Chris Enoch
Issue date: 1/20/09 Section: Feature

Decorated with historical allusion and tales of individual human experience, the storied movement for civil rights didn't vanish after what could be called the high point of the movement in the 1960s; its influence simply became mainstream. In those turbulent days, the idea of equal protection under law and other simple civic ideas that Americans take for granted such as the right to walk into a polling place free from harassment or a restaurant to eat or a school to learn were simultaneously morally irrefutable and politically controversial. In today's modern era of civil rights celebration, we see a robust movement that has thankfully penetrated our civic governments at all levels, our advocacy groups, our ethics and even our language. Regrettably, we still see a deficit of political representation in the highest tiers of government and a noticeable achievement gap in education, a state of affairs which will hopefully be exorcised by recent political events - up to and including the election of our first black (or bi-racial, if you prefer) president. Much has been made of where these events have led America. Has America entered a post-racial age? Is the election of Barack H. Obama the climax or the denouement of the civil rights movement? Is it neither? Are Americans ready for the truth and reconciliation that positive race relations require?

A recent Gallup poll, issued on Jan. 16, indicates that although Americans have seen plenty of disappointment in policy the last eight years, one area of perceived improvement has been race relations. Demonstrating that 40 percent of Americans feel that race relations have gained ground in these years, 25 percent still feel that these relations have regressed. Understanding where civil rights are and where they're going necessarily dictates understanding where they have been. The third Monday of January and February's Black History Month have been allotted as dates of appreciation, but let's go one step further. Let's examine why this movement and its figureheads are more than history, and their legacy still remains; a movement that brought epiphany to America's founding pretenses, the second American revolution, the struggle that brought truth to power and inclusion to those previously excluded.

History as Legacy

Though a unanimous decision by nine white men on the Supreme Court of the United States in Brown v. Board of Education spearheaded the rise of educational diversification and a rhetorical end to the "separate but equal" doctrine, founded by the case Plessy v. Ferguson half a century earlier, political realities for black Americans would only genuinely change after a decade and a half's worth of struggle, strife and political maneuvering on behalf of civil rights organizations and other dissident groups. Today, we largely identify and celebrate figures like Dr. Martin Luther King, Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks and the earlier efforts of civil rights giants like W.E.B. DuBois, but it must be understand the civil rights movement was a multi-million individual endeavor that often doesn't get the attention it deserves. While modern compulsory education's history textbooks tend to gloss over the efforts of these millions, their struggle still implies a lasting imprint that takes more than an individual day or month to truly appreciate. Even as we pay tribute to the men and women who shaped the movement; individuals of all races, genders and religions; hindsight and instruction alone won't provide the significance of a movement that truly represented the people versus the powerful.

Sixty years ago the opponents of equality, liberty, diversity and civil rights were outright in their obstreperousness for the movement. Southern congressmen rallied around their so-called "Southern Manifesto" in opposition to integration, Southern senators filibustered significant legislation in a like-minded manner and when legislation did pass it was always far too weak. The FBI, under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover's COINTELPRO program wiretapped phones and offices of prominent activists, searching for "communist connections." Many slight civil rights gains were orchestrated by presidents who dealt with the subject in a delicate if not minimalist manner. President Truman desegregated the military through executive order. His successor President Eisenhower ended discrimination in federal employment in the same fashion but by all accounts the agency that would oversee the latter's operation was hardly funded appropriately. The same man would call his nomination of Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at the time and author of the Brown v. Board opinion, the "biggest damn fool thing" he ever did. The Democratic Party had a "controversial" civil rights plank in their platform since 1948, but even after the election of Jack Kennedy in 1960, who assured reform to the black community, promises made were not always promises kept. As with every other stride toward equality made by his political predecessors (modest as they were), by the time Lyndon Johnson signed major civil rights legislation, namely the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968, said legislation could not be called a product of a politician or individual man but the upshot of millions struggling in harmony, fighting in unison for their dignity. Small assurances and practical politics would never again be enough.

From "We Shall Overcome" to "Yes We Can"

Fortunately for people of all colors, modernity provides us with a different perspective. Civil rights, and the movement that encompassed those legislative gains, is mainstream. When it comes to the civil rights movement and all that it has wrought, Cleveland State continues to set a high standard when it comes to cultural competency and the resources for racial understanding and reconciliation. The campus is home to a number of resources which embody this notion. The Howard A. Mims African-American Cultural Center is one such resource. As I walked into the center on a frigid Friday morning, I was unsure of what to expect. I didn't have a scheduled interview, and class was not in session. As I greeted the secretary and inquired about a potential interview in regards to civil rights, Dr. Martin Luther King and the Inauguration of President Barack Obama, she welcomingly told me to check down the hall with just the man to whom I would need to talk. The Coordinator for the Center, Prester Pickett, was that man.

Pressed on the infinite significance of Dr. King, who would have been eighty this year, Pickett remarked, "He was a visionary, and able to see something very good to benefit more people than just himself or more than just his people. He was an individual that could project into the minds of individuals who wanted to support the idea of these United States of America that we have today. He celebrated your ability to talk to me in this office and share conversations about my culture and the way I see other individuals in my community, of being involved with other peoples and their cultures, he saw that, and that extends him to my life." Continuing our conversation on King, a motif of selflessness for both the man and the movement he led by popular opinion permeated throughout the dialogue.

"As a parent, I'm realizing that it is beyond my life, it's looking at and preparing life for another generation. I am experiencing the impact of what he did, and what so many others did with him. He was the leader of so many people, and there were more people involved in the civil rights movement than just Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I'm able to see that there are things that my mother benefited from, gains that allowed them to send me to college," Pickett stated.

