Who are the Racial Cowards?

A sign at Emory University in Georgia ....

The following are excerpts from a February 18, 2009 address made by Eric Holder ~ Attorney General of the United States in commemoration of Black History Month . Thereafter follows commentary in line with Mr. Holders desire to "talk" about race.

....."Every year, in February, we attempt to recognize and to appreciate black history. It is a worthwhile endeavor for the contributions of African Americans to this great nation are numerous and significant."

...."Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards...."

... "....we, as average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race

.... "And yet, if we are to make progress in this area we must feel comfortable enough with one another, and tolerant enough of each other, to have frank conversations about the racial matters that continue to divide us."

..."And so I would suggest that we use February of every year to not only commemorate black history but also to foster a period of dialogue among the races. "

..."We know, by “American instinct” and by learned behavior, that certain subjects are off limits and that to explore them risks, at best embarrassment, and, at worst, the questioning of one’s character."

..."it is hard for me to accept that the result of those efforts was to create an America that is more prosperous, more positively race conscious and yet is voluntarily socially segregated."

..."Imagine if you will situations where people- regardless of their skin color- could confront racial issues freely and without fear."

.."The potential of this country, that is becoming increasingly diverse, would be greatly enhanced.."

..."Black history is extremely important because it is American history."

..."For too long we have been too willing to segregate the study of black history. "

..."Some may consider me to be a part of black history. But we do a great disservice to the concept of black history recognition if we fail to understand that any success that I have had, cannot be viewed in isolation."

..."I stood, and stand, on the shoulders of many other black Americans. "

Commentary

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Hummmm ....... Concerning the true racism in this country I could not have said it better myself than this sign is doing. So then, Mr, Holder, let's then indeed have one of those frank discussions about race that you are so desirous of having.

First of all, you make a point that you are Black. That very thing is racist, as YOU yourself are making a distinction founded on race! How is it, I ask, that you chose that classification when obviously you are not from Africa, and indeed, you are of mixed ancestry. Why is it that people that are ½ white and ½ black call themselves Black, or African-American? That is racist. Thus Halle Berry is being a racist when she refers to herself as Black. Do you think of barrack Obama as America's first Black President. Why? Why the appellation "Black"? Why do you not say that he is "White", especially when actually he is half and half, and indeed was raised by white grandparents? Thus I ask why it is that 1/2 white and 1/2 black = black instead of white or something else. Is it because choosing "Black" gives a special protected class status? Or, is it that it allows you to flail the whip against the imagined White Satans?

The fact of the matter, Mr Holder, is that neither you, nor any of the other people that are exhorting the majority of us to talk about race, want ANY discussion on ANY terms other than chosen and dictated by you.

Turning to other matters, and of course the point of the picture at the head of this op-ed, you yourselves, the American Black, have segregated yourselves from society. Look at the sign. Do you think that it was the white students that clamored for this edifice of racism and exclusion?? Do you think that this Black Student Association has any outreach to get incorporate the whites into its exclusionary, racist, and discriminatory clique? What would the reaction be if others wanted to build themselves a "White Student Alliance"? If you can organize against Whitey, why then are you offended when Whitey organizes against you?

Still on segregation , look at any school cafeteria, and you will see that the blacks self-segregate, so please spare me the maudlin histrionics over how race still divides us in America and that is bad and all whiteys fault, because it is not the whites that are segregating you, it is the black race that is segregating itself and the black race is just a racist as, I suppose, any other race. This animates my mind to ask where it is that you live, Mr Holder? Have you segregated yourself and your family from the truly black neighborhoods? The ones where the majority of the black population lives? WHY?

This discourse now turns to the term "African-American" and how part of that self segregation you yourself speak of, is induced by its use. Indeed, you yourself use the term in the second sentence of your remarks. Sorry, Mr, Holder, it can't be had both ways. Either you are an American, or an African, or a German, or a Pole, or a Jew, or an Arab. African-American in your sense of the word is NOT American - it is something else - that is why you use the term. The fact is that much of the militant black community does not want to melt into anything - does not want to assimilate to the prevalent society. It wants to maintain itself as an enclave within that which prevails.

