Race: Can We Talk?

2 years ago

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In 2000, I spent close to six months in Houston, Texas, observing the relationship among three businessmen – a white, a black and a Latino -- for a project on race relations. My article was part of a New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning series that showed, in essence, that a racial divide, prejudices, misconceptions and even hatreds are not limited to stereotypical "rednecks."

What was obvious was that racist attitudes are part of the fabric of this country -- even if we don't acknowledge them in polite conversation.

That is why I find the shocking behavior we have been witnessing at town hall meetings, on cable television, even in the chambers of Congress, to be a healthy development. I certainly can do without the ugliness, and I do worry about violence given the history of our country, but it is about time we started confronting racism in public discourse.

I could not believe my eyes recently when I read: "Some people just can't believe a black man is president and will never accept it." The statement came from columnist Maureen Dowd, for whom topics of race are not the norm. She went on to write:

"Surrounded by middle-aged white guys – a sepia snapshot of the days when such pols ran Washington like their own men's club – Joe Wilson yelled "You lie!" at a president who didn't. But fair, or not, what I heard was an unspoken word in the air: You lie, boy! ... Wilson clearly did not like being lectured and even rebuked by the brainy black president presiding over the majestic chamber."

Then she quoted Congressman Jim Clyburn of South Carolina: "A lot of these outbursts have to do with delegitimizing him as a president."

My friend Tammerlin Drummond, a columnist for the Contra Costa Times, wrote: "After apologizing, Wilson boasted that he'd received hundreds of calls from his home state of South Carolina that were "overwhelmingly supportive."

"Overwhelmingly supportive of what exactly," she asked, hitting, it seemed to me, the nail on the head.

Many people, of course, are shell-shocked by events such as the brouhaha over whether President Obama was born in this country; people showing up with firearms at presidential appearances; the disrespect evident in Joe Wilson's outburst. What is going on, the sane may ask.

President Jimmy Carter answered that question succinctly from Atlanta: "I think it's based on racism," he responded to a question at a public event at his presidential center. "There is an inherent feeling among many in this country that an African-American should not be president."

Yes, it is unsettling to hear that, but it is refreshing that the answers are coming out as fast as the questions.

Now, let the intelligent discussions begin.

Filed Under: Race Issues, Woman Up

Tagged: barack obama, BarackObama, jimmy carter, JimmyCarter, joe wilson, JoeWilson, race, racism

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