test when
Gov. Goldschmidt requested speedy resolution of eight
issues on his agenda by mid-March. As lawmakers
complied, tensions eased and the process moved stead­
ily ahead.
Another indication of an impending successful ses­
sion was adoption of a plan to keep schools from
closing and solid approval from voters during referral
to a special election in May. Then came a revenue-
neutral reconnect to the federal tax code —along with a
reduction in the corporate tax rate —permitting corpora­
tions to save an estimated $20 million annually and
sending a positive message to out-of-state business
interests.
Another early accomplishment was passage of an ex­
tensive revision and simplification of laws dealing with
creation and operations of corporations. Enacted with
only token opposition, that law became effective even
before the Legislature adjourned and is expected to pro
can Jim Crow, which arose out of the destroyed sla­
very system and the collapsed Reconstruction era re­
forms. Technically, a "caste" system is static, and per­
manently binding upon all society's members. Racism,
in stark contrast, is a dynamic set of institutional
arrangements —political, cultural, social and most deci­
sively economic —which perpetuate the subordination
and exploitation of people of color by others. Myrdal
mistakenly attributed most of the Negro s chief pro­
blems not to institutional racism but to caste:
The
measures to keep the Negros disfranchised and de­
prived of full civil rights and the whole structure of
social and economic discrimination are to be viewed as
attempts to enforce the caste principle.
Caste consigns the overwhelming majority of
Negros to the lower class.
This mistake in social theory became a major error
when applied to actual political relations. The Swedish
liberal saw no important links between the economic
exploitation of both poor Blacks and Whites, and the
perpetuation of racism. White workers and the poor
were certainly the most hateful enemies of Black equal­
ity, he suggested. Conversely, the white upper classes,
those who directly benefited from the low wages, poli­
tical disfranchisement and terrorism experienced by
millions of Afro-American people, were described in
benevolent terms.
Given this distorted perspective, Myrdal committed
other errors. He urged Blacks not to challenge racism
directly, but to look up to white liberals for leadership.
He never anticipated the rise of the civil rights move­
ment after World War II, the successful utilization of
nonviolent protests, or the white middle class blacklash
against integration in the 1970s. He also believed that
Blacks were victimized by white racists because of the
"sexual threat" of contacts between Black males and
white females —thus he implied that Blacks come out
against interracial marriages! Myrdal never compre­
hended that Southern sexual myths were employed as
a crude justification to carry out class exploitation and
social subordination of the poor of both races.
In later life, Myrdal became uneasy with his ties to
white liberalism. In 1969, he condemned the Johnson
administration's antipoverty programs as spurious,
badly administered and underconceived." Myrdal be­
gan to recognize that liberal piecemeal reforms engi­
neered from above couldn’t overturn America s social
problems. "I don't think America can stand a defacto
apartheid too much longer," he predicted. Despite his
humanistic instincts, Myrdal failed to chart an effective
political strategy to uproot racism in capitalistic Amer *
ica. Unfortunately, his failure is generally shared by vir­
tually all white mainstream politicians.
Economic Outlook
duce long-term economic benefits.
As is often the case, some of this session s major
issues were not resolved until the last minute, produ­
cing a return of pre-session apprehension even as ad­
journment gavels were poised to fall one last time.
The sessions' final weeks, however, saw resolution
of environmental issues-including extension of pollu­
tion control tax credits and practical regulation of use
and disposal of hazardous materials without reducing
the viability of the job-producing manufacturing com­
munity.
The state's No. 1 job producer, the forest products
industry, also achieved sweeping reform of land use
regulation as the session neared its end. The change
bolstered regulatory powers and responsibilities of the
State Board of Forestry, pre-empting both counties
and the Land Conservation & Development Commis­
sion from regulating forest practices.
Lawmakers also saw fit to limit liability of landowners
opening their property to recreational use — a major
step toward preserving public access to outdoor pur­
suits.
Preservation and maintenance of the state's system
of highways and bridges were enhanced as the Assem­
bly finally concurred on a six-cent gasoline tax imple­
mented over a three-year period.
Almost throughout the session there was additional
emphasis on economic development, with substantial
appropriations for construction projects, more funding
for promoting tourism and targeted use of lottery re­
venue for specific projects.
