Rita Bober
Norm Bober
Ken Dahlberg, Chairperson
Maynard Kaufman
Michael Kruk
Jim Laatsch
Lisa Phillips, Treasurer
Michael Phillips
Thom Phillips
Jan Ryan, Secretary
Jon Towne, Newsletter Editor
The
Michigan Land Trust was formed in 1976, with 40 eventful years since
for MLT and for the country. We would like to invite you to a
celebration of this milestone to be held at Mike and Lisa
Phillips’ residence on Saturday October 22 at 6pm. Please RSVP at
Mike and Lisa Phillips, 84757 28th Street, Lawton, MI 49065 (269)
624-4211 (lmphillips@phillipsenv.com). A link to a descriptive flyer (pdf) is posted at MichiganLandTrust.org.
Chairperson Ken Dahlberg wrote this paragraph
for an upcoming book on the history of the organic farming movement in
Michigan edited by Maynard Kaufman:
“In summary, in its forty years, Michigan Land Trustees has played an
important role in educating students, facilitating the creation of a
range of innovative and effective new organizations, and expanding and
deepening the knowledge and capabilities of almost all groups involved
in the organic movement in Michigan. Given the depth of change
needed to address increasing climate changes as well as to help
restructure and regenerate our sources of healthy food and farming, MLT
can be expected to continue to play a significant and creative role.”
We live in “interesting” times and nowhere is
our political divide more stark than people’s attitudes about
race. Recent assertions that racism had been removed from our
society, until the first black president Barack Obama somehow caused it
to flare up again, prove by that very assertion that issues of race are
part of the fabric of America. I can’t remove from my mind the
bitter irony that African-American slaves helped build this country
just as they built the White House as Michelle Obama and others have
pointed out. The article by Mike Kruk lays out his perspective on the
sordid history of race in America and how everyone of us is a product
of racial bias.
But first we have Rita Bober’s article on
Black farmers in our area. As Rita points out, African American farmers
have been disappearing from American agriculture in the last 100 yrs to
the point they only make up 2% of all farmers (who in turn only make up
2% of the population, something MLT has always worked to
increase). I saw this decrease in the case of a Black dairy
farmer behind us (outside of Bangor) who retired around 1980 only to
die of natural causes a week or so after. That farm was assimilated by
other white farmers.
African American Farmers
By Rita Bober
“In search of my mother’s garden, I found my own.” Alice Walker
Recently I came across an article in “Yes!
Magazine” entitled “After a Century in Decline, Black Farmers are Back
and on the Rise,” by Leah Penniman. It made me realize that I
hadn’t thought about this issue at all. As a White person, I
didn’t think of the institutional racism and discrimination that could
prevent a Black person from following his or her dream to be a farmer
or continue farming on land held in their family for generations. I
didn’t appreciate the fact that our country was built on the backs of
Black slave farm labor. Where would our country be without a
history of Black farmers?
In doing research on how Black farmers are
surviving, I learned that in 1920 Black farmers made up 14 percent of
all the farmers in the nation and worked 16 million acres of
land. By the 1990’s Black farmers accounted for less than 2
percent of the nation’s farmers and cultivated fewer than 3 million
acres of farmland. They battled globalization, changing
technology, an aging workforce, racist lending policies, and even the
US. Department of Agriculture racist practices. Often Blacks
could not get loans or subsidies for seeds in the spring or for larger
or new machinery. They did not get the expert help they needed to
succeed at farming when it became a business of chemical fertilizers,
crop rotation, and foreign markets. Racist violence in the
South targeted land-owning Black farmers, whose very existence
threatened the sharecropping system. Some predicted that by 2000
there would be no Black farmers left in our country.
But African Americans have a long history of
cooperative ownership and survival techniques unique to their ancestry,
such as collective ownership, commitment to social change, food
education, and alternative lifestyles. Black farmers have
survived and are growing. There are people who are blazing a path
for the Black Farmer Resistance Movement, leading the way for farmer
cooperatives across the South and laying the foundation for Black land
trusts. Influential Black farmers and food activists like Will
Allen, Malik Yakini, Karen Washington, and others are making an impact
through sustainable agriculture practices, urban farming, food justice
work, and research on African American agriculture history.