Arriving on the subject of black history, the direction of the civil rights movement and what the election of Barack Obama brings to a movement he is necessarily attached to, the relationship between "We Shall Overcome" and "Yes We Can" quickly became clear.

"Black history is not just for black people. Black history is American history, and with a Barack Obama, he's pulling that into the forefront," Pickett elaborated. "When we connect a Barack Obama with a Martin Luther King Jr. we start to help other people realize, others who are not African- American, that they are connected to this history. It helps us see that this is not an exclusionary practice. I think we are at a point where we are able to connect to the memory and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through a Barack Obama and see this inclusion that we haven't experienced before. African-Americans who may have been holding back their gifts and talents are able to come forward and say "I can sit at the table and be welcomed," Obama is communicating that not only can we sit at the welcome table, we can bring something to it; and then we can welcome others. We are now able to bring people to the welcome table and show others that this system is worthy of respect. It's an opportunity to make America a better nation as MLK talked about in the last speech on the eve of his assassination that that is where we're at now. In my opinion, that makes for a stronger America."

Sitting down with Pickett to talk civil rights, the African-American experience and our 44th president, I left the center with a feeling of satisfaction and fellowship. The conversation we had could never have occurred or even flowed so easily fifty years ago.

My pursuit of the civil rights inheritance and stories from that age of struggle were not yet complete however.

In a phone conversation with Dr. Martin Plax, an adjunct professor of political science at Cleveland State who resided in segregated St. Louis in the 1950s, I listened in on his experiences as a student who engaged in sitins with other students, black and white, in protest of discrimination. Like Pickett, he left a strong impression on my understanding of the inheritance of civil rights and the connection of our president to this movement. As a political scientist, Plax highlighted the differences between Obama and old guard of the civil rights movement.

"Obama is breaking from the traditional civil rights movement," Plax commented. "While Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton were always pushing for an integrated society, which I understand completely, race was always their number one issue. I tried to integrate restaurants in St. Louis in 1957 and 58 and then again in 1960 so I know about discrimination toward the black community, but I think that Obama has shown these older leaders that their way is almost, I'd like to say… behind the times. That is, that there is a much more creative way, a much more middle-ground sort of way where he can bring people from the left and the right into a coalition where his race is not a major issue. Obama is that rare individual with the power to speak across the board."

Throughout my dialogue with both Pickett and Plax, questions of policy and administration were not addressed. Rather, the focus always was set on what has already been achieved: a rare moment in history where the American presidency finally transcends race and the majority of Americans feel ready to walk down that demanding road towards fulfillment of America's highest ideals. Liberty, freedom, equality - these are just words. Whether or not our society, and by virtue of our example, societies abroad, can finally transcend racial boundaries will be left up to our generation. Like Dr. King, I am convinced "that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values." Dr. King best commenced that revolution in values over fifty years ago. No longer set or classified as a cursory view of history, King's revolution of values has been realized, ideally a cause of celebration for all.

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A Post-Racial Era?

Literally moments after the election of our 44th president, pundits and editorial boards across the country began a dialogue on the state of race in America. Many argued that given the election of Obama, race should no longer be considered a significant factor in the dynamics of our society. A few went as far as to celebrate the beginning of a new "post-racial" era. Was this archetype an accurate understanding of the status quo? Again, I went to the specialists.

"I wouldn't say that we live in a post-racial age, I would say that we are in an age of acknowledging that we have the potential to live in a post-racial age. A majority seems to want that for America. The easier it is for individuals to have conversations with people that are empowered, without a sense of feeling threatened any longer; things can be moved forward in a very positive way. My understanding is that we are on the brink of that, it's the light at the end of the tunnel, we can see it, but again, there are so many other complications."- Prester Pickett, Coordinator of the African-American Cultural Center

"Whether we are going to be post-racial I doubt. However, that doesn't mean that the racial agenda can't be moved along toward a more integrated society. People are losing that degree to which they feel they need to be separated. Post-racial doesn't mean that people aren't going to be aware of who they are, it means that people will be aware of who they are but not be as sensitive about the exclusivity of who they are, and therefore be much more comfortable. In many ways, people can be self-conscious, but it doesn't have to be a barrier anymore and to that degree I think that Obama might help Americans move in that direction." - Martin Plax, adjunct professor of political science

Reactions from Ohio's Congressional Delegation:

"This birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. is truly at the intersection of history. Today we herald a great Civil Rights leader on the eve of a major accomplishment of the Movement - the inauguration of President-elect Obama. I am proud to walk through doors opened by Dr. King and so many other freedom fighters. At such a time as this, we are encouraged by his legacy; not to glorify in the past, we must be emboldened by the present in order to build a better tomorrow." - U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge (OH-11)

"Martin Luther King, Junior believed in living a life of service to others. If he were living today, he surely would be proud to see how far his fight for social justice has come. He likely would be overcome by the millions who plan to gather on Washington D.C.'s National Mall for this year's Presidential Inauguration. This historic event reminds us that just 46 years ago, King led his own March on Washington with the same kind of hope and determination that our new President inspires in the millions of people who will gather to support him. The depth of how far our nation has come in the fight for civil rights can be measured by the progress we have made since King's historic march to Washington." - Rep. John Boccieri (OH-16)

"Greetings and Happy Martin Luther King Day!  I hope you enjoyed your break from classes, but I urge you to take a moment and consider this historic moment. Tomorrow our nation will inaugurate our first African-American President just forty-one years after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated to thwart the movement for equal rights. The civic actions of individuals can truly change the world.  Consider today how your life would be different without Reverend King and the civil rights movement, and what you can do to make sure the world will be a better place tomorrow." - U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (OH-10)

http://media.www.csucauldron.com/media/storage/paper516/news/2009/01/20/Feature/A.Revolution.In.Values-3589822.shtml

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