Realizing the Civil Rights Dream: Diagnosing and Treating American Racism
Notes and additional content related to each chapter in the book.
Introduction
In this introductory chapter I begin by telling the story of my first encounter with racism. Several issues related to the language that we use when discussing racism are raised. Then the outline of the book is presented.
Whose Idea Was This?
Chapter 2 gives a selective history of the development of skin color racism. The purpose is to establish a foundation for understanding racism as it exists in America in the 21st century. Five periods of American history are discussed: 1) British settlement, 1607--1740s; 2) United States becomes a nation, 1775--1812; 3) The abolition movement, 1830--1865; 4) Ascent of segregation and Jim Crow, 1877--1944; 5) Birth of a national civil rights identity, 1954--1968.
The chapter concludes that each period in American history has had unique challenges and opportunities to establish civil rights for all Americans. The 21st century requires a restatement of the civil rights goal that is relevant for today.
The Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville visited America in 1831. He described the society as Anglo-American where white Americans claim superiority over the Indians and blacks. He reported on a conversation with a man in Pennsylvania who claimed “The Negroes have an undisputed right of voting, but they voluntarily abstain from making their appearance
In August of 1960, Ella Baker, a former executive directory of Dr. King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), organized a conference for student leaders on the campus of Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. The idea was to organize students as a parallel organization to support Dr. King's work.
Dr. King got more than he asked
Tearing Down Barriers
This chapter proposed that one focus of civil rights activism and reform should be identifying and removing barriers that American society puts in the way of people of color. It is argued that using the language of working for equal opportunity actually prevents us from achieving the civil rights dream. Barriers can be
The Dream of Full Participation
This chapter introduces Jesse Jackson's proposal for a patchwork quilt nation. He proposed the idea in a speech at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. It is explained how this vision for the future of America is a break with the vision of the founders. The idea goes beyond tolerance and traditional pluralism
On November 17, 2017 Rev. Jesse Jackson revealed that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. In a statement he said, "I will continue to try to instill hope in the hopeless, expand our democracy to the disenfranchised and free innocent prisoners around the world," he added, "I steadfastly affirm that I would rather wear out than rust out."
White Cultural Dominance Is Not Working
Chapter 5 reviews the evidence that America is not moving toward becoming a society without racism. The persistence of racism in the areas of criminal justice, education, and economic opportunity are described. In these and other areas, American society is not working for people of color. Although surveys
A Campus without Racism?
Racism needs to be on the agenda of college and university trustees because integrity and sustainability can be threatened when resources have not been directed to create an anti-racism environment. Addressing racism is also an essential component of fulfilling the larger responsibility that higher education has to sustain
In September of 2017 the Institute for Policy Studies and Prosperity New released an update on their 2016 report, The Ever-Growing Gap: Without Change, African-American and Latino Families Won't Match White Wealth for Centuries. The new study is entitled, The Road to Zero Wealth, How the Racial Wealth Divide is Hollowing Out American's Middle Class
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