Organizations like The Federation of Southern
Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund promote cooperative economic
development as a strategy (and philosophy) to support and sustain Black
farmer ownership and control over land. The Southeastern African
American Farmers Organic Network (SAAFON) is planting seeds of
survival. They believe that converting to organic can definitely
boost the survival of a farm and that the practices utilized by organic
growers become more sustainable over time. Through this
organization, Dr. Owusu Bandele found ways to provide organic
certification training. In the North, The Detroit Black Community
Food Security Network strives to create racial justice and equity in
the food system. One of its founders, Malik Yakini, has been
teaching about the scarcity of African American farmers, and the
troubled history of racial discrimination and how that plays a big role
in driving Blacks off their land, especially in southern states.
This organization is working to make sure that Black urban farmers in
Detroit have a voice that is heard in establishing rules and laws
regulating food and farming in the city. They are also working to
assure that land is made available to continue raising food by the
people, for the people.
In Michigan, even before the Civil War, African
Americans began moving to the state. Many traveled through the
Underground Railroad, settling near supportive Quaker families.
Other African American farmers who settled in Michigan were free people
of color who had owned land in other states before coming to
Michigan. Most were farmers striving to get away from
discrimination and restrictions. One of the
first families of color to settle in the Kalamazoo area was Enoch and
Deborah Harris who arrived in 1830-31. They first settled on an
80-acre farm in the Schoolcraft area, and later moved to Oshtemo
Township when Michigan land first became available for sale in 1831. It
is believed that they established the first apple orchard in Kalamazoo
County. In 1860, the second largest Black population in Michigan,
outside of Detroit, was in Cass County. Many were farmers as the
majority of people during that time lived in rural areas. All the
counties in southwest Michigan had Black farmers settle there.
Dr. Benjamin C. Wilson in his book, The Rural Black Heritage between
Chicago and Detroit, 1850-1929, describes these families as feeling
comfortable but not altogether safe. Even in the North, there was
discrimination and violence. But for the most part, African
American farmers in Michigan were supported by the communities in which
they lived.
In the book, A Stronger Kinship by Anna-Lisa Cox,
Covert, Michigan, in Van Buren County, is described as a community that
would be different than other communities across the country where
racism and hatred were found. In this place, schools and churches
were completely integrated, Blacks and Whites intermarried, and power
and wealth were shared by both races. Many of the early settlers were
farmers. Today, U.S.D.A. statistics of minority farmers shows
that Black farmers are significantly reduced since the 1800’s.
Van Buren County shows 44 farmers out a total number of 1,113 as being
African American. Other counties in southwest Michigan show there
is no data available on African American farmers. Though there
still are African American farmers in these counties, they are not
included in the census, perhaps because of low numbers.
All over the country, there has been a significant
loss of farmers. With the federal government’s push to become
bigger or “get out,” many lost the will to continue. Also,
farmers are aging, the average age in their 60’s, and ready to step
down. These elements affect Black farmers as well. There is
also some anti-agricultural negativity, where Black folks are still
equating farming with slavery and they don’t want to get involved with
that. New research verifies the intersections between race and
food that was often lost and undocumented. Do Black farmers today
face the same discrimination and challenges as their ancestors did?
Below are some Black farmers in southwest Michigan who are farming
today. Let’s hear their stories.
Double R Farms: They came
from Mississippi in 1954, two brothers out of 10 siblings, whose family
raised catfish, soybeans, turnips and collards. They bought land
in Allegan County and started new farms up north. Reuben R.
Roberts, Sr. settled near Dorr and his brother, Garland, down the road
towards Hopkins. Garland passed away recently at the age of
83. They still have farm land in Mississippi where Reuben, Jr.
travels back to help keep it going. Reuben, Jr.’s mother, Ruby,
was an elementary school teacher who has passed over. Reuben, Sr.
and Ruby taught their children the organic farming practices that their
family used. The Double R farm has 200 acres and is MAEAP
certified.
The family raises grass fed heritage cattle (Red
Devon and White Parks) and have about 40 head; heritage pigs, as many
as 100 at times; and free range chickens, about 400. In winter,
they are fed organic hay from their farm. They raise turnip greens,
collards, kale, and purple hull peas among other vegetables. The
family has raised Tennessee Walking Horses for 125 years. This
project was started by their great-great-grandfather and currently,
some of the horses are sold for income. They belong to a cattle
co-op and through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) coordinated by
a sister, sell their vegetable produce and eggs. Besides the CSA,
they also sell through churches and friends.
