I'm all for learning history, and I believe the root cause of many of America's problems is the lack of historical perspective and knowledge evident in our culture today. The old adage is true; those who will not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. However, there is a great difference in learning history and learning from history. Black History Month emphasizes the gap between the two.
It is one thing to learn who Rosa Parks was, or George Washington Carver, Freddie Washington, Louis Armstrong, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King. It is another thing altogether to learn from what we know of them, and put it into practice. Great Americans, all, great people, each in his or her own way. But allow me one question. Are they great because they are black?
Is Ronald Reagan a great man because he was white? Is Mother Teresa a great woman because she was white? Obviously, the answer is no. Men and women are great because of what they do, not because of their circumstances of birth. No one of us can say we were responsible for how we were born, or to whom. No one of us can say, I am responsible for the color of my skin. Why then should we constantly append the color of a person's skin to a claim to greatness?
For decades, the black community has been led from racial segregation, thanks to Republicans, into a far more invidious slavery, thanks to its current leaders, and the American government has bought into the rhetoric wholeheartedly. Black America was freed from slavery and granted equality, only to trap itself in a self-imposed segregation of identity - African-Americanism - which has overflowed into all aspects of our daily lives. We are no longer Americans, no longer noble by virtue of living in a noble country. We must hearken back to our ancestors, we must proclaim our genetic heritage, and somehow, that makes us worthy of equality, respect, and a fair shake.
Martin Luther King knew that this was the wrong way to go. In fact, his dream, spelled out so eloquently in his famous speech, proclaims the opposite of today's practice.
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' ... I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. ... And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: 'Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!'"
It was asked of Coach Tom Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts what it meant to him to be the first African-American coach to win the Super Bowl. Suffice it to say that his response has prompted me to switch allegiance among Pro Football teams. Recognizing the importance of his accomplishment, Dungy turned the issue into a much more controversial one, referring to the fact that he and his assistant coach are the first Christian coaches to win the Superbowl. To him, while there was a certain amount of historical import to the racial implications of his team's win, it paled in comparison to the faith implications. What a perspective. Unlike the current leaders of the "African-American" community, it seems to me Coach Dungy is truly free, for his words echo freedom from the slavery of a mind bent on segregating itself.
It is my belief that Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, and all those who promote the slavery of identity segregation are not so free. They, like so many others, know the history of race in America, but they have failed to learn from it.
3 comments:
I would like to see the reasoning beghind claiming that Malcom X was a great American.
I think this must have been a slip of the pen.
Mobile Dad
I define a great American as one whose contributions to society have made America better, regardless of his or her ideology. I do not agree with much of Ted Turner's ideology, but it can be argued that his contribution to news media has contributed to America's greatness. One's actions may not have the effect desired by one's ideology.
As devisive as Malcom X was in his heyday, and without arguing motive, his tireless campaign for civil equality is admirable. This is not to say that his demogoguery at that time wasn't repugnant, however, it can be argued that, when his thoughts and opinions at the end of his life are contrasted with his thoughts and opinions in his prime, a completely different view of the man is appropriate. Where once he held a heavily anti-white viewpoint, much later in life he recanted the majority of his statements, and apologized on his deathbed for the things he had said and the schism they caused. It is interesting that the heir to his legacy, Louis Farrakhan, will not discuss those later statements, or X's change of heart as he neared his death, as it is clear from them that X would disapprove of the vast majority of Farrakhan's and his movement's opinions and activities.
Great work.
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