Posted on 11/20/2002 10:05:47 AM PST by Temple Owl
A lesson from Condoleezza Rice
By Derrick Z. Jackson, 11/20/2002
WASHINGTON
CONDOLEEZZA RICE was reminded of her decision to become a Republican after the 1984 Democratic National Convention. She said the Democratic Party's speeches to ''women, minorities, and the poor'' really meant ''helpless people and the poor.'' In a profile in The Washington Post, Rice said, ''I decided I'd rather be ignored than patronized.''
The national security adviser to President Bush was asked if she thinks the Democratic Party still patronizes ''women, minorities, and the poor.'' Laughing, she declined to answer the specific question last week before the Trotter Group, an organization of African-American columnists. But her answer was as riveting as if she had actually gone on to trash the Democrats.
''The fact of the matter is, race matters in America,'' Rice said. ''It has, it always has ... It is not that I mind being associated with the group. I am African-American and proud of it. I wouldn't have it any other way. And it has shaped who I am and it will continue to shape who I am.
''I do not believe it has limited who I am or what I can become. And that's because I had parents who, while telling me what it meant to be African-American and exposing me to that, also allowed me to develop as an individual to be who I wanted to be.''
Rice said the 1963 church bombing in Birmingham that killed four girls, including friend Denise McNair, shaped her views on the war on terrorism. ''If you've been through home-grown terrorism,'' Rice said, ''you recognize there isn't any cause that can be served by it ... Because what it's meant to do is end the conversation.''
In profiles, Rice talks about being hollered at as a child by a white store clerk for touching a hat. Rice's mother told the clerk ''Don't you talk to my daughter that way!'' Her mother then said, ''Now, Condoleezza, you go and touch every hat in this store.''
That reminded me of around 1965 when I was about 10. I bought comic books and ice cream in a drug store in DeKalb, Miss. Later, my grandfather informed me that was the ''white folks'' drug store. He could have berated me for breaking white folks' rules. Instead, he smiled and said, ''Good.''
For me, not accepting racial barriers would mean going on to little things like being on the first integrated child championship bowling team at a particular alley in Milwaukee, then bigger things like sportswriting when there were few African-Americans covering pro teams for major newspapers.
For Rice, it meant parents who ''didn't say to me, `You know, it's really weird for a black girl from Birmingham, Ala., to want to be a Soviet specialist.''' Rice said that she liked Motown, the blues, and funk music like most of her friends, but her parents drove her to learn Brahms. Rice has often said bluntly that she had to master the white world better than a whole lot of white people to succeed.
''Sometimes when we say to our kids, `You are a minority,' we don't say it in a way that says it is part of who you are, we say it as if it's an impediment that cannot be overcome by hard work and access to education and all of those things,'' Rice said. ''And I just think the messages are wrong when there is only focus on what group you happen to belong to, rather than the group is part of who you are, but also, who you are is who you are as an individual.
''We don't talk about it very much, but, yes ... it is a very good thing for the rest of the world that when Colin Powell and I walk in with the president of the United States, we are there as secretary of state and national security adviser, because I think it says to people that there aren't boundaries in which black Americans are not supposed to play ... I think it's an extremely important message to our kids. That's why I talk so much about the individual. It's not to deny the group, but I really think it's important that we appeal to each individual's worth and capability.''
Such reflections do not make Rice's political views and America's global arrogance any more appealing to me. But those who dismiss her as a hotheaded cold war queen miss a chance to dwell on her focus and drive. Unlike many black conservatives who shout louder than white ''color-blind'' conservatives that race no longer matters, Rice has no problem saying race matters, and since it is so, black folks had better work to get the most out of their individual talents.
In a Newsweek interview last year, Rice said, ''It wasn't as if someone said, `You have to be twice as good' and `isn't that a pity' or `isn't that wrong.' It was just, `You have to be twice as good.''' One does not have to like Rice's politics to appreciate how being twice as good has made her the most powerful woman in the world.
She is also bright and beautiful and probably destined to be the America's first woman president. She's got my vote.
''We don't talk about it very much, but, yes ... it is a very good thing for the rest of the world that when Colin Powell and I walk in with the president of the United States, we are there as secretary of state and national security adviser, because I think it says to people that there aren't boundaries in which black Americans are not supposed to play
When African-Americans walked in with Clinton they were usually there as representatives of a constituent group getting some boon from the government ... takers not givers ... subservient clients not respected equals and contributors.
When I think of Dr. Rice I see no color, only a shining soul. I sincerely hope she continues to rise to the top.
YES, and the stepping stone for that is Barbara Boxer's Seneate seat in California!
Based on my experience, I don't buy the twice as good stuff. Being intelligent, hard working and good looking gives her advantages that are absolutely not available to everyone.
Very true. All the "blame America" idiots should stop trying to figure out what we did to piss off the terrorists, and recognize this fact.
I can only hope
There weren't ''white folks'' drug store in 1965 because they were outlawed by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
BTW - I like fairy tales also.
And, like a ray of light, suddenly the color barriers came down, and all was right with the world. And there remained no bigots in the deep south, who would dare keep a colored person from a store.
BTW - I like fairy tales also.
Me, I like modifiers. Modifiers like 'about' and 'around'.
I'm white, a conservative, and can care less about race. I care about ability. If you throw your race up in my face, that is an indication that you, not I, have a problem with race.
Oh wait I remember now, Black crusty stinking pants suit herself, Crusty Klinton
What a strong concept. While the left professes to be intellectual, this is beyond their understanding. Condi has my vote - no doubt!!
Right this second there are plenty of establishments that one would be advised to stay the hell out of, unless one is the proper color. Some black, some white, some hispanic, etc...
Failure to do so can lead to 'extra-judicial' action.
Just to pile on: and there are no guns in D.C. because they are outlawed.
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