Reuben, Jr. graduated from Tennessee State
University and is trained in animal science. Reuben, Jr. is a
district representative for Michigan State University covering Allegan,
Ottawa and part of Kent County. He does outreach with women and
minority farmers. He also does research for Michigan State, such
as how to keep waterways safer, working with rotating pastures, and
testing high tensile (movable) fencing. The family does community
service by teaching young people about the farm using scientific
methods. Through Michigan State University and funding by the De
Vos Foundation, they reach 4-H and young people from churches in the
Grand Rapids area, about 400-500 each summer. They have been
doing this for 15 years. Although Reuben, Jr. would like to learn
how to become more competitive, he is sensitive to the needs of their
customers who may have financial limits.
The Lawson Farm: In the
book Black Experiences in Michigan History, the author Reginald Larrie
states that “In 1836, William Lawson and wife, Charity, with 2 sons,
James W. and Cornelius came to Cass County, the first African American
settlers in Calvin Center, a small farm community in the Eastern part
of Cass County.” Other family members settled in several parts of
southwest Michigan. William Lawson was a cousin to the great,
great, grandfather of the current Lawson farmer northwest of Decatur in
Van Buren County. William indicated that he bought the family
farm back from strangers. His wife, Joyce, is a city gal but has
family (Gault-Singer) in the area. His Lawson family has farmed
for 170 years.
William has 300 acres and although he is
semi-retired now, still raises field crops. Through the years, he
has raised beef, hogs, and chickens as well as corn, oats, wheat and
hay. He calls his work on the farm a “labor of love.”
William works with co-ops, the cattle association,
and grain companies like Cargill to distribute his crops. His
animals were all tested and always in good health. His big
concern is trying to improve his soil so that he can raise first rate
products. He was never afraid to ask questions. Currently,
he has a retired co-operative extension person advising him about the
farm.
William has some distrust of government
programs. He says you have to be very careful about what programs
you are interested in. He is only on the board of the Van Buren
Conservation District, and is one of its original members.
The Lawson children are college educated and have
jobs off the farm. William himself has worked as a grinder and
tool maker but at the age of 76 is retired from that vocation.
William hopes to keep the farm in the family. Perhaps his
grandchildren will develop a passion for the land and make it their
“labor of love.”
The Gibson Farm: Tia and
Phil Gibson own the Gibson Farm in the Watervliet area. They are
originally from Chicago and have been farming for 18 years. The
land has 52 acres, 25 of which is in woods. Phil says he “has a
connectedness to the land”; he feels like he is in church when he is
out on his property. Although both Gibson’s work outside the farm,
their goal is to be self-sufficient in all that they do.
They have raised pigs, horses, chickens, goats, turkeys,
and sheep. At this time, they have sheep and gardens.
They have several acres of hay and are considering raising
cattle. It seems like a natural way of using what the land
provides. They also have three acres of blueberries. They sell
their products to people they know and the blueberries to direct
marketing. Phil admits that they need marketing skills to get
their produce out into other communities. Phil had started a
sawmill business at the farm called Motherland Wood Products. It
was especially important when his mother passed over and he built her
casket from wood off his land.
Phil is self-employed which enables him to work his
farm life into his lifestyle. His love of the land may be
attributed to his being a descendant of slaves; his grandmother’s
grandmother was a slave. The family was originally from
Louisiana. He has on his business card: “We have to know who we
are so that we can know what we need to become.” He has a strong
connection to his African roots. Willie B. Donald was a
mentor/elder to Phil as he started out in farming. Mr. Donald is
now deceased.
Phil has tried working with the USDA but found that
a discouraging process. He says: “You can’t count on their
help.” He did recently get a greenhouse from NRCS so he can grow
produce year round for their retirement. The Gibson’s are in
their mid-50’s.
Phil is on the board of the Farm Research
Cooperative. He has also worked with 4-H groups, “Young
Entrepreneurs” and “Keep it Real” youth in Benton Harbor stressing the
importance of growing food and of owning land for survival. He
worked on the Juneteenth celebration (a celebration of African American
heritage) this year in his area. He has a strong sense of living
with the land and all it provides.
