CCSJ Blog

From the Executive Director

As Executive Director of an organization which has a mission to “dismantle all forms of prejudice, discrimination and oppression”, how could I launch this blog otherwise than by recognizing the enormous significance of the election of our first (acknowledged)  African American President*.  For anyone concerned with promoting inclusion, whatever your political affiliation, the victory of Barack Obama must rank as historic.  For people of all races, it has been the realization of a dream, a never-imagined triumph, the dawn of a new age.  And it represents all these things and more, so I joined in the celebrations and part of me still wakes up every day in wonder and delight. I wish I could stop right here but there is another aspect to this story – well at least two actually.

Since Barack Obama launched his bid for the Presidency, there has been a growing rise in incidents of racism in general and in the membership and activity of hate groups in particular.  Throughout the campaign and beyond, racist cartoons, limericks and commentaries were everyday fodder on the Internet.  As recently as the end of last month, the Los Angeles Times reported the resignation of Dean Grose, the mayor of Los Alamitos, after he emailed a co-worker a cartoon depicting the White House lawn covered in watermelons.

Such is the nature of these petty racial slurs that are circulating so abundantly  – they cover all the stereotypes, watermelons, fried chicken, ribs, Kool-Aid, welfare, on and on.  But that’s the least of our worries.  The paradox is that the Obamas have done exactly what we have been being told to do as long as I can remember – get an education, get into a good school, get a job and keep it, raise your children and stay on the right side of the law.  And just like every other Black family that has done this (and there are millions at various levels who have survived and thrived in the face of all kinds of adversity), they can’t escape the stereotypes or the anger and hatred.  And the hatred has taken very some dangerous and inflammatory forms.  Since Barack Obama appeared on the political scene, there has been an incessant chorus which continues to this day designed to cast Obama as “the other”.  He’s “foreign”, he’s a Muslim (as Colin Powell stated with such integrity in the face of so many denials from other Obama supporters, why would it matter), he’s a “terrorist”, he’s a “socialist”.  According to a number of sources, there has been a significant and documented rise in the number and membership of hate groups.  Neo-Nazi leader, David Duke, describes President  Obama as a “visual aid” that is helping rekindle the ‘movement’.  Not surprisingly, the threats have been flying around the Internet, mostly anonymously, but there have been arrests and serious Secret Service attention to the very real possibility that not all of these folks are just sounding off.

So, as much as we are rightly proud that such an enormous racial barrier haa been dismantled, we must recognize that racism and religious intolerance have not been eliminated for the millions of ‘ordinary’ people who encounter them on a daily basis or for the President of the United States.

The Secret Service will protect the President but there is a job for all of us on the most basic of levels that can help foster a climate that will make it harder for hate and fear to thrive.  If you get a cartoon in your inbox, if you overhear a remark, if you see sign outside of a local business, if you hear something in the media that is inflammatory, speak up, write a letter, send a reply to that email.  Run a Google search, see what’s out there and add another voice of reason.  I know it’s ugly and unpleasant and we would much rather celebrate and focus on the positive than have to deal with this stuff.  But to paraphrase a well known saying, “For bigotry, violence and hate to flourish it is only necessary for people who believe in tolerance, inclusion and equality to do nothing”.

Filed under: From the ED by admin
Tags: Barak Obama, Inclusion
Posted in From the ED | 4 Comments »