Volume 6 Issue 17…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…May 2, 2003

Excerpt from "The Color Line in America"

By Frederick Douglass

It is our lot to live among a people whose laws, traditions, and prejudices have been against us for centuries, and from these they are not yet free. To assume that they are free from these evils simply because they have changed their laws is to assume what is utterly unreasonable and contrary to facts. Large bodies move slowly. Individuals may be converted on the instant and change their whole course of life. Nations never! Time and events are required for the conversion of nations. Not even the character of a great political organization can be changed by a new platform. It will be the same old snake though in a new skin.

Though we have had war, reconstruction, and abolition as a nation, we still linger in the shadow and blight of an extinct institution. Though the colored man is no longer subject to be bought and sold, he is still surrounded by an adverse sentiment, which fetters all his movements. In his downward course, he meets with no resistance, but his course upward is resented and resisted by every step of his progress. If he comes in ignorance, rags and wretchedness, he conforms to the popular belief of his character, and in that character he is welcome. But if he shall come as a gentleman, a scholar, and a statesman, he is hailed as a contradiction to the national faith concerning his race, and his coming is resented as impudence. In the one case he may provoke contempt and derision, but in the other, he is an affront to pride and provokes malice. Let him do what he will, there is at present, therefore, no escape for him. The color line meets him everywhere, and in a measure shuts him out from all respectable and profitable trades and callings.

In spite of all your religion and laws, he is a rejected man. He is rejected by trade unions of every trade, and refused work while he lives and burial when he dies, and yet he is asked to forget his color and forget that which everybody else remembers. If he offers himself to a builder as a mechanic, to a client as a lawyer, to a patient as a physician, to a college as a professor, to a firm as a clerk, to a government department as an agent or an officer, he is sternly met on the color line, and his claim to consideration in some way is disputed on the ground of color.

Our meeting here was opposed by some of our members because it would disturb the peace of the Republican Party. The suggestion came from coward lips and misapprehended the character of that party. If the Republican Party cannot stand a demand for justice and fair play, it ought to go down.

If the six million colored people of this country...have not sufficient spirit and wisdom to organize and combine to defend themselves from outrage, discrimination and oppression, it will be idle for them to expect the Republican Part or any other political party will organize for them or care what becomes of them. Men may combine to prevent cruelty to animals, for they are dumb and cannot speak for themselves; but we are men and women and must speak for ourselves, or we shall not be spoken for at all...It was the sword of Washington and of Lafayette that gave us independence.

About Me: After the Civil War and Reconstruction, blacks remained second class citizens. State legislation and Supreme Court decisions neutered the constitutional amendments. Discrimination limited blacks in almost every socioeconomic arena. Frederick Douglass addressed these facts in his speech of September 14, 1883, and called on blacks to strike a blow for their freedom, because 'liberty given is never so precious as liberty sought for and fought for." (Source: Speech by Douglass from Three Addresses on the Relations Subsisting Between the White and Colored People in the United States, Washington, 1886, pp.3-23.) Venue for an Artist Homepage

By John Burl Smith

After weeks of contentious debate, the Georgia legislature authorized a referendum on the state flag. Proclaiming it will give the people a choice, Gov. Sonny Perdue made good on his campaign promise to return the confederate flag atop the capitol dome. Now, Georgians must choose between the flag that flew over the confederate state of Georgia or the current flag, which has a smaller confederate battle emblem on it. Citizens with no desire to honor Georgia's confederate slave heritage are not being given a choice in this matter.

The confederate flag fight reflects white attitudes embodied in Article 1 Section 2, the 3/5 Compromise, of the US Constitution. Atlanta is a case in point. A few weeks ago Susan Booth, a Northern white hired to direct the Alliance Theater, showcased five local theater company productions the Alliance will present. Not one black person was a part of that photo opportunity or the artistic collaboration. Although the taxes paid by Atlanta's black citizens help fund the Alliance Theater, Ms Booth neither includes young black artists in community outreach nor produces their work. The Alliance is committed to serving the white audience represented by Georgia's confederate flag heritage.

Ms Booth is not alone. This desire to appease whites is shared by many blacks in Atlanta City government. They still adhere to the old 1895 Booker T. Washington Atlanta Compromise philosophy. These administrators believe funding young black artistic productions is a waste of resources. Those in charge of cultural development in Atlanta use art funds as political patronage for whites. Moreover, any black arts projects funded must conform to white demands and feed black stereotypes. Artists trying to break out of that mold are denied cultural bureau grants.

In the spirit of the Harlem Renaissance, young black artists see their hip-hop/spoken word motif as the future of black art. When those "Renaissance thinkers" crashed the scene, no one suspected their impact. Accordingly, hip-hop innovators reject efforts to dictate subject matter or limit the scope of their artistic expression. These artists have reached beyond their blackness to touch very diverse audiences.