The Simmons Farm: Barbara James Norman has lived her whole life
on the land her family owns in Covert, Michigan and is a third
generation owner. The Simmons farm covers 53 acres, 25 in
blueberries, one acre organic and the rest in transition to
organic. They also have a family garden and a vermiculture
composting system to help balance the soil.
Barbara’s grandfather, Stanford Simmons started the
farm in 1939. The family originally came from Mississippi and
then settled in Chicago. They missed the culture of a rural
lifestyle and although they kept their houses and business in Chicago,
transitioned to the farm. The 12 siblings supported each other in
making the change from country to city and Stanford and her great
grandfather back to country. The family may have share-cropped
and picked cotton while living down south. They have a history of
connection to the land, and grew up with the key value of helping each
other. The farm has also grown raspberries, row crops, corn and
beans, pigs, cows, and the family did hunting on the land. Stanford
Simmons is a revered elder to Barbara. And all she knows about
farming, keeping the land, and growing blueberries can be attributed to
his teachings. Each child and grandchild in the family plants new
blueberry bushes every year to stress their “buy into” the land, and
for the future children of their family.
The blueberries are sold in a variety of ways: a
contract with Detroit Public Schools for their school lunch program; to
Growing Power in Chicago; once to Eastern Market in Detroit; U-pick on
the farm; and some go to a processing plant where the berries are fresh
frozen for distribution. At times, they have a produce truck that
goes to Chicago neighborhoods to sell or give away vegetables, fruit,
and berries.
Barbara has become an outstanding resource for
farmers across the country; not only Black farmers but also Caucasian,
Hispanic, Asian, and women farmers. Her actions attest to her
strength and determination that there is a “right” way to do things and
even the USDA had to be challenged “to do the right thing.” She
has given talks for many organizations including PAWC @ Tuskegee
Institute; City Lights, in Omaha; NE Bugs Conference; W.K. Kellogg
Foundation; SW MI Migrant Resource Council Conference among many
others. Also including projects for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s
100 yard dash agricultural education program; Michigan Food and Farming
System (MIFFS ). Barbara has done mentoring through MIFFS, for
USDA/SARE, started the first Farmers Market in Lansing, was involved in
the pilot meeting for the Good Food Charter, helped start Project Fresh
in her community.
She is on the board of the Farm Research Cooperative
which was started by Dr. Leroy Ray, Jr. in 1973 where a hands-on
science program teaches students about growing food and preparing them
for college. For over 20 years, Barbara has worked with Farm
Research Cooperative programs connecting food buyers and growers.
Barbara is the founder of Southern Michigan Agricultural Research Team
(SMART) (in 2000), a Farmer’s Co-operative, mapping what each farm
grows and helping each other get their products to market.
Whatever she works on, Barbara believes in sharing
what she has learned through her mentoring, outreach, and working
within the system (USDA, SARE, MIFFS). She is a member of Mrs.
Obama’s “Partnership for Healthy America”. Barbara has been named
USDA/NRCS National Farmer of the Year and is currently MIFFS Farmer of
the year 2016. She is blessed with three children and eight
grandchildren and is working to continue the family farm for many
generations to come.
Williams Natural Farm, LLC:
Steve Williams is a lifelong Michigan resident who grew up in
Detroit. He and his mother, Mary Williams, who still lives in
Detroit, have been gardening forever. She is his revered elder
and has taught him all he knows about growing food. He got the
gardening bug in the early 1960’s. After 35 years in Tool and Die
Sales and Manufacturing, he retired to devote his life to growing good
food.
Steve wants to eat good organic food and stay
healthy. He’s under 60 and not on any medications; he attributes
this to working hard and eating the foods he grows. Steve
remembers visiting his grandparents in Anniston, Alabama as a child,
seeing acres and acres of corn growing in the field. This was his
first experience of enjoying farm life. He relates that down
south, everyone had a garden. Steve has a well-rounded
understanding of the importance of good soil and how to make the soil
work for your produce.
Three years ago, Steve applied for a grant from the
USDA for a hoop house. They helped him through the process and he
received a 28x35 hoop house that fits on his property on the east side
of Kalamazoo. This has enabled him to expand the kinds of food he
can grow. Steve’s market strategy is to grow foods that are unique to
the market such as purple Brussels sprouts, Swiss chard, a variety of
kales, “pots” of herbs, among other produce.
