Posted on 11/22/2002 7:25:25 PM PST by where's_the_Outrage?
NASHINGTO- Teddy Roosevelt, sitting proudly on his oil-W painted horse in the White House room with his name, must have been horrified at Dr. Condoleezza Rice.
As President Bush's national security advisor, she should have known better. She wasn't supposed to say that. Not in a White House peopled with conservative Republicans. Not to a group of black columnists representing major newspapers from around the country.
Not in the Roosevelt Room.
''Race matters in America,'' Rice said. ''It has, it always has. Maybe there will be a day when it doesn't, but I suspect that it will for a long time to come.''
For the record, Rice didn't stutter or backtrack at the end of her interview with the Trotter Group. Instead, she did something that black conservatives aren't known for: She publicly acknowledged the reality and validity of the race question.
Now before you right-wingers get your boxers in a bunch, take a breath. She didn't go Al Sharpton on us, pledging to support reparations. She didn't say that Bush would apologize for the U.S. government's role in the slave trade.
But Rice did increase her credibility with us by affirming her place in the continuing cultural and political struggle that black people in the United States are engaged in - and she did it on her own terms.
Black conservatives, take note: It's OK to admit that race is still a problem in this country. You don't have to sink into denial. The sky won't fall down. The ground won't swallow you up.
It doesn't mean that you have to join Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition, take Congresswoman Maxine Waters to lunch or join the NAACP.
It's safe to take your heads out of the sand and face the truth: While the United States has made tremendous progress on race, it still has a long way to go.
The December 2002/January 2003 edition of Savoy magazine has an extensive article on a class-action discrimination lawsuit that has been filed against Xerox. The plaintiffs contend that sales territories are segregated, promotions are race-based and harassment can take the form of hanging nooses being displayed in some Xerox facilities.
Xerox denies any discrimination, but there is plenty of reason to doubt its denial. According to Savoy writer Marjorie Whigham-Desir, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission dismisses about 80 percent of the complaints lodged by citizens against employers believed to be discriminatory. But Whigham-Desir reported that the EEOC has affirmed the group and individual complaints against Xerox, finding that ''reasonable cause exists to believe'' the charges that the plaintiffs have made.
And in case you Bill Clinton-haters out there are wondering, this is the 2002 Bush EEOC, not that old, tired Clinton-era model.
So maybe Rice isn't alone in the Bush White House. Maybe the GOP is slowing veering away from the Republican Party of 1964, which dealt a fatal blow to race relations during the GOP Convention led by Sen. Barry Goldwater's Cow Palace Republicans in San Francisco. These Republicans were so hostile toward blacks that Hall-of-Famer and convention attendee Jackie Robinson said: ''I now believe I know how it felt to be a Jew in Hitler's Germany.''
At least we can take comfort in knowing that the Bush administration, whatever it's other faults may be, doesn't buy into the lies that have blocked qualified blacks from serving at the highest levels of government. Certainly, it's a good sign that Rice and Secretary of State Colin Powell hold two of the top four slots in the Bush White House, a point not lost on Rice.
''I think it says to people that there aren't boundaries in which black Americans are not supposed to play,'' she said. ''I think that's an extremely important message to the rest of the world.
''I am African American and proud of it,'' Rice said later. ''I wouldn't have it any other way. I do not believe that it has limited who I am or what I can become.''
Conservative or not, I can respect that. And frankly, it's easier to respect people with whom you disagree when you know you share an appreciation for your common experiences. And so under Teddy Roosevelt's watchful, if skeptical gaze, Condoleezza Rice - a fan of Motown, Clarence ''Gatemouth'' Brown and Kool and the Gang as well as Brahms - gave and gained a lot of respect last week.
David Person's column appears each Friday on the Commentary page. E-mail: davidpe@htimes.com; phone 532-4362.
No? The blacks obviously feel more comfortable amongst their own company - as does every other ethnic group - else there wouldn't have been all these requests for separateness from the University. Why, before you know it, they'll be asking for their own WATER FOUNTAIN.
Race matters, it matters because every day people are murdered because of the color of their skin. When blacks stop murdering whites disproportionately, then we can sit down and work on issues like service at restaurants.
Talk about priorities.
If you knew a certain brand of car was 11 times more likely to kill you, would you drive in it if you had ANY other options?
I suppose the DOJ is racist.
Ms. Rice is a smart person. She is likely amused by the "controversy".
I agree. But most prefer not to bring the wrath of the PC Gestapo, so they lie or keep their opinions to themselves. Would I be happy to see my daughter date a Negro? I'd give you an honest answer but I prefer to keep my posting privileges on this forum.
Of course it does. While they can be no doubt of her intelligence or abilities,there can also be no doubt that her race is worth "bonus points". We are all just lucky that in this case it is incidental.
It is a equally valid question to ask YOU if you have a problem remaining in a majority-black neighborhood.
I agree. There are rumors out there about her possibly running for Governor of California in the future,and speaking obvious truths like this can't hurt her any during the election. Anything else would make her look like a fool.
Personally,I can't wait to watch and listen to her debate any Dim candidate they run against her. I'd rather see her run against Boxer for that Senate seat,but I see her as almost a slam-dunk for the state house. Who could they possibly run against her?
The most important civil rights issue during the 1920s and 1930s was the lynching of blacks that was taking place in the South. Particuarly targeted were blacks who had proudly served our country World War I. Republicans and some Democrats sought to stop these lynchings with a federal anti-lynching law. The Republicans anti-lynching efforts constituted an official part of the Republican platform which was supported by Republican Presidents such as Harding and Coolidge. The party that blocked these anti-lynching efforts was the Democrat Party which was able to successfully kill anti-lynching bill after anti-lynching bill in the Senate. In fact, the Costigan-Wagner Anti-Lynching Bill might have passed in 1935 but FDR refused to support it for fear that he would alienate his Southern New Deal supporters.
Another important civil rights issue during the 1930s was anti-poll tax legislation. You might be interested to note that FDR also opposed this legislation. His reason? Once again, he didn't want to alienate Southern Democrats in the House and Senate
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