When it was recently reported by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver that black superdelegates are being pressured and intimidated through nasty letters, phone calls, threats, and being called an Uncle Tom if they didn't switch their support from Sen. Hillary Clinton to Sen. Barack Obama, I almost wept.
This is definitely what it means to carry racial pride to the extreme and it goes against all that Martin Luther King advocated in his I Have A Dream Speech given the 28 of August 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. when he said:
"I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truth to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood...I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character...little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers."
How Martin Luther King must have wept with joy when he looked down from heaven and saw Rep. John and Sen. Hillary Clinton marching arm in arm and when he saw Ohio Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs-Jones and Sen. Hillary Clinton working together on issues--seeing his dream becoming a reality. Common causes, not skin color, motivated them.
How Martin Luther King's joyous tears must now be turning to painful tears as they have for many of us of all skin colors as we have witnessed the blatant racial sentiment and behavior of Blacks intimidating other Blacks to base decisions and support for a presidential candidate on skin color rather than on common goals and ideals.
Will we ever learn?
Monday, March 3, 2008
It's NOT All Or Nothing (cont.)
An article Multiculturalism E Pluribus Plures by Diane Ravitch written in 2001 put into words some of the feelings I have been having. She makes the following points:
Point #1: Thanks to social historians like Stephan Thernstrom, Mary Beth Norton, Gary Nash, Winthrop Jordan, and Leon Litwack today's history textbooks incorporate the experiences of women, blacks, American Indians, and various immigrants which reflects a broadened warts-and-all historical understanding of race, ethnicity, and class in the American past. Not only do these textbooks acknowledge the struggles for equality by minorities but also identifies who achieved success becoming political leaders, doctors, scientists, lawyers, scholars, and teachers.
Point #2: A study of a warts-and-all world and American history should inspire humility in all of us as this study will reveal that all racial groups have been guilty of committing terrible crimes, often against others in the same group--Man's inhumanity to man. It will become apparent how absurd both racial hatred and racial chauvinism are.
Point #3: Cultural pluralism is generally recognized as something that is part of this society and that differences among groups is a national resource rather than a problem to be solved. The unique feature of the United States is that its common culture is multicultural.
Point #4: A close examination of American history shows that rather than ethnic tensions tearing us apart as they have in other countries different groups in America while they have competed, fought, and suffered, they ultimately learned to live together in relative peace and harmony and achieved a sense of common nationhood.
Point #5: "Almost any idea, carried to its extreme, can be made pernicious," including multiculturalism.
Point #6: Celebrating Black History Month, Women's History Month, and other ethnic groups when all learn about the achievements of these different groups are a reminder that neither race nor gender needs to be an insurmountable obstacle to high achievement. It can also be a reminder to children of all racial and ethnic backgrounds that they are part of this country and that they, too, should develop their minds and talents to the fullest. It's also important to remember that all children (and adults!) , whatever their skin color, can be inspired by the lives of people of all skin colors, males and females, who exhibited courage, persistence, and intellect. Yet, it also important to understand that although we can be inspired by others of all skin colors, self-esteem and self-confidence come from reaching a goal through one's own efforts.
Point #7: American education is centered on Americentric rather than Eurocentric--and Americentric includes every culture that makes up America.
Point #8: Public schools exist to teach children the general skills and knowledge that they need to succeed in American society and to be contributing members of society to create a national community that is both expansive and inclusive.
Point #9: "Pluralism is a positive value, but it is also important that we preserve a sense of an American community--a society and culture to which we all belong."
Point #1: Thanks to social historians like Stephan Thernstrom, Mary Beth Norton, Gary Nash, Winthrop Jordan, and Leon Litwack today's history textbooks incorporate the experiences of women, blacks, American Indians, and various immigrants which reflects a broadened warts-and-all historical understanding of race, ethnicity, and class in the American past. Not only do these textbooks acknowledge the struggles for equality by minorities but also identifies who achieved success becoming political leaders, doctors, scientists, lawyers, scholars, and teachers.
Point #2: A study of a warts-and-all world and American history should inspire humility in all of us as this study will reveal that all racial groups have been guilty of committing terrible crimes, often against others in the same group--Man's inhumanity to man. It will become apparent how absurd both racial hatred and racial chauvinism are.
Point #3: Cultural pluralism is generally recognized as something that is part of this society and that differences among groups is a national resource rather than a problem to be solved. The unique feature of the United States is that its common culture is multicultural.
Point #4: A close examination of American history shows that rather than ethnic tensions tearing us apart as they have in other countries different groups in America while they have competed, fought, and suffered, they ultimately learned to live together in relative peace and harmony and achieved a sense of common nationhood.
Point #5: "Almost any idea, carried to its extreme, can be made pernicious," including multiculturalism.
Point #6: Celebrating Black History Month, Women's History Month, and other ethnic groups when all learn about the achievements of these different groups are a reminder that neither race nor gender needs to be an insurmountable obstacle to high achievement. It can also be a reminder to children of all racial and ethnic backgrounds that they are part of this country and that they, too, should develop their minds and talents to the fullest. It's also important to remember that all children (and adults!) , whatever their skin color, can be inspired by the lives of people of all skin colors, males and females, who exhibited courage, persistence, and intellect. Yet, it also important to understand that although we can be inspired by others of all skin colors, self-esteem and self-confidence come from reaching a goal through one's own efforts.
Point #7: American education is centered on Americentric rather than Eurocentric--and Americentric includes every culture that makes up America.
Point #8: Public schools exist to teach children the general skills and knowledge that they need to succeed in American society and to be contributing members of society to create a national community that is both expansive and inclusive.
Point #9: "Pluralism is a positive value, but it is also important that we preserve a sense of an American community--a society and culture to which we all belong."
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