Steve’s support system is comprised of friends and
other farmers. He has sold his produce at the 100 Mile Market and
now sells at the Bank Street Market. He can also help others
start their gardens; see his website: Your Private Gardener, Kalamazoo,
MI. Right now, Steve’s biggest challenge is critters getting into
his hoop house. He would like to eventually get a bigger place
and envisions his grandson helping with the gardens. Steve loves
this “way of life.” He is one of the few Black urban farmers
living and growing food in Kalamazoo.
Jackson Family Farm: Jen
Anderson and her husband bought 12 acres of land about 30 years
ago. Since their divorce, Jen has owned the farm.
Originally from Chicago, they planted all their own blueberry
bushes. Now that Jen is retired from her teaching job, she feels
this is a good investment for her. She has always been able to
work the farm during the summer, when she was off work. Many
people helped her along the way and she has been a role model for other
blueberry farmers. At times, she has felt being “female” was a
challenge in working with others. The traditional raised
blueberries are taken to distributors for market. She has tried
farmer’s markets but that didn’t work for her. Jen has found it
difficult to work with government agencies. She feels you have to
know exactly “what you want” before approaching them. Recently
her retired brother, Walter, bought a farm and they will be working and
sharing equipment together. Jen enjoys working with the
land.
Mitchell’s Blueberry Farm:
was started by Phil Mitchell, originally from Chicago, in the 1960’s.
They started with 5 acres and have increased it to 9-1/2
acres. The family owned business was the first organic
blueberry farm in Van Buren County. They went organic because of
concerns of keeping the farm competitive with other farms in the
area. As a result, the market for their organic blueberries has
improved significantly. Besides u-pick, the family sells at
People’s Food Co-op, Natural Health Center, Sawall’s Health Foods, and
the Kalamazoo Banks Street Farmer’s Market. One of their early
challenges was redlining (banks refusing to lend money to African
Americans looking to buy property in White and affluent
neighborhoods). But eventually, they succeeded in buying their
land near Grand Junction. Josephine Woods, one of the 10 children
of Phil and Jeanne Mitchell continues to manage the farm with other
siblings. Grandchildren and great-grandchildren pick and process, sell
at the market, and help wherever they can to keep the farm going.
Summary: I discovered
through my research and the people I met that one of the strengths of
African American farmers is the support of their families either
through a long history of family farming, joint ownership of the farm
with other family members and/or continued working the fields and
processing by the younger generations. Discrimination, lack of support
from government agencies, and marketing challenges did not hinder these
farmers from keeping up their desire to work the land in order to
become successful farmers.
Rita Bober, a retired social
worker, received her M.S.W. at Howard University. Her family is
multi-racial and though they were raised on a homestead, her children
never felt the urge to take up farming.
Resources: A Stronger Kinship: One Town’s Extraordinary Story of Hope and Faith,” Anna-Lisa Cox. Little, Brown and Company, 2006. After a century of decline, Black Farmers are Back and on the Rise, by Leah Penniman, “Yes! Magazine,” 12 May 2016. Black Experiences in Michigan History,” Reginald Larrie, 1975l. Black Farmers in America, John Francis Ficara and Juan Williams, 2006. Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice, Jessica Gordon Nembhand, The Pennsylvania State Univ. Press, University Park, PA, 2014. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics by State/Michigan -minority farmer stats 2012. Southwest Michigan Black Heritage Society: www.smbhs.org The Color of Food: Stories of Race, Resilience and Farming, Natasha Bowens, New Society Publishers, 2015 The Rural Black Heritage Between Chicago and Detroit, 1850-1929. Dr. Benjamin C. Wilson, New Issues Press, WMU, Kalamazoo, MI, 1985.
Personal Interviews with farmers: Reuban R. Roberts, Jr., William
Lawson, Phil Gibson, Barbara James Norman, Steve Williams, Jen
Anderson, Josephine Woods.
As Dr. Owusu Bandele of the Southeastern African American Farmers Organic Network says, “With
all the obstacles and land loss impacting black farmers, those who are
still here are the ones that have a level of
resourcefulness.”
