Page A4
August 29,2001
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Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views
o/xriic^lnrtlanh (Obscruer
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Observer Till Race Do Us Part
Looking fo r a GREA T learning
environment fo r your child?
in L v i » i V K. B u is
No m atter w hat side o f the fence or the
w hen w e say we understand his frustra­
tions?
river y o u 're on, racism is an inescapable
Either what he did w as w rong or it w asn’t.
reality. W e can display the outw ard ap ­
And, w hat appears to have disenchanted
pearances o f propriety in the w orkplace.
We can tell ourselves that race d o e sn 't
many o f o u r w hite brethren is w hat seem s to
be our double standard o f justice. It’s im ­
m atter w hen we get hom e. We can even
portant for me to note that I d o n 't know of
believe that the E m ancipation P roclam a­
anyone that d o esn ’t believe that his state­
tion o f 1863 freed the slaves and that the
m ents w ere w rong and that the first apology
Civil R ights A ct o f 1964 and 1965 m ade all
(if that ’s w hat you can call i t ) w as weak. We
black folks equal.
know that his com m ents w ere not ju st hurt­
But h ere’s what people aren ’t getting
ful to the Jew ish com m unity, but to all
about racism : R acism is about how you
com m unities as a w hole, and we too w ish he
treat people and why. And the difference in
had never gotten into it w ith M arc Abrams.
the racism o f yester-year and today is that
But w e also recognize that injustice and
m uch o f it com es from fear and ignorance
bigotry has becom e the fram ew ork for and
rather than m alice.
o f A frican-A m erican life: physically, physi­
W hat so m any d o n ’t realize about rac­
ism is how it m akes you feel: You feel
ologically and socially.
O ur daily frustrations com e from living in
tolerated rather than appreciated; y o u 're
w hat is tantam ount to life in a pressure
follow ed in stores, rather than being served;
cooker. Filled w ith double standards, mired
you ’ re pulled over for driving w hile black;
in illogical thinking, on-going requests for
you have derogatory w ords painted on
your hom e; th e re ’s no equal opportunity in
patience, to be happy w ith w hat progress
has been m ade, w hile
jo b advancem ent, and
----------------------- m any o f our concerns
alm ost 50 years after h ---------------------------
go invalidated; It is a
‘w in n in g ’ B row n vs. \
T he B oard o f E duca­
frustration that is gen ­
There’s an essential
erational. It is a frustra­
tion, w e’re still fighting
dialogue that must
tion that stem s from our
to correct years o f in fe­
legacy. It is a frustra­
rior education to g en ­
take place among
tion that seem s to have
erations o f our children.
all o f us and it
no end in sight. Pile all
People w ho h av en ’t
starts between
th at up and you are
felt racism c a n ’t co m ­
bound to have an angry
prehend how dehum an­
two people...It's
o u tb u rst. T his is the
izing and painful it is.
about relationships,
frustration w e u n d er­
Y ou c o u ld n 't, unless
stand and we aren ’t all
y o u 'v e experienced it,
not color.
V quick to ju m p on the
and in this state, this
----------------- ■
b an d w ag o n that gets
country you m ost likely ------------------------
h aven’t experienced it
rid o f y e t a n o th e r
brother. W e w ould rather discipline than
if you are w hite. Sim ply put: although we
live in the sam e com m unities, w ork in the
destroy.
same places, patronize the same businesses,
T h ere's an essential dialogue that m ust
take place am ong all o f us, and it starts
are served by the sam e school district and
governm ent officials, o u r experience and
betw een tw o people. But candid, honest
dialogue c a n ’t happen if y o u 're w alking on
our reality differs from that o f our w hite
eggshells; It’s about relationships, not color.
counterparts. T his is not ju st our global
history, but local current events in the 9 0 ’s
This is a huge undertaking that requires
and into the new m illennium .
c o m p a ssio n a te u n d e rsta n d in g , c o n s is ­
tency, com m itm ent and follow -thru. W e all
C onsidering the ethnic tensions that
have a responsibility in dealing w ith bias.
have becom e apparent over the last m onth,
R eader response indicates th e re’s an
it’s im portant to seize this opportunity to
overall desire to create m utual understand­
do m ore than m ake nice. Som e questions
ing. Is it possible that this issue is w orthy o f
that I’ve been asked a lot lately are: W hy
further pursuit? I know this to be a neces­
isn’t the A frican-A m erican com m unity as a
sary endeavor w orthy o f further pursuit.
w hole, asking for and dem anding a D erry
Jackson resignation? W'hat do w e m ean
but is it possible?
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