Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
President Carter- Reflects on Racism in Today’s Society
Former President Carter made factual remarks about racism as he recently spoke to a group of students at Emory University; however, the timing of those remarks could be a distraction to the other issues at hand such as health care. In his speech he stated:
“When a radical fringe element of demonstrators and others begin to attack the president of the United States as an animal or as a reincarnation of Adolf Hitler or when they wave signs in the air that said we should have buried Obama with Kennedy, those kinds of things are beyond the bounds,".
"I think people who are guilty of that kind of personal attack against Obama have been influenced to a major degree by a belief that he should not be president because he happens to be African American. "It's a racist attitude, and my hope is and my expectation is that in the future both Democratic leaders and Republican leaders will take the initiative in condemning that kind of unprecedented attack on the president of the United States,". Read more at:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/15/carter.obama/index.html
Racism is alive an well ill regardless of whether it contributed to any illicit behavior toward the President. Racism exists through out all states, but Former President Carter put emphasis on the south because past history speaks for its self. Thinking back to the speech delivered by Martin Luther in Washington August 18, 1963 he stated:
“Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.
But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land”
As we fast forward Forty six years after that speech, much progress has been made in the area of racism but much more needs to be made. Some racial slurs are astonishing and hard to believe in 2009. I grew up in a small town in a south and can personally relate to former President Carter when he spoke of racism in the south. In 2006, my sister who is a minister and still lives near our hometown was proud to become a home owner. She and her family moved into an area that was predominately white and over heard one of the neighbors loudly stating “how did those N!!!!!’s” get into the neighborhood.
I along with couple of my closest classmates attended a class reunion in 2005 which was held ‘20’ miles from my hometown. There are a couple of small hotels but not much else in the way of restaurants. I asked local class mates where we can go for a sit down breakfast and was advised “you can eat at the local restaurant in town, Blacks eat there all the time NOW. Well with uncertainty we descended upon the restaurant sit down and ate with no problem, but there were such and aura of feeling unwelcome.
Comments left on the internet blogs and other Medias also speaks to racism in our society today. We as human beings existing on planet earth should be able to share joys and the tears of our sorrows together. Racism is an individual preference; however, there are so many occurrences of our life that cannot be defined by race. There are no racial boundaries to the destruction left behind by natural disasters such as hurricanes, fires, tornados, earthquakes, and floods. In combat does the enemy stop to determine race before launching an attack, and the list goes on.
I think that Peter, Paul, and Mary, one of the most famous musical groups of all time said it best “Our Earth is one big, blue marble, and if we all tended to those around us, think of the Eden we could dwell in every day”.
http://www.bellaonline.com/review/issues/summer2009/i002.html
I relate that quote by Peter, Paul and Mary to a recent internet article relating to a great act of humanity. A young black student was entering his senior year at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. N.C., but did not have his $5000.00 tution payment, and was facing dropping out of college thanks largely to the intervention of a young white minister, who launched an all out campagain to raise the money. Read more at:
http://ihid.us/?i=pr8
“When a radical fringe element of demonstrators and others begin to attack the president of the United States as an animal or as a reincarnation of Adolf Hitler or when they wave signs in the air that said we should have buried Obama with Kennedy, those kinds of things are beyond the bounds,".
"I think people who are guilty of that kind of personal attack against Obama have been influenced to a major degree by a belief that he should not be president because he happens to be African American. "It's a racist attitude, and my hope is and my expectation is that in the future both Democratic leaders and Republican leaders will take the initiative in condemning that kind of unprecedented attack on the president of the United States,". Read more at:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/15/carter.obama/index.html
Racism is alive an well ill regardless of whether it contributed to any illicit behavior toward the President. Racism exists through out all states, but Former President Carter put emphasis on the south because past history speaks for its self. Thinking back to the speech delivered by Martin Luther in Washington August 18, 1963 he stated:
“Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.
But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land”
As we fast forward Forty six years after that speech, much progress has been made in the area of racism but much more needs to be made. Some racial slurs are astonishing and hard to believe in 2009. I grew up in a small town in a south and can personally relate to former President Carter when he spoke of racism in the south. In 2006, my sister who is a minister and still lives near our hometown was proud to become a home owner. She and her family moved into an area that was predominately white and over heard one of the neighbors loudly stating “how did those N!!!!!’s” get into the neighborhood.
I along with couple of my closest classmates attended a class reunion in 2005 which was held ‘20’ miles from my hometown. There are a couple of small hotels but not much else in the way of restaurants. I asked local class mates where we can go for a sit down breakfast and was advised “you can eat at the local restaurant in town, Blacks eat there all the time NOW. Well with uncertainty we descended upon the restaurant sit down and ate with no problem, but there were such and aura of feeling unwelcome.
Comments left on the internet blogs and other Medias also speaks to racism in our society today. We as human beings existing on planet earth should be able to share joys and the tears of our sorrows together. Racism is an individual preference; however, there are so many occurrences of our life that cannot be defined by race. There are no racial boundaries to the destruction left behind by natural disasters such as hurricanes, fires, tornados, earthquakes, and floods. In combat does the enemy stop to determine race before launching an attack, and the list goes on.
I think that Peter, Paul, and Mary, one of the most famous musical groups of all time said it best “Our Earth is one big, blue marble, and if we all tended to those around us, think of the Eden we could dwell in every day”.
http://www.bellaonline.com/review/issues/summer2009/i002.html
I relate that quote by Peter, Paul and Mary to a recent internet article relating to a great act of humanity. A young black student was entering his senior year at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. N.C., but did not have his $5000.00 tution payment, and was facing dropping out of college thanks largely to the intervention of a young white minister, who launched an all out campagain to raise the money. Read more at:
http://ihid.us/?i=pr8
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