Racism in America
The American Legacy That Goes On and On
By Michael Kruk
This is not an academic or scholarly article. It does not contain
much in terms of statistics or data. It is rather a personal
piece in which I will state my opinion about racism. I have been
thinking about this subject for some time and my desire to write about
it has been fueled by several events of recent years. My outlook
on race has been affected by the political stonewalling and disrespect
on the part of Republicans and some groups of citizens to the
Presidency of Barack Obama. The shootings and aftermath of the
police shootings of Black men has increasingly saddened me. About
a year ago I saw Ta-Nehisi Coates speak at Western Michigan
University. I then read his book “Between the World and Me,”
which takes the form of a letter to his young son. I see the
injustices done to African Americans and feel overwhelmed. In
this process I have been looking hard at my own views of Black people.
I grew up in Detroit in the 50’s and 60’s in not an integrated
neighborhood but a mixed race neighborhood. I say not integrated
because we essentially lived separately. It was the practice at
the time to refer to Blacks as “Colored.” I had interactions with black
kids both positive and negative. When I was very young I was not
aware of any differences between us except the color of our skin. But I
think I knew that Whites had some advantage and when I was about five,
I once said to a black neighbor I used to play with that he wasn’t
“Colored.” I tried telling him he was white. I was
saying that because he had light skin. I think I didn’t want him
to be different than me. He protested saying he was
“colored” and he called me a white soda cracker. I wasn’t
offended and I don’t think he was trying to offend me. I think he
was stating what he knew, that there was a racial divide and that
society would treat us differently. I think he was
also saying that there was no need for him to be white. That
there was nothing wrong with being Black. My wanting him to be
white may have been racism.
As I grew older I was exposed to prejudiced beliefs and attitudes of
whites toward blacks in my community. I was influenced not by my
parents but what I saw in society to feel that Whites were better than
Blacks. I developed like many white boys of my generation what I
would say today were racist attitudes. I also developed fears of
groups of Black boys. Some of this was due to experiences of
being the target of Black kids attempting to steal from me and others.
But looking at it today I think these incidents were
over-exaggerated. As I grew up I think I was influenced by the
White racial attitudes of the times to think of Black males as
dangerous. Yet there was always a part of me that questioned the racist
practices that I saw in my neighborhood and in the wider culture.
As an adult, over the years I have come to feel remorse for my words,
thoughts and actions and to shed those racist views and see African
Americans as of course equal to Whites and to respect them. This
is, however, a process that needs regular work. Writing
this is perhaps part of that healing process for me.
Even though the audience of his newsletter is more than likely aware of
the Racial History of America and has in many cases worked to change
the Racial inequality in America I would like to summarize the history
of Racism and hopefully elucidate how race relations have been
manifested throughout our history and their effect on American
society today. I will thus attempt to show that racism in the
Institutions of America’s governmental and socio-economic structure is
not some part of history but rather continues today.
History of Racism:
Slavery was the first institutionalized manifestation of racism in the
New World. We can agree today that a system which allows the
purchase of another human being is morally wrong. The Slave
holders justified it by a beliefs they were superior over the Black
Africans. The human brutality that was inflicted on the Black
Africans was horrendous. The institution of slavery attempted to
take away the African’s humanity. In addition to their freedom,
their language, their names, their culture and social structure was
taken away from them. Their families were taken from them.
Their sexual expression and choice in reproduction was taken from
them. The fact that they survived, retained their humanity,
formed a social structure, married and had children, learned to read,
sang songs and expressed spirituality is a tribute to their strength
and humanity.
Here is an example of justification for slavery I heard on a tour of a
historical home in Charleston South Carolina. The docent showed
the various rooms and quarters and in doing so talked about where the
slaves stayed and little about their work in the home. I asked if
this tour included an apology for slavery. She said it did not
and that the tour was simply pointing out that slavery was part of life
at the time. Then other members of the tour expressed their
opinion regarding slavery stating something like, “they were sold into
slavery by their own people,” as if that made the institution of
slavery innocent and absolved the slave owners and America of any
responsibility.
