By Avi Ornstein
I had the good fortune of growing up in a melting pot. My extended family is a combination of varied nationalities and races, as are the friends of several generations of the family. The first girl I took to a dance was black, as is my nephew. In my many years of teaching, I judged each student on their effort and performance, rather than on external factors. That, in itself, does not, however, absolve me form the existing problem.
The school I attended was small and integrated and, while I saw conflicts in the media, we were fortunate that we did not experience it directly. I actually became more aware of the social issues when I read The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which was published when I was a sophomore. I was moved by the message in his final chapter: “Where the really sincere white people have to do their “proving” of themselves is not among the black victims, but out on the battle lines of where America’s racism really is – and that’s in their own home communities; America’s racism is among their own fellow whites. That’s where the sincere whites who really mean to accomplish something have got to work.”
.
Unfortunately, racism is deeply ingrained in American society. In 1974, author Isaac Asimov was referring back to 1935 when he said “Those were the days when racial quotas were as American as apple pie.” In 1940, Ruth Benedict noted in her book Race: Science and Politics that “…racism is an ism to which everyone in the world is exposed; for or against, we must take sides. And the history of the future will differ according to the decision which we make.” Martin Luther King, Jr., had responded to another person’s comment by noting “In your statement you asserted that our actions, even though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence. Isn’t this like condemning the robbed man because his possessions of money precipitated the evil act of robbery?”
In the June 1976 issue of Technology Review, Rev. John Crocker pointed out: “Some people begin to claim superiority over other people. The dominant ones employ the sciences to support their claims by measurements which say that the dominant ones are superior. (Every kind of educational and psychological testing…demonstrates this assertion.)”
Robert A. Heinlein noted in Revolt in 2100: “You can sway a thousand men by appealing to their prejudices quicker than you can convince one man by logic.” This is a condition that should not be accepted. And that is the important point – it will only change if we work at seeing it occur! This is why everyone must consider the true facts and use them to reach their decisions – and they must then follow that by being sure to actually vote!
I would like to close by quoting Robert Heinlein again. He addressed this issue beck in 1958 in Methuselah’s Children: “When discrimination was removed, the problem solved itself and cultural assimilation took place.”