WHEN WILL IT STOP?

When enough people of goodwill refuse to be intimidated by baseless accusations of racism and call out the racemongers as the evildoers who refuse to allow the wounds of bigotry, racial oppression, and segregation to heal.  I'm referring, of course, to the incessant refrain from so-called black leaders who decry as racist every public decision that doesn't cater to their special interests.

The latest example is a gang led by retired advertising executive Bob Crawford and, no surprise, Kent County Commissioner Paul Mayhue, who have vilified as bigots the Grand Rapids Board of Education for not selecting their choice, a black-owned firm, to supervise the school district's substitute teachers.  According to the Grand Rapids Press, Crawford was "absolutely appalled" by the board's decision as appearing "very racist in nature" and typical of a "white power structure [that] leaves us out of most of the governmental and business decisions in mainstream Grand Rapids".

What is actually typical of these disputes is that Crawford's charges are a calumny.  He and his group of activists offer no evidence of racism.  They simply cite the fact that the board didn't hire the black-owned firm they preferred.  Instead the board hired the same firm as seventeen other area school districts because the choice saved the taxpayers the most money.  That's it.  Zero facts to support the ugly charge of racism.  It is for this reason I cannot reasonably conclude that Crawford and Mayhue and their cohorts are acting in good faith.

I would like to think otherwise, especially because I have made common cause with Mayhue in the past on an important issue.  But accusing people of calculated bigotry is a serious matter, and I would be ashamed of myself to do so without a shred of evidence.  Could it have truly escaped the conscience of both Crawford and Mayhue that they are tarring the reputations of people without good cause?  I suspect they are so free with their strident denunciations of the Grand Rapids school board, because they don't honestly believe their own accusations and don't expect anyone of consequence to take them seriously either.  Not doubt there is also a healthy amount of end-justifying-the-means sanctimony in that mix, too.

If so, what they are doing is particularly reprehensible.

That's because, if for no other reason, Crawford, Mayhue, and company are refusing to let the wrongs of the past slip into history by stirring distrust and paranoia in the generation raised since the collapse of government-enforced segregation that is now coming into power.  They are poisoning the well of comity and exhausting the goodwill of those who have learned the lessons of the civil rights era.  I have already explained how this is so here and here, so I won't reiterate those points now.  Suffice it to say that I am not giving up on the ideal of a colorblind society and will continue to call out those who would derail us from that destination, even if that means I will be perversely labeled as bigoted or heartless or ignorant for doing so.

Comments

[Ed Hawks]

I really don't know why any black community member would support a "Black Leader". The term black leader in itself defines racism. I don't support any "White Leaders". That would put me in the same camps as the KKK or Nazi's or Skinheads. The longer these "leaders" have followings of people based on race or color the longer we will have racism. Ignore these "leaders", treat others as you would onto yourself and this for profit business of racism will become a thing of the past and we can all just become Americans.

[John Hughes]

It's tough to be caucasian and to hear these words. It's tough to be black and once again get passed over by a power structure that isn't and has never been African-American.

The writer is likely white. If you aren't black, you don't know the constant, endless, low-level racism and discrimination that you feel, everywhere. You don't realize that experiencing that, 24/7, your entire life, can make any letdown feel race-related. You talk about a color-blind society yet not walking in my shoes, you simply can't know what that's like. And when I try to have some, ANY tiny amount of influence, and am denied AGAIN, you assume that I'm trying to intimidate you or serve my "special interests". Pulease.

Perhaps my special interests are simply to have some say and to not be denied, yet again.

So before you get your skivvies in a bunch, and assume that I am not a "person of goodwill", perhaps it might be better to go meet some black folks, understand their issues, and try to resolve issues rather than spouting anti-black negativity to other white folks on a website. This us-vs.-them and their evil special interests thing is old and more importantly, ineffective.

[The Executive Director]

John,

You speak from ignorance. You know nothing of my experiences, and you clearly have not grasp the plain meaning of my words. If you don't understand how making a charge of racism without a shred of evidence is an injustice, then you are part of the problem. It is precisely because racism is a serious matter, one must not bandy about the accusation lightly.

The fact is whatever the color of the skin, the heart that beats underneath it is the same for everyone. The sting of rejection and the pain of injustice, whatever their cause, wounds us all the same. So all of us do walk in each other shoes. The human condition is universal, even if our experiences are not identical.

Regards,
Bill Tingley
The Executive Director

[The Executive Director]

Hi, Ed.

Thanks again for your comments. Always to the point and the epitome of commonsense.

Regards, Bill

[John Hughes]

Bill,

Thank you for listening to and considering my opinion. Thank you also for considering that my experience might be different from your own. And finally, THANK YOU for not just spouting off more negativity about this issue!

Your open-mindedness, empathy and lack of intellectual egotism are refreshing and go a long way toward establishing more dialogue between people of different color. You make me proud to be a GR native.

JH

[Ed Hawks]

John,
Probably not too many black people around that have not suffered from racism. I can relate though because I was am 18 year old no future white peon enlisted person serving in the Army during the 80's. I joined due to a lack of any real career or college opportunity. At that time a good 60 plus percent of the Non-Commissioned officers that I served under were black. Big difference between the civilian world and the military. THEY OWN YOUR BUTT so trust me I can relate. We had a lot of good people in the Army and lot's of aholes. They came in all colors and sizes. We just need to quit worrying about race and bring our kids up the best way we no how and teach them to judge people by the content of their character period. The rest will work itself out.

[Ames]

I was born and raised in a time where affirmative action had been in place for years, the Civil Rights movements of the 60's were nothing more than something in history books, and I went to a school with both black and white children. I also went to restaurants, movie theatres, and church with people of a different race than me, and thought nothing of it. Rarely, if ever, did anything come up that had to do with race. I find it interesting that the older people in this country and society today are the ones (with a seemingly small exception of Bill Cosby and Alan Keyes) who are still playing with the race card, and promoting racism.

Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are nothing but humorous pissants to laugh at and poke fun at; they are certainly not the "great leaders" that folks of my parents generation thought them to be.

As a person in my mid-twenties, I find it both humurous and sad that people are still bringing up and trying to play off race issues. We have had a black man and currently have a black woman in some of the highest positions in this country, and this is scoffed at. Instead of using these wonderful people as examples, they are mocked and laughed at. It seems that the only reason that people can't get out of the race factor, is because their own race is holding them back.

[The Executive Director]

John,

Thanks for the kind words. We probably agree on much more than we disagree.

Ed,

I too served in the Air Force around the same time you were in the Army. My experience was similar.

Ames,

You have made a perceptive observation. I agree that much of the pot-stirring on race is generational, as is evidenced in this most recent episode.

Regards, Bill