If following the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment,
Blacks were free to exercise self-determination and to enjoy all the
privileges of American Democracy and Capitalism, I think we would be
looking at a different history. If Racism disappeared after the
ending of slavery, America would not have gone through all the
difficulties of “race relations” that it has since 1865. And I
feel we would not have any of the race problems our society has
today. There would be no economic disparity between whites
and blacks. There would be no ghettos, no significant black gang
problems, no major drug problems, and no disproportionate number of
black males in prison. We would not have the disproportional numbers of
issues in Black Populations compared to Whites. In fact some scholars
suggest that if we eliminated segregation today we would completely
erase Black/White differences in income, education, and unemployment
and reduce differences in the rates of single motherhood between blacks
and whites by two thirds.
White America as a whole has been slow to accept Blacks as being a full
member and participant in the social, cultural, economic and political
structure of the United States. If we look at the history of
immigration we see that each wave of European immigrants started out
being discriminated against, lived in tenement apartments (ghettos) and
were relegated to the worst jobs. I remember studying this in
school. There were, for example, waves of German, Irish and
Italian immigrants. As each group gained a foothold in the
American structure they moved up in the socioeconomic and political
ladder. American history shows that this did not happen
with the former slaves. I feel the reason for this difference is
due to color, to racism.
Let me give an example to illustrate how White America has excluded
African Americans; Baseball. Baseball is America’s pastime, but
the Major Leagues were only open to white players. Blacks had to
play in the so called Negro Leagues. When the idea of having a
Black player join a Major League team was first introduced it was said
that America was not ready for it. Not ready? Weren’t
Black People Americans also? Shouldn’t they participate fully in
America? When Jackie Robinson began playing for the Brooklyn
Dodgers he endured racial slurs and even death threats from White
baseball fans. And this was in the North. He was
denied the right to buy a home where he wanted to live.
Didn’t American’s have the right to live where they chose? Here’s
another example. In the 1950 and 1960’s when Civil Rights
Movement advocated for full rights in voting, education and employment
again they were told they should wait. Wait for what?
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960 sought to change the status quo
of racism. It resulted in getting legislation to end some areas
of institutionalized racism. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 aimed to end
restrictions in access to voting on the basis of Race. The Civil
Rights Act of 1965 forbade discrimination on the basis of race, color,
religion, sex or national origin in hiring, firing and
promoting. Unfortunately we are not talking about this
institution of individual and systematic racism having suddenly stopped
at some point in our history. I think we are still dealing with
it today as evidenced by voting restrictions, and killing of Black men
by police.
Racism in the South:
After the Civil War, Reconstruction sought to give Blacks an equal
voice in politics. In the South, whites continued campaigns of
violence and intimidation against Blacks. They were attempting to
repress the Black vote. This was despite the presence of Federal
Troops. Reconstruction was ended in 1876 by a compromise in the
contested 1876 election. This all but assured white supremacy and
black disenfranchisement throughout the South.
A quotation from the Library of Congress states that “The 15th
Amendment to the Constitution granted African American men the right to
vote by declaring that the "right of citizens of the United States to
vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any
state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
Although ratified on February 3, 1870, the promise of the 15th
Amendment would not be fully realized for almost a century. Through the
use of poll taxes, literacy tests and other means, Southern states were
able to effectively disenfranchise African Americans. It would take the
passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 before the majority of African
Americans in the South were registered to vote.”
The Jim Crow South is an example institutionalized racism. We all
know the manifestations of this institutional as well as individual
racism in the South: Private and public lynching of Blacks; Physical
violence against Blacks; Blacks being denied jobs and education at the
elementary, secondary and college level; Blacks being denied service in
stores, restaurants, theaters, public facilities such as swimming
pools, bathrooms and water fountains; and worst of all, Blacks being
denied their dignity. Men women and children were called the most vile
and degrading names, and had to address whites in a subservient manner,
all this because of their race. Again despite this terror, cruel
treatment and oppression Blacks as a group maintained their familial,
social educational and religious structure. This is a tribute to
their resiliency.
Racism in the North:
Things were not much better for Blacks in the North. There was
both Institutional and individual racism. Restrictive covenants
prevented Blacks form living in certain neighborhoods. The long
time racist mayor of Dearborn, Michigan from 1942-1978, Orville Hubbard
kept Blacks from moving into the city. He once stated, “They can’t get
in here. We watch it.” When he left office in 1978 there
were only twenty African Americans living in the city of 90,000.
Redlining effectively kept Black home buyers from purchasing homes in
areas where whites lived and they were channeled to other areas.