Then, in the final hours before adjournment, compro­
mises were struck in both chambers that permitted en­
actment of major reform of both tort law and the Work­
ers' Compensation System. The first should make lia­
bility insurance both more available and affordable.
The second is hailed as a step that will remove Oregon
from the top rungs of the ladder by which employer
costs are measured nationwide.
In all, the session saw passage of somewhere near
a dozen more than 1,000 m easures-a record eclipsing
the 996 approved in 1981. The productivity rate, based
on measures passed out of the 2,715 considered, is near
85%, highest since 1945.
It lasted a little longer —by about a week—than the
1985 session, concluding mid-way through the first
hour of its 168th day on Sunday, June 28.
A footnote during post session frivolity tended to
characterize the session’s achievements and lay to rest
pre session concerns about Oregon's economic future.
Lawmakers and lobbyists conspired to confer upon
Democrat Goldschmidt this session's award for out­
standing achievement by a freshman Republican Legis­
lator.
Stephen James: Responsible Male
The headline of New York's Daily Challenge read,
"BRONX BUS DRIVER AWARDED HARVARD FEL­
LOWSHIP." The story was about 34-year-old Stephen
James, a high school drop-out, who has been given a
six-year, $57,000 fellowship to Harvard's Ph.D. program
in American liturature. After talking with Mr. James, one
realizes that he is more than a scholar. He is, in fact, a
committed African American map whose determination
and sense of family refute the racist stereotype of the
Black male in the United States.
Stephen remembers James Meredith's attempt to at
tend Ole Miss, (the University of Mississippi) in 1963
As he watched Meredith being barred from entering the
all-white university, he was mystified, though only 10
years old at the time. He wondered what was so pre­
cious about education that someone would prevent
African Americans from taking full advantage of it. He
vowed to find out why.
Mr. James talks of his love of learning, of the chai
lenge of new ideas. He remembers devouring the books
which his mother made available to him after their tele­
vision broke. He talks of dropping out of high school
during the 10th grade, but of continuing to read books
such as THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOM X and
the writings of Du Bois and of African authors. When
asked why he dropped out he replies that no one in the
school took any particular interest in him. He wasn't a
discipline problem and so, no one seemed to notice
him. As he says, "The school system is not geared to
keeping Blacks in school. Many teachers believe that
Black kids are hopeless. Particularly, if you're a disci­
pline problem, they're glad to see you go."
But even while he was out of school he never lost his
love for reading.
And he never lost self-esteem
Role Model
He always believed he could do whatever he set out to
do.
James later entered New York's Lehman College in
its Adult Degree Program. To support himself, his wife
and three children, he often worked two jobs. But he
never stopped studying. And he never failed in h.s obli­
gations to his family. As he said, "I worked seven days
a week and worked overtime when I could get it.
Sometimes I wasn't with my family on holidays, but
they were with me all the way and they understood.
He was a carpenter, then a bus driver. He studied be­
fore and after work, and even read or listened to taped
lectures between runs.
Though he loved learning, his obsession to finish
school was not only for his own benefit. He says, "The
only reason I want to teach is to give the knowledge
back to my community. And Black people need to see
that teaching is as much a profession and as important
as being a bus driver or an entrepreneur. I ve become
a role model to those who've watched my long jour­
ney.”
And long it was. Between holding down two jobs
and leaving school to work full-time, it took James 8
years, but this June he graduated from Lehman,
summa cum laude. What gives him almost as much
pleasure as his degree is watching his children follow in
his footsteps. His youngest son, 4-year-old Elliott, re­
cently completed a listing of the African countries —
all spelled correctly. His daughter, Joy, vows that she,
too, will one day attend Harvard. And his mother, a
registered nurse, now also attends Lehman College for
a degree in nursing.
At a time when the image of the Black male in this
society is constantly put down, Stephen James pro­
vides a visible role model for young and old alike.
Letters to the Editor
Genocide From Without
Concerning "Pieces of a Dream" 6/24/87. Like Black
Slaves "fastened together in the holds of Slave ships,
Black people today are fastened together in the holds of
Amerikan Racism. We are fastened together by our
history, by the myriad of oppressive events and circum­
stances with which we must constantly contend, and
by the extent to which Racism makes health a luxury
only the rich can affort or obtain. The painful truth
which we must face is that poor people are ignored,
mistreated, abused, and brutalized by the current health
care delivery system in the United States.
