Posted on 03/21/2004 3:29:54 PM PST by writer33
When black law students at Gonzaga University became the target of racist letters for three consecutive years, the community took action.
Through rallies, newspaper columns and frank conversations about race, ordinary citizens in Spokane and the Inland Northwest sent a resounding message: "Hate will not be tolerated here."
Nearly a decade after that first wake-up call, the region has reasons to celebrate: the Aryan Nations compound near Hayden Lake has been razed; hate crime incidents reported to the city of Spokane have decreased to seven last year compared with 33 in 1998; groups that work for civil and human rights, such as the NAACP, AHANA and the Gonzaga Institute for Action Against Hate, have become more prominent in the community.
Yet in the absence of a white supremacist compound and other blatant forms of discrimination, it's easy to become complacent, some say. Gone are the rally cries and impassioned speeches. The fight against hate no longer feels as immediate or clear-cut.
"We're still conditioned to think that no news is good news," said Raymond Reyes, associate vice president for diversity at Gonzaga University. "If we don't hear of hateful things going on, we assume that everything is OK."
But everything is not OK, he said. Discrimination in the Inland Northwest has taken on more subtle forms, but it is as prevalent as ever.
"If anyone really digs deep enough, they can find (discrimination) on a regular basis," said Bob Bartlett, Gonzaga's director for multicultural education.
"It's not fixed. It's not over. There is much work still to be done."
As the community prepares for another Congress on Race Relations -- an annual event that began in response to the unsolved hate crimes at Gonzaga -- people are looking for ways to rejuvenate themselves and learn new approaches to combat hate.
Working for equality and diversity hasn't always been easy for those involved. Many activists suffer burnout, said Robert Lloyd, former publisher of the now-defunct newspaper, the African American Voice.
"I've been there and I've done that, and I've done all I can do," said Lloyd, an art professor at Eastern Washington University who has kept a lower profile since his newspaper published its last issue in December 2000. "It's a long fight, a long, difficult fight."
Even some organizations have fallen by the wayside. Last year, the Northwest Coalition for Human Dignity, which was founded in 1987 by the late human rights champion Bill Wassmuth, suffered a financial crisis and ceased operating.
The Spokane Human Rights Commission, a 15-member volunteer board designed to serve as a human rights adviser to the community, currently has three vacancies. Its members still are working on its goals of a living-wage ordinance and attaining domestic partnership benefits for city employees, but the organization has lost momentum.
"As a group, we see ourselves as a conscience for the community," said Brad Read, chairman of the Spokane Human Rights Commission. It's tough to get things done, he said, but it's important to keep the commission alive.
Like the region's human rights movement, the annual congress on race relations also has undergone a transformation.
In the past, the event featured food, dancing and opportunities to "celebrate diversity," organizers said. Those components still exist, but this year's congress will focus on practical methods to help improve people's relationships with one another, said Vince Lemus, vice president of the Spokane Task Force on Race Relations and the Equal Employment Opportunity officer for the city of Spokane. For example, speakers at Wednesday's event will discuss theories on emotional intelligence and how it relates to diversity.
The new approach also reflects how far the community has come in terms of understanding and accepting diversity, said Ben Cabildo, one of the founding members of the 1996 task force on race relations and executive director of AHANA, a nonprofit organization focused on recruiting and helping minority-owned businesses in the area.
"We have really moved forward," said Cabildo, who was recently appointed to the state's Human Rights Commission. "We have not eradicated hate crimes or discrimination, but we have established the infrastructure to deal with those problems."
Instead of just offering "warm and fuzzy" diversity events, activists are focusing on economic and social issues that affect the community. In other words, it's not enough to simply fight hate, activists say; the goal is to work together for justice.
"We have to get to the heart of things," Reyes said. Phase one was simply celebrating differences while acknowledging people's commonalities, he said. The next step was sharing stories and experiences to get a better understanding of different experiences. Now, the congress has reached a point where people want to learn "how to walk the talk, how to improve their ability to make relationships so they can improve the quality of life for everyone."
Despite the continued efforts to boost diversity here, the Inland Northwest is still predominantly white. Latest figures from the U.S. Census show that although the area's Hispanic and Asian populations are on the rise, almost 92 percent of Spokane County's population is Caucasian. North Idaho remains one of the state's least diverse regions -- Kootenai County has a minority population of only 4 percent, according to the 2000 census.
To ensure that diversity remains a priority for Spokane and the entire region, activists in the area have created numerous events and workshops, in addition to the annual congress.
This weekend, Gonzaga's Institute for Action Against Hate hosted a ground-breaking conference to establish the academic field of "hate studies." The institute invited the Southern Poverty Law Center's Morris Dees, whose lawsuit bankrupted the Aryan Nations, Ken Stern of the American Jewish Committee and other experts to discuss what an interdisciplinary field in hate studies could look like.
To fight discrimination, the institute wants to focus on "the ingredients of hate," Bartlett said, "to understand why people hate in the first place."
Like germs that mutate and take on other forms to create new diseases, hate groups in the region and throughout the country have simply morphed into something different, Bartlett and others said. These groups have also called less attention to themselves by removing "white supremacist" from their names or titles. "People have become more savvy in how they promote their message of hate," he said.
The white supremacist compound in Hayden Lake may no longer exist, but there are still people out there willing to discriminate and harm others based on skin color, religion, sexual orientation and other reasons, Lemus said.
"You don't have to show up at work with a white hood to send your hate beliefs," he said. Extremists "can better blend into their surroundings and are more effective acting alone or in small cells."
Despite the absence of an obvious threat like the Aryan Nations and the current lull in the region's human rights arena, people still are talking about the issues and prepared to take action, former Spokane Mayor Sheri Barnard said.
As an activist for many years, even after she left office, Barnard believes the region is full of people who are making a difference in quiet ways. "We continue to hope and work for change," said Barnard, a member of the race relations task force's board of directors.
Working for civil and human rights in the region can bring people down, especially because change often happens slowly. To address that issue, the annual congress also has become a source of rejuvenation for participants, said Reyes, a member of the race relations task force's board of directors.
Is it preaching to the choir? Certainly, he said, but the choir can always use a regular tuneup. Like a family reunion, the annual congress and other events provide people with opportunities to come together, learn new skills and support one another for the long haul.
"The challenge of race and human difference is an ongoing challenge," Reyes said. "It's a journey, not a destination."
I have no idea what they're talking about, but it isn't happening in Spokane.
"Many activists suffer burnout, said Robert Lloyd, former publisher of the now-defunct newspaper, the African American Voice."
You want to know why this is defunct? Because they're is no need for it anymore. People have moved on all by themselves. They don't need programs to tell them discrimination is wrong. That's why the paper is defunct.
"You don't have to show up at work with a white hood to send your hate beliefs," he said. Extremists "can better blend into their surroundings and are more effective acting alone or in small cells."
This is just idiocy in action. The reason its getting smaller, moron, is that large groups of people don't believe this anymore.
"The challenge of race and human difference is an ongoing challenge," Reyes said. "It's a journey, not a destination."
This all but says there is never a solution. They keep going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going and going.... Well, you get the picture. Enough is never enough anymore.
Yes. They are called Liberals.
Which is why so many of these activists manufacture "hate crimes" to energize their followers and get media attention.
The Watchbird Solution.
Like that west coast cell led by extremists Jim McDermott, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell? If so, I'd have to agree.
Am I the only one that wants to beat my head against the wall when I read that?
Oh sure... and if you look really deep, you can find discrimination in your breakfast cereal.
How come all the milk they sell in stores is white, unless it's chocolate? How come there isn't any black breakfast cereal out there?
Gad this makes me tired.
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