Seven years later, he evolved, wanting to allow black soldiers – such as my ancestors – who had fought so bravely in the Civil War the ballot. Had he lived, who knows how much he may have changed, with Frederick Douglass whispering in his ear.
The notion here is rather obvious: people change. In The Mosque Across the Street – a video shown at the FOCUS churches service I attended this month – we see one Christian parishioner at a Memphis church weep as he realizes that HE was the problem in dealing with the new Muslim neighbors.
Jeff, a Facebook friend, wrote this recently: “Bob Zellner was a civil rights hero, a white organizer of SNCC. His father was a Klansman until he went to Europe in the 1930s, met up with a group of Southern Gospel singers and traveled with them. He wrote to his wife that at some point, he ‘forgot they were black,’ and he realized how foolish and awful he had been. When he got home he resigned from the Klan, traveled the South as an anti-Klan preacher… and his wife took his Klan uniforms and made much needed shirts out of them for the kids.”
As the very first line of his Oyez bio reads, “Hugo LaFayette Black refused to let his past dictate his future.” The Alabaman joined the Ku Klux Klan in 1923, but quit two years later. As an old poli sci major could tell you, Black was sworn in as an Associate Justice in 1937, and served for 34 years, supporting many groundbreaking civil rights cases.
People change. And we WANT and EXPECT people to do so. I’ve read a number of stories from white people, especially during this Black History Month, about how they, or those around them, were radically changed by interaction with people of different backgrounds.
One fellow from my former hometown wrote: “I changed from the young guy growing up in a backward community that still appears to show the same racist, bigoted attitude. Becoming educated, and allowing others to point out most of my misconceptions helped.”
So I am having some difficulty – OK, a LOT of difficulty – judging people solely based on how they dressed up in costumes – even racist, offensive costumes – decades ago. It does not necessarily make that person a bigot for life.
If people who were ACTUAL members of the Ku Klux Klan can be redeemed, some indiscretions of the past, even blackface – which must have been the state hobby among white Virginians at some point – can be contextualized.
What we need is some sort of formula based on the severity of the offense, the recency of the offense, the level of contrition, and most importantly, their current comportment. As a guy I know wrote: “I think that this needs to be decided by the group that he has offended, not white liberals.”
To that end, the subhead of this article from a couple weeks ago intrigued me: As Calls Mount for Ralph Northam to Resign, Some Virginians Mull a Second Chance. “Seems the average black voter in VA has conflicting feelings about all this. Maybe because they have seen a lot worse?”
Florida Secretary of State Michael Ertel had to quit recently. He wore blackface to make fun of victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. I have no sympathy, and he needed to go.
As the Weekly Sift guy notes: “When a politician’s positions on current issues already raise questions about racism, then evidence of racism in his or her past ought to have increased significance.”
As a practical matter, I believe this is also true:
“I worry that we’re playing into Trump’s hands when we drum Ralph Northam out of the Democratic Party. As I interpret it, Trump’s message to wavering whites and men and anti-gay straights goes something like this:
“‘You’re never going to be pure enough to satisfy the liberals. So you might as well wear your MAGA hat and fly your Confederate flag, because no matter what you do, there’s never going to be a place for you on the other side'”.
Nation of Change recommends that Ralph Northam immediately resigns when the “lord of racism in the here and now” goes. THAT is a workable plan.
I think of the way South Africa handled things after Apartheid; rather than seeking PUNISHMENT, they endeavored to expose the TRUTH and use that to advance RECONCILIATION.It strikes me as a useful model as a combination of “The Truth Will Set You Free” and “Go, and Sin No More.”
The problem is that our apartheid didn’t end, it morphed from slavery to Jim Crow to mass incarceration
Not the dominant point of your excellent column, but I was a bit stung by the ‘fellow from my [our] hometown’ describing it as backward. Really? Maybe his F&F, but look at you, look at my mom, I don’t think so…
I, too, am troubled by calls for people like Northam to step down based solely on youthful indiscretions. Seems that sincere apologies for long past poor behavior warrant some forgiveness. Although it happens probably far less than we would like, those who have true epiphanies and turn their behavior around 180 degrees are testaments to the power of love and to the ability to literally change the mind. They show us all that we, too, can grow light years in an instant by using the power of our hearts and minds for good.
Roger, nice writing!
Dear Carol – I assuredly dealt with “backwards” people in our hometown, not so much in the Ward. When I was a teen, I was “bait” to see if I would be harassed by the Woolworth’s employees as other black kids had experienced. That’s just one concrete example.
great post and perspective. I agree – dealing with the issues of mass incarceration is the next step in eradicating this horrible chapter of the enslavement of non-whites in America.
Roger
I respect your perspective and appreciate reading your thoughts.
I also am of the mindset that those who might be offended are those who at least have the first and most powerful say.
Signed, A believer in change
Great post you make some good points. Pointing something out what somebody did in the 80’s without looking at what he or she has done in the intemining 30 plus years is very short sighted. Very few people would be able to pass inspection. We grow and we change, hopefully.