It is essential that we define health. Negatively,
health is a condition associated with the absence of
disease. Positively, health is that state in which the
body, the mind and the spirit function in an optimal
manner. Whether defined positively or negatively,
health for Black people today is only a minor improve­
ment over the conditions under which thirty to fifty
percent of our people died in the holds of Christian
Slave ships. To be poor in Amerika is to be handi­
capped and to be short-changed in the essentials and
necessities of health. To be poor and Black is to be
assailed by a whole range of health problems that mean
the shortening and the brutalization of Black life. Peo
pie deprived and oppressed by racism in Amerika are
less healthy than most other Amerikans. We suffer
from higher mortality rates, higher incidences of major
diseases, and lower availability and utilization of medical
services.
I'm inclined to believe the quality of life is not deter­
mined exclusively by what happens before birth; it is
equally determined by what does not happen before
birth, as early as before conception. Fastened to the
holds of Amerikan Racism and poverty. Black Mothers
at the moment of conception suffer from a host of ill
nesses which they pass on to their offsprings.
Malnutrition is perhaps the most serious of these ill­
nesses, and malnutrition has perhaps the most wide
spread damaging effects on the life of the Black Child.
Malnutrition results in two major effects upon children,
and since Black children suffer from malnutrition more
than Caucasian children, it is true that Black children
suffer more from loss of learning time and interference
with learning during the critical periods of develpment.
Annually, malnutrition destroys the minds of hundreds
of thousands of poor children, regardless of color, who
were born into the world malnourished and who remain
malnourished because they remain in poverty stricken
areas. The Roman addage that a battle is won through
the full stomachs of the soldiers should be replaced with
a more significant and relevant statement of fact: Life
is won and learning is acquired when the stomach is
full and the body is nourished. Poor children whose
lives are tragically marked by their mothers' health and
continuing malnutrition suffer from school failure, social
deprivation and early death.
Mental retardation and social dysfunctions are, in
fact, preordained by the Amerikan system of Racism
and health brutalization. Arguments about genetic
material and genetic potential are absurd in the face of
these facts. To speak only about better schools for the
masses of poor children is to overlook the necessity of
brining into existence healthy children who will remain
healthy. To ask for compensatory education for poor
children in this nation's schools is to be fooled into be­
lieving that anything compensatory can ever completely
make up for that which is basic —the presence of and
the right to health.
Now why are older unemployed Blacks having such
a hard time? Let's concentrate on the major murderer:
hypertension. This is not meant to suggest that other,
very serious, disorders are not prevalent among poor
people. With respect to race, at any age, the preva­
lence of definite hypertension is roughly twice as great
as among caucasoid people. The effect of "not making
it" financially on the unemployed poor population has
an effect on the problems with high blood pressure.
The incidence of strokes among poor people has
doubled in the last ten years.
Racism weakens and kills physically and mentally
Schizophrenia is about twice as frequent among the
unemployed poor. We must act and counter act and
build so that this brutalization comes to an end. And,
fastened together in the struggle, we must act against
the forces that would make us "obsolete" or extinct,
alternatively awaiting the inevitable — suicide or fratricide
from within, genocide from without.
Dr. Jamil Cherovee
Portland Observer
• • M HI •
The Ponlontl Oh\ervrr IU S P 3 96»68h) is published every
Thursday by Erne Publishing Company. Inc
1463 N E Killings
worth Portland Oregon 97211 Post OHice Bo» 3137 Portland
Oregon 972OH Second class postage paid at Portland Oregon
US PS WB
f rV
Ibi* /*» ‘rilund ( fh\er
i»
A ssociation
was estai Wished m 19 A)
Subscriptions $15 (X) i»e» d * •»» »he Tri < nuntv «’ h « Post
m aster Send address changes to the Portland < th \rr\ rr P O
.* K t *
si
■,»’ •»*
288 0033
H om 3137 Portland Oregon 9 Z2OR
F ounded 1885
A lfre d i Henderson. /*///<" Publisher
A I H dhum s, (ienerul \1unueer
N a tio n a l A d v ertisin g R e p re s e n ta tiv e
A m a lg a m a te d P ub lishers Ini
N e w York
Support Our Advertisers!
Say you saw it in the
Portland Observer!