Yesterday, the day that recognized Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s leadership in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and the 1960s, was a time to reflect on the relations between whites and blacks in this country. Much progress has been made, and as has been very clear in 2016, much more must be done.
While blacks are better employed than in the past, have incomes that are higher and educational test scores have climbed somewhat, significant challenges remain. How successful a person will become, both white and black, has been shown to depend heavily on their ZIP code. Even moderately middle-class neighborhoods, where residents are educated and employed, are settings for success. Much has to be done to lift up so many urban neighborhoods and small-town rural communities so that they have the characteristics that are the underpinnings of successful and productive lives.
So, too, in recent months have there been horrific examples of police over-reach, which has resulted in unnecessary deaths. Videos have revealed just how arbitrary and violent a few confrontations between white officers and innocent blacks have become.
The 2016 election was particularly divisive as well, as the nation’s first black president is to be succeeded by a president who took strong positions against immigrants and Muslims as he built favor with largely — but not entirely — white supporters. “Let’s Make America Great Again” suggested a return to the years when there was also a wide gulf between the degree of white and black participation in the country, and President-elect Donald Trump has a very low favorable rating among blacks.
That rating was not helped by Trump’s response to U.S. Rep. John Lewis’ assertion last week that because of Russian disruption in the election, Trump’s presidency was not legitimate. Trump is welcome to his knee-jerk Twitter responses, but Lewis did not warrant being described as “all talk” and his Atlanta district denigrated.
In the mid-1960s, Lewis received plenty of abuse for taking part in numerous demonstrations, including taking seats in illegally segregated restaurants, and was physically hit at one point during the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march, which was so instrumental in showing Americans flagrant law enforcement behavior in the South. Lewis walked the talk and has been universally respected by leading members of both political parties.
But a few minutes of focus on one day of the year is not sufficient to make progress on the deep-rooted separations that still exist in this country. Look for opportunities to do or say a few things that will move us along a better path.
