overlooks the fact that OVERT racism is less prevalent. But it is STILL there. I have lived in the South all of my life. Born in Jackson, MS during the time of MLK and Medgar Evers. I was a young teen but I still remember the environment of segregated schools, white only water fountains and poll taxes designed to deny voting to the African American population. I lived a couple of years in Ft. Worth, TX before moving back to Mississippi. I have lived along the Gulf Coast since then in Mobile, AL and Pensacola, FL. (Yes, I had to suffer through the years that Joe was my Rep. in Congress. Blick!)
We no longer live with open, naked racism because people have gotten savvy to what is OK and what is NOT OK to say or do. In other words, their racism is just better concealed. Before I retired I worked with people----Caucasian, African American, Hispanic and Asia American. We often ate our lunch together in a common dining area. The conversations were ALWAYS different when we all were present versus when the African American workers were not present. At those times when it was all white, the language and subject matter was always more openly racist. Negative comments regarding the African American employees were used that were blatantly racist, stereotypical remarks.
My way to describe it would be that they talked in Code. In other words, they would talk in a way that another white person would recognize as meaning another term that they would not say out loud, but was meant to be racial. They were often somewhat guarded in how they phrased things but anyone "in the know" knew what they meant.
So Joe's assertion that the world is not like it was in 1965 is only partially correct. Some things are better, but racist attitudes and behavior still exists, even in his beloved hometown of Pensacola, FL. Protection for the disenfranchised or those who might be disenfranchised needs to be in place.
Maybe at some point in time, when the generation of people who still hold racist attitudes are long gone, it won't be necessary to have a Voting Rights Act. Until that day comes (and it is obvious to all), it needs to stay firmly in place.
Since I have not lived outside of the south, I am not prepared to suggest that racism exists in other areas, but would be willing to guess that it does since we are a very mobile society and there have been racially motivated incidents in areas outside of the south. Others can speak to that issue of where and how pervasive racism is in other parts of the country.
= new reply since forum marked as read
and a "sweet" smile...