The plight of slave descendants has become an international movement of redefinition for the Diaspora, and young blacks are challenging everything as they establish their place in the world. The hip-hop generation will not be controlled or dominated by a racist heritage that was outlawed in the US 140 years ago. Hip-hoppers have moved beyond black or white skin as an indicator of the value of artistic expressions. George Bush's "no child left behind" and the contentious confederate flag fight symbolize the "soft bigotry" inherent in American racism/color discrimination.

Art should be at the forefront in the battle against racism. Yet, in Atlanta, art is a tool of racism. Art funding organizations use barriers like 501(c)(3) non-profit status and content or character to deny black artists access to markets. However, like artists during the Harlem Renaissance, black artists continue to invest their resources in their dreams of dwelling among the stars. If they fall short, they will land on the moon. Other Essays by John Burl Smith

A Night at Margaret Mitchell House

On May 8, 2003, the Margaret Mitchell House presents An Agents of Change Event featuring Constance Curry, author of Mississippi Harmony: Memoirs of a Freedom Fighter, and Chea Prince, editor/director of "The Intolerable Burden," a documentary about a black Drew, Mississippi family's efforts to educate their children during segregation.

The evening begins at 7 P.M. with a screening of "The Intolerable Burden." Directed and edited by Atlanta filmmaker Chea Prince and based on Silver Rights (1996), a prior work of author, attorney and civil rights activist Constance Curry, "The Intolerable Burden" chronicles the struggles of sharecroppers, Mae Bertha and Matthew Carter, as they attempt to provide a quality education for their children in public schools at a time when segregation ruled the South. It examines their hardships in the face of massive white resistance.

The evening concludes with Curry's latest book, Mississippi Harmony: Memoirs of a Freedom Fighter, which explores the life of Mississippian Winson Hudson, who lived through some of the most racially oppressive periods in her state's history. Like Curry, Hudson has devoted her life to combating discrimination. Her work has included voting rights, school desegregation, health care and government loans - issues intertwined with the black freedom struggle. The narrative of her struggle is both tragic and triumphant, disturbing and inspiring. Admission is free for members and $8 for non-members. For directions and reservations, call 770.578.3502. Atlanta Vibe Homepage

Frederick Douglass (1818-1895)

Son of Harriet Bailey, a slave, and an unknown white man, Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born in 1818 in Maryland. At an early age, he was sent to the Baltimore home of his master's relatives, where he began to learn to read. At 13, he bought his first book, The Columbian Orator.

A rebel, he was sent back to his master. At 17, he was sent to work for Edward Covey, who specialized in breaking the spirit of rebellious slaves. Far from breaking his spirit, the nearly six months of daily beatings proved to be "the turning point" in his life; he went from believing he was "nothing" to becoming a man.

Covey returned him to his master. Frederick was sent to Baltimore as a shipyard apprentice. In addition to learning the caulker's trade, he learned to write. In September 1838, he escaped to New York. After marrying, Anna Murray, the couple went to New Bedford, Massachusetts. Frederick could not get work as a ship's caulker, because of racial discrimination, and was forced to work as common laborer. He changed his surname to Douglass, the name of a character in the poem The Lady of the Lake (1810) by Sir Walter Scott.

After reading abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison's The Liberator and joining his local group, Douglass attended the 1841 Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society Convention. His speech on his slave experiences so impressed the society he was hired as a full-time agent. He traveled throughout the North, speaking, giving public lectures and recruiting new members.

He published his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845), My Bondage and My Freedom (1855) and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881, revised 1892). Fearing recapture under the Fugitive Slave Laws, Douglass went on a two-year speaking tour abroad (1845). He returned to the US after British friends purchased his freedom

In 1847, Douglass moved to Rochester, New York. To disprove the pro-slavery argument that blacks were "naturally inferior," he started The North Star, a weekly newspaper managed and edited by blacks. Douglass published newspapers from 1847 to 1863.

In 1848, he participated in the women's rights convention and worked with the Liberty Party, which demanded the abolition of slavery. He also backed the Free-Soil and Republican Parties, which pledged to prevent slavery's extension to new states and territories.

Douglass' Rochester home was a station on the Underground Railroad, a network of activists who helped smuggle slaves from the South. After John Brown, the abolitionist, attacked the federal arsenal and armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (1859) and was captured, Douglas faced implication as an accomplice. To avoid possible arrest for treason, he fled the country. He returned to campaign for Abraham Lincoln in his 1860 bid for the presidency. After the outbreak of the Civil War, he argued that slavery was the true cause of the conflict and urged Lincoln to expand his war aims beyond saving the Union. He called for the recruitment of slaves and free blacks and helped raise the all-black Massachusetts 54th and 55th regiments. His sons, Frederick and Lewis, were among the first of more than 200,000 blacks to serve in the US armed forces.

During Reconstruction (1865-1877), Douglass campaigned for passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. An active supporter of equal rights for women, he was the 1872 vice-presidential candidate on the Equal Rights Party slate headed by Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for president.

