The Way Forward, pt. 3 February 17, 2015
Since 1776, our country has professed certain truths tobe self-evident, namely, “that all men are created equal; that they are endowedby their Creator with certain inalienable Rights; that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit ofHappiness.” These are (some of) our country’s founding presuppositions. Thishas been our long-standing profession. These are our self-conscious values.
If only wealways lived up to them.
I’mcurrently reading The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson’sbest-selling historical account of the decades-long migration of 6 million blackcitizens from the Jim Crow states of the South to the cities of the North andWest. Wilkerson writes with discretion and tact, but it’s still painful to readat times. Segregation. Wage discrimination. Mob “justice.” I heard a blackChristian brother a few weeks ago testify that his own father’s first memory oflearning to read was deciphering a sign at age 5 and realizing it said “WhitesOnly.” “Created equal” indeed.
Thankfully,much has changed since the Civil Rights push of the 1960s. But recent eventsindicate that we still have a long way to go, if not in the actual written codeof the law, at least in relationships and perceptions between citizens ofdifferent races. (More on that next week.)
Inaddition, non-codified inequities between blacks and whites remain. Forexample, from the strictly economic angle, consider: Median household wealth:$91k (white) vs. $6k (black). Home ownership: 73% (white) vs. 44% (black).Median household income: $60k (white) vs. $35k (black). Unemployment: 5.3%(white) vs. 11.4% (black). Poverty rate: 10% (white) vs. 27% (black). (source:CNN Money online)
We can talkabout hard work and personal responsibility, and we should! But consider ournation’s history. Do you honestly believe that everything you have today, youhave simply on the basis of the hard work and honest dealings of yourself andyour forebears? As if, ever since they arrived on American soil, your whiteforebears simply outworked your black friends’ forebears? Keep in mind that,even after the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, blacks under Jim Crowearned from 1/4 to 1/10 the wage of their white peers. So why do you have more?Call it “luck,” “good fortune,” or “the kind providence of God”—you had anopportunity other Americans didn’t.
What would Ilike to see happen in American race relations? Answer 1: I’d like our countryto consistently live up to our best ideals. Next week: Answer 2.