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Harry C. Alford NNPA Columnist
Published: 12 July 2010

(NNPA) - The White male is very, very worried. His dominance in the world is no longer certain and there must be a way for him to devise a new system that can assure his economic and power advantage despite the rising populations of people of color, White women and the demands for a fair share of that economy and power. Blacks are now the majority in Brazil. Forty percent of all newborns in Germany are of Turkish descent. White French are dropping in population while Arabs and Blacks in that country have soaring populations. Gains in civil rights and political clout are starting to make a difference.
Thus, a new kind of psychological tactic is now being weighed. They, the White power trust, are trying to convince us that racism no longer exists and that we should not be vigilant any longer. We should no longer count heads and search for disparate impact and correct demographic imbalances. Yes, we are now all one family and our new direction should be human rights not civil rights. Dr. King is dead and so should be our focus. Victory is won and things have been corrected. Oh, it is a post-racial future now. Go to sleep Black man and forget your drive for equality because you have it now and just don't know it. Forget about unemployment that is triple that for Whites. Don't worry about low education attainment and disproportionate criminal sentences and an enormous poverty level. It really isn't there anymore. You have a Black president so it is all gone.
It sounds so preposterous but what is shocking is that many Black organizations and some activists are drinking this "cool aid". Some civil rights organizations have even officially changed their names from "civil rights" to "human rights".
An alarming number are changing their missions to include advocacy for Whites, gays, lesbians, disabled and anything else you can think of. Strangely, this was the Reagan Administration's tactic to tone down affirmative action. You include every group you can think of into the affirmative action pot thus lessening the concentration or action on true minorities. Many of our civil rights groups have now bought into this as it is the liberals singing the message so it must be the way to go.
When you change your mission you lose your cause. Whites don't need your help as they are in the driver's seat as it is. Gays and lesbians have a strong lobby and advocacy and don't need us. We, African-Americans, should not think that things are fine. There is still a lot of racism, prejudice and inequality out there. Don't put your head in the "sand" like an Ostrich trying to block out the dangers of the world.
Stand tall and continue the fight. These organizations are rendering themselves worthless by walking away from the battles. Right now there is a backlash in this nation that is directed right at Black America and they are singing a song of togetherness and happiness. Why even one group is dropping their lawsuit against the subprime lenders who economically exploited millions of our homeowners. They have dropped the suits as if it never happened. This is absolutely shocking.
Another indicator of this alarming trend is the current voting rights case before the US Department of Justice. It is clear that the New Black Panther Party violated the civil rights of voters at a polling place during the last presidential election. It is on videotape and there are very credible witnesses. They have been found guilty in a court of law. Still, without any sound logic, our Justice Department is dropping the case as if it didn't happen. This is just one matter at the Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice. They are denying the existence of discrimination in many other cases. Imagine our first Black President and Black Attorney General and the Justice Department start denying that discrimination exists. It is more than ironic it is plain sick. It is also dangerous.
We have an obligation to the generations that come after us and to our children that we presently care for. This world is not perfect yet and we cannot take the propaganda that some of our naïve brothers and sisters have swallowed. This nation is not post-racial. It is as racial now as it was in the 1980s. Better than the 1960s but that doesn't mean that victory has been won. Our schools are failing us, police are abusing our sons, courts stack the deck against us and we are still last hired and first fired.
Is it post-racial? Get real as the struggle continues. It is just that some have put their heads in the sand.
Harry Alford is the president/CEO and co-founder of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc.

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