Now, in the sense of full disclosure, my ancestors came from Europe, and although themselves were persecuted by Whitey, they never referred to themselves as European Americans. They were in ghettos and they were persecuted, yet they did everything they could to ASSIMILATE. Indeed they were forced to assimilate. That was a good thing. Children caught speaking the native tongue at home or at school = many spankings. Thus it is that today, although there are in America, Americans of German, Italian, Polish, and Russian ancestry, they do not run around referring to themselves as German-Americans, Italian-Americans, Polish-Americans, or Russian-Americans. They refer to themselves as Americans, and they are considered as Americans.

Not to put too fine a point on things, hyphenated-Americans are not Americans - they are something else, and your continued use of the term, motivated by the big chip on your shoulder, calcifies your race in the past. Lets talk now about slavery. You, my friend fail to want to recognize in your black history that it was the whites that freed the slaves. You also fail to acknowledge that in other countries of color, slavery STILL exists. Another thing you gloss over is that whitey is the only race that did anything to abolish the practice of slavery. So, if you want to talk about black history, you need to talk about THAT. You need to talk about 600,000 white people, ½ of which owned NO slaves, died setting your ancestors free.

Another thing that you submerge is the fact that it was not the whites alone that practiced slavery; that it has existed for 10,000 years; and that slaves were commonplace IN AFRICA. Indeed, you gloss over the fact it was not the whites that delivered up the African Negroes to the hands of the slavers but was the Black Africans themselves that delivered up their brothers. Would you be surprised to find that in times before yours that the slave trader's prime hunting ground was White Europe and that the raiders would take my ancestors, men women and children, to the slave markets in AFRICA? How about including this in your "Black History" studies.

Turning now to the very concept of Black History. No, Mr Holder in the sense of overall history, that of the "Blacks" is of but a minor component, just as is the history of the Lithuanians, or the Germans, or the Poles, etc, and in your constant drumbeat you are attempting to rewrite the contributions of the black man and woman. If you really want to get into such things, then please provide a list of names of those you consider "Black"; tell me of their contribution; and then we will start the weighting process. I will start - Martin Luther King; McCoy; Carver;..... you go ahead and fill in the rest. Then, let's start a list of the non-blacks that made a contribution. After this is all done, I do believe that you will come to find that the black contribution is but a small part. This is as it has to be simply because of the numbers involved and your attempts to elevate the Black contribution to such prominence is sophistic. The point of things is that YOU, in your gravitation toward the Black part of the History part , are focusing on the Black, and I ask what the hell difference does it make that someone was Black. Are you saying that no one else in the history of the world has had hardship that had to be overcome before they or their race could make their contribution?

I will end this with a true story. Recall above that the name Carver was mentioned. (Quick, who was he and what did he do?) The reason he was mentioned is because in my elementary school days, I came across a series of books about great people, inventions and events in our history - a "Great People" of American History series if you will - all, of course, written before the "age of guilt".

When I read the book, I was excited to learn about Carver's childhood exploits and about Carver's later research concerning the peanut and how he was the one that discovered that the peanut can be used not only peanut butter, but for oil, and other foods ..... and antibiotics as well. Essentially, if it was a peanut, Carver knew about it. Now, here comes the point. Recall my question above "Quick, who was he and what did he do?" MY answer to this would be "He was the person that unlocked the knowledge of the peanut", while YOUR answer would be along the lines of "He was a black man that......".

See the point? To me, it is the accomplishment - to you it is the race. For you ,everything is about race - to me everything is about accomplishment and merit.

So then, in closing, it is odd and distressing to me that we have the following,

"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."

No more beautiful words were ever written, yet , for you, everything begins and ends with the color of your skin ..... and the color of mine.