Racism In America

I am an old white woman who has watched the ebb and flow of civil rights since the 1950’s. I was a child living in Greensboro, North Carolina, during the Woolworth’s lunch counter protests. My husband and I were stationed in Memphis, Tennessee, when Martin Luther King, Jr., was shot. My parents were living in Chicago during the 1968 Democrat convention. The battle for racial equality has been going on for a long time. However, let’s not forget that progress has been made. Progress had been made by lawmakers of good conscience (yes, there have been a few)–by protests (Rosa Parks)–not by riots.

I can’t relate to the black experience. I have been poor, but I have never been black. I have lived in houses without plumbing and with questionable heating, but I have never been black. I can’t honestly say that I am a much better person because I am no longer poor. I am actually the same person, only a little less stressed out about finances.

I don’t have an answer for racism. My own contribution to stop racism is to treat everyone the same regardless of what color they may be. Another contribution would be to encourage children of all colors to do well in school. Reading seems to be a key–look at Ben Carson–his mother was illiterate yet understood the value of reading. Look at Allen West–he joined the military. There are many others who have overcome racism in America–Colin Powell, Walter Williams, Condoleezza Rice, Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey. There are opportunities out there for people of all races–they require ambition, integrity, and hard work. Success is hard to attain for anyone, but it is also hard to argue with.

There are a number of things about what is currently happening in our country that truly break my heart. Innocent people have been killed by ‘protestors.’ People of all races who have worked all of their lives to build businesses have lost everything in the looting and burning. This is not the way to move forward–this is a giant step backward. All Americans agreed that what happened to George Floyd was criminal. The reaction of some Americans to that tragedy has destroyed the unity that might have enabled us to find solutions instead of having to clean up the devastation in our major cities.