NY Times "bloggingheads": Is Racism Over?

Here's the view from the "ivory tower." Clearly, they haven't been reading the Washington Post and message boards on the New York Times website, You Tube, etc. etc. etc. If Barack Obama called himself Barry Durham (his mother's single name) and had a Japanese-American pastor, some Appalachian voters would still find reasons to "distrust" him - perhaps because he's left-handed?


Hope in the Unseen

Published: May 25, 2008
A portrait of hope was on every face during a lottery to choose the first 80 students, drawn from disadvantaged districts, who will attend a new public boarding school.

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Excerpt from "The African Contribution to Brazil"

"The African slave was hardworking, thrifty, and provident, qualities which his descendants did not always conserve. He sought to give his offspring a licit occupation and whenever possible he saw to it that his children and grandchildren had mastered a skill. The work of the Negro for centuries sustained the grandeur and prosperity of Brazil. It was the result of his labor that Brazil could afford scientific institutions, literature, art, commerce, industry, and so forth. He thus occupies a position of importance in the development of Brazilian civilization.
Whoever takes a look at the history of this country, will verify the value and contribution of the Negro to the defense of national territory, to agriculture, to mining, to the exploitation of the interior, to the movement for independence, to family life and to the development of the nation through the many and varied tasks he performed. Upon his well muscled back rested the social, cultural, and material development since without the income which he provided and which made everything possible there would have been neither educators nor educated: without that wealth the most brilliant aspirations would have withered; the bravest efforts would have been in vain. With the product of the Negro's labor, the wealthy masters sent their sons to European universities and later to our own universities, from which, well instructed, came our venerable priests, able statesmen, notable scientists, excellent writers, brave military officers, and all the rest who made of first colonial and then independent Brazil a cultured nation, strong among the civilized peoples.
From the conviviality and collaboration of the races in the formation of this country emerged a large mestizo population of all shades and hues, from which have come so many illustrious men of talent who are the true glory of our nation. Without any effort, one can name Francisco Ge Acaiaba de Montezuma, Visconde de Jequitinhona; Caetano Lopes de Moura; Eunapio Deiro; André Rebouças; Antônio Gonçalves Dias; Machado de Assis; João da Cruz e Sousa; José Agostinho; Francisco de Sales Torres Homem; Visconde de Inhomirim; Saldanha Marinho; José Mauricio Nunes Garcia; Tobias Barreto; José Lino Coutinho; Francisco Glicério; Natividade Saldanha; José do Patrocinio; José Theofilo de Jesus; Damião Barbosa; Chagas; João da Veiga Murici; and many others. It can be concluded that Brazil possesses two riches: the fertility of the soil and the talent of the mestizo.
The black is still the principal producer of the nation's wealth, but many are the contributions of that long suffering and persecuted race which has left imperishable proofs of its singular valor. History in all its justice has to respect and praise the valuable services which the black has given to this nation for more than three centuries. In truth, it was the black who developed Brazil."

Manuel Querino, O Colono Preto como Factor da Civilização Brasileira (Salvador: Imprensa Official do Estado, 1918). The essay is reprinted in Querino, A Raça Africana, pp. 123-152, under the title "0 Africano como Colonisador."

Source: Bibliographical Essay: Manuel Querino's Interpretation of the African Contribution to Brazil, E. Bradford Burns. The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 59, No. 1. (Jan., 1974), pp. 78-86.


Condoleezza Rice on Racism

Sen. Barack Obama has called for a national discussion on race in America, and one of the folks who sure didn't hold back when asked was Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

In a discussion with the editorial board of the Washington Times on Thursday, Rice called racism a "birth defect" of America, and said that black Americans have loved the nation even when it didn't love us.

The Times reported:




Rice later said, "America doesn't have an easy time dealing with race," adding that members of her family have "endured terrible humiliations.”

"What I would like understood as a black American is that black Americans loved and had faith in this country even when this country didn't love and have faith in them - and that's our legacy," she said.

Wow, was all I could say to that.

What was even more stunning was the relative lack of coverage on this issue.

I was told CNN's "The Situation Room" did a piece on her comments Friday. But when I surfed the Net to see follow-up stories in other papers, it has pretty much been ignored, except for some briefs.

Why would the mainstream media be so dismissive of Rice's comments? Imagine if Rev. Al Sharpton or Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. said such a thing. Do you think they would have gotten ripped?

The fact of the matter is that Rice was right on the money with her comments, and should be commended. She spoke honestly and openly about the issue, and deserves credit for speaking the truth.

I just wish my colleagues in the media would do a better job at advancing the issue of race in America and our sordid history.

We went bonkers about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, but when Rice, the nation's chief diplomat, spoke truthfully, it barely made a ripple.

- Roland S. Martin, CNN Contributor


Like looking under a rock...

Racist Incidents Give Some Obama Campaigners Pause
By Kevin Merida
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 13, 2008; A01
* * *
Like him?
But truthfully, she wasn't feeling so sure.
Staff writer Peter Slevin and polling analyst Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.