Civil rights movement achieved much, but must continue

Friday, February 26, 1999

RIGHTS: Equal education, opportunities needed to create level playing field

By Adrian Haymond

When interpreting the civil rights movement, many on both sides go to extremes, using hateful rhetoric and inflamed passions to demonize the opposition while wrapping their own views in shades of purity and absolute right. But there are always at least two sides to every argument.

Can we then conclude that the civil rights movement was a success? In many ways, it was; based from where we came, the marches of the '60s can be considered a triumph of the human spirit. From the depths of intimidation, segregation, dehumanization and humiliation, African Americans rose to claim their place in many areas of society.

No longer are we restricted by Jim Crow laws, systematically hunted down like dogs and exterminated, portrayed with blackface as shuffling, bumbling buffoons, or forced to take menial jobs as "befitting our station."

We have gained political power and representation, and both major parties court our votes. We can go anywhere, do anything and say what we want without undue fear of unjust reprisals.

A growing class of African American professionals and heroes form role models for young people of all races to emulate, from Arthur Ashe to Colin Powell, from Maya Angelou to Julian Dixon.

In the vast majority of cases, we can attend church without the threat of cowardly thugs in white hoods; we can rail against injustice without the specter of the rope, and expect proper intervention from law enforcement when criminals threaten us. Many African American conservatives, such as House Representative J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and Regent Ward Connerly insist that we as a people have achieved equal rights in every aspect, and, to a degree, they're right.

To many African Americans, the civil rights movement remains unfinished, and I must agree. Schools in inner-city areas remain substandard, with inadequate resources and uncaring instructors - leading to very few viable candidates for college.

Economic opportunities are few and far between; without adequate transportation to commute, many feel trapped in low-income work.

Incidents such as the James Byrd murder remind us that some people still consider us as less than human; people don't even drag dogs behind their cars or trucks. White-collar and high-tech jobs for people of color are still of dismally low proportion.

In many areas, African American students are still being steered away from technical majors to manufacturing or vocational jobs which tend to pay lower and are being steadily phased out.

An unacceptable number of our men have entered into the penal system - permanently scarred with the designation of "felon" or "ex-con," while others choose the drug or gang culture as their only reasonable way out of a dreary landscape.

The question is asked: "Why?" The most obvious answer is that African American parents are not training their children, we consistently make bad choices, we whine about the elimination of our "entitlements" (including welfare and affirmative action), "gangsta" rap destroys our moral compass, and we don't take responsibility for our actions. In some cases, this can be true (as with any group). But the majority of African Americans are hard-working, intelligent, ambitious and creative.

When children consistently see African Americans on television and in movies portrayed as pimping, drug-selling, Uzi-pumping, baby-dropping, shiftless and conniving psychopaths, it influences their thinking of real persons (whether the viewers are African American or white). Who's going to take a chance of getting shot in the "'hood" trying to help ungrateful people?

When other criminals consistently receive lighter sentences than African Americans and Latinos, can we expect citizens to respect the courts? Such a situation only makes sense if you believe the book "The Bell Curve," which seems to prove that minorities are naturally more violent and stupid.

When African Americans are pulled over, humiliated, handcuffed, strip-searched "in the course of duty" by the police, there could be a greater tendency to see "conspiracy" and "incompetence" (as in the O.J. Simpson case) in the thoughts of African American jurors than others.

When the "suspect" (who could be a businessman, a member of the clergy, or just an unassuming citizen) sees nothing similar done to other groups, that person must wonder.

In the spirit of "getting the most compatible group" to work together, employers can obtain (or maintain) status quo (or "good ol' boy" networks) which block advancement by capable and willing minorities.

Education is the key component in equipping the young for skills needed tomorrow, and in changing romantic, yet damaging notions of yesteryear. Since most neighborhood schools cater to those who can't afford to purchase food and equipment for children, funding must target young people for achievement (without bureaucratic waste or redundant and useless programs).

"Band-aid" practices, such as ebonics, passing students along, steering kids to less-demanding vocations, must be thrown away. In the meantime, affirmative action should be reinstated, but applied correctly (high admissions and employment standards, race not a sole determining factor), phasing out gradually as the effects are felt.

Television shows can portray minorities in a variety of roles, both good and bad. Instead of sensationalizing crime, news stories can feature achievements of people from all races and all neighborhoods.

Outreach programs should concentrate on giving kids hope of escaping the cycle of violence, drugs and unsafe sex that trapped their parents in hopelessness. Social and psychological barriers in hiring practices must be lifted; competency must be the only criteria.

Extensive training programs that allow willing people to obtain marketable skills, which can attract businesses to previously blighted areas, are necessary. Officials and private citizens must prosecute civil rights abuses.

Finally, we as a society must look hard at the fairness of the playing field. How can a historically impoverished people expect to attain the same achievement as others without proper preparation or compensation for sorely lacking skills?

Yes, we know life is unfair, but America is supposed to be a country where we pursue "fairness." We make laws minimizing unfair advantages in industry, which stimulates the growth of new businesses and promotes fair competition; why should we not also create civil rights laws that minimize unfair advantages in society? Black people are not looking for handouts, entitlements or welfare checks - most of us do not expect anyone to pay for 200-300 years of slavery and 100 years of Jim Crow laws.

We don't come to take what's not rightfully ours, and we want to be graded on our own merits - if we're not qualified, don't hire us! But we cannot assume that the field of competition is level; too many signs in employment practices ("compatibility" tests, networks, personal bias), school districts (little guidance, steering students, inadequate funding), and government programs (political expediency) point to the opposite conclusion. When this happens, that's when the civil rights movement will have run its full course.Black History Month

Haymond is a senior budget analyst at the College of Letters & Science.

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