Blacks were denied or limited access to jobs. In factories they
were given the hardest, hottest, dirtiest and lowest paying jobs.
They were kept out of trade union and other skilled jobs. Being
segregated to certain neighborhoods, their schools were denied the
resources given to predominately white schools. When an
African American family moved to a white neighborhood they were often
attacked by their white neighbors and in most cases harassed and
brutalized so badly they moved.
In the early to mid-1970’s the concept of so called reverse
discrimination began to be used by the white males in response to Equal
Opportunity Employment laws and Title VII which together sought to give
an equal chance for minorities and women to employment. In the
1990’s and 2000’s White college applicants, men and women claimed that
African American college applicants were given an advantage in college
admission because their race was factored into the admissions scoring
plan. To say that Blacks whose ancestors were beaten for trying
to learn to read, and had almost every means legal and illegal used to
keep them from getting a quality primary and secondary education, and
then were denied acceptance at most colleges, and for generations
didn’t have equal access to learning, jobs, housing, leisure activities
and social connections and now have an unfair advantage over the
dominant majority of whites through Affirmative Action is simply a
rationalization for keeping white privilege. Why do the White
applicants who are crying foul, never challenge the unfairness of
applicants who get extra points because a parent attended the
university? Affirmative Action is merely leveling the
playing field. It is giving Blacks the same advantage and
opportunity that Whites have always had.
I believe as White People we have all benefited from past racism when
our grandfathers, father’s, mothers, aunts or uncles got jobs that were
denied to blacks, got a college education through the GI Bill that was
denied to Black Veterans, received GI and FHA mortgages that were
denied to African Americans. The very position that a White
person may have, that they say Blacks are trying to take from him, may
only have it because it was stolen from an African American. In
my own work history I know that I had gotten some jobs that if a black
man had applied at the same time as me, even if he were more qualified,
I would have gotten the job because I am white. When I was in
college in 1977 I got a job at a delivery company. Sometime after
I got hired, a young black man came in to apply for a job. He was
told they weren’t taking applications. It did not matter if they
were taking applications or not. The employees were all white. It was
no secret that a black person would not be hired at that company.
Now the management and employees would not think they were consciously
racist, that was just the facts at the time. I remember feeling
sorry for that man but I did not offer to resign so he could have my
job either. Even though I can say that I have worked hard
to get where I am today, I have what I have because I’m white.
Racism today:
The Racism outlined above has taken a toll on African Americans. It is
manifested in health issues such as diabetes and hypertension due to
the stress of Racism. White America acts as if all of the racial
injustice is remote history. If that is true then why do black
men have a difficult time getting a cab in New York? Why was a
Black Harvard professor harassed by the police when he was trying to
enter his own home? Why was a Black psychologist shot by police
when he was trying to get an Autistic patient calmed down?
Why was a young Black woman arrested for merely exerting her rights
after being stopped for not signaling changing lanes? In fact,
why are Black Americans stopped for “driving while black?” Why do
Black Parents have to have a talk with their adolescent and teenage
sons about how they should respond when stopped by the police because
saying the wrong thing could get them killed? And why are so many
black men killed by police? The answer is Racism: The same
racism of slavery, the same racism of Jim Crow, the same racism of
redlining in the north, the same racism that resisted the Civil Rights
movement. If Racism did not exist today we would have fully
integrated neighborhoods, there would a proportional number of Black
doctors, nurses, psychologists, school teachers, engineers, Academy
Award winners, CEOs, lawyers, firefighters, police
officers, skilled trades workers, business owners, college
students and every other walk of life and socio economic status as
Whites.
Racism did not go out in some previous American era. Racism is
alive and well today. I think recent events stated above illustrate
this. Racism is overall not as prevalent and there are not as
many racist individuals. There are more whites, especially among young
people, whose outlook is beyond any racism and a lot has been done to
heal racial wounds, but in general the dominant White political,
economic and social structure continues in the same racist attitudes,
policies and practices that have existed throughout American
History. We have a long way to go. America needs to stop
blaming the victim. In healing any ailment acknowledgment of the
problem is the first step. White American culture and political
structure must admit to its racism both past and present and eliminate
it. As individuals we need to examine ourselves for any vestiges
of racism, admit our faults and work to heal ourselves from it.
When we can accomplish these changes America will truly have
equality. Back to MLT Newsletter Page
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