Despite its declining commitment to black civil rights, Douglass remained loyal to the Republican Party. He served as U.S. Marshal for the District of Columbia (1877-1881), DC Recorder of Deeds (1882-1886), US Minister to Haiti (1889-1891) and Secretary of the Commission of Santo Domingo. He hoped his appointments would open doors for blacks, but it was many years before others would follow in his footsteps.

In 1882, his wife of 44 years and mother of his five children died. Douglass was criticized for his 1884 marriage to his white secretary, Helen Pitts. Recognized as the foremost black American spokesperson of the 19th century, this abolitionist, human rights and women's rights activist, orator, author, journalist, publisher and social reformer has been called the father of the civil rights movement. Douglass died in 1895. Sources: www.history.rochester.edu and www.pbs.org. History Homepage

Disgruntled says: An Internet rumor suggests Bush will never allow democratic elections in 2004. He will either invoke Marshall Law behind another terrorist incident or circumvent the obvious exercise in duplicity in which blacks have never been fully counted as citizens. One possible circumvention concerns the electronic voting process. You know, garbage in, garbage out, a programmer's scenario of uncounted votes.

Disgruntled wants to know: Parents are expected to teach their children personal responsibility and self-control. We invest hundreds of hours, and in some cases hundreds of dollars in counseling sessions, on non-violent problem resolution. No parent wants to be called into the principal's office because their kid behaves like a barbarian. Yet, how do we successfully instill these worthwhile social skills in our children when our national leaders resolve disputes with lethal weapons?

Disgruntled feels: Suspicious! Europe has banned genetically modified (GM) foods. The European Union is one of Africa's biggest trading partners. With people starving in countries across the African continent, the US has been using strong-arm tactics to force these countries to accept GM crops. Recently, Dow Chemical, Dupont, Monsanto and Syngenta, the nation's four biotechnology and agrochemical giants agreed to share, for FREE, their technology with African scientists. Once GM foods are introduced into Africa, it is bye-bye to trade with the EU and hello to a long-term commitment to buy seeds for annual planting for these biotech companies. Africans should be suspicious, because no one knows the ecological and physiological consequences of growing and consuming bio-foods. More Disgruntled Moments

PBS on the Color Line

Felicia R. Lee's article "A Challenge to White Supremacy, 100 Years Later" (The New York Times, 4-15-03) recalls the 1903 publication of W.E.B. DuBois' "The Souls of Black Folk." DuBois' prediction that "the problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line" proved prophetic as blacks ended the twentieth century in the same relative socioeconomic position they were in when DuBois made his prediction.

More important, blacks continue to suffer disparate treatment based on every positive measure of economic welfare, not only in this country, but around the world. On the 100th anniversary of DuBois' prediction, scholars, students and everyday people are encouraged to reexamine DuBois' thesis in order to say something useful about the human condition.

In three one-hour installments, which airs April 24, May 1 and May 8, 2003, PBS' Race - The Power of an Illusion begins the discussion. Narrated by CCH Pounder (The Shield), Episode 1 - "The Difference Between Us-" surveys the scientific findings, which include genetics that suggest race has no biological basis. Episode 2 -"The Story We Tell-" traces the origins of the concept of race to the European conquest of the Americas and to the first ever system of slavery where all slaves shared a physical trait: dark skin. The final episode - "The House We Live In-" focuses on the institutions that leave different groups differently advantaged. Its subject is "unmarked" white people.

The series should be required viewing. If you missed an installment, visit www.pbs.org for more information and a future rerun date. Enter the discussions that this series and the celebration of 100th year of "The Souls of Black Folk" are sure to generate. News You Use Homepage

On Not Playing in Mecca!

By Dot

From the early 1980s to the mid-1990s, Atlanta earned a reputation as the black Mecca, "the city too busy to hate." Capital of the new South, blacks came to the city in droves to sample its southern hospitality and take advantage of the promised economic opportunity. From a distance, it shined like the newly polished gold of its capitol dome. Repeated claims of black success made the city sound like the Garden of Eden for blacks.

Atlanta has had a succession of black mayors; some of them even claim to possess sterling credentials as movers and shakers in the civil rights movement. Yet, blacks neither control the city's purse strings nor make the real decisions, which impact the quality of black life. The mayor of Buckhead, a suburb of Atlanta, exerts more power and influence than Atlanta's mayor. A precarious situation that, in part, explains why former mayor Bill Campbell worked so hard to kill Freaknik, the black college spring break, and why current mayor Shirley Franklin let the organizers of the hip-hop festival know they were not welcome in the Mecca.

Piedmont Park and/or one of the city's other locales is a suitable venue for every dog and pony show from Gay Pride to the Great Atlanta Pot Festival. Yet, these sites were off limits to Freaknik and the organizers of the hip-hop festival. Twice denied an Atlanta permit, the festival that nobody knew about took place outside the city limits at Henderson's Arena and Auction. Of course, it was a flop, according to a newspaper headline, while the Dogwood Festival in Piedmont Park drew crowds in the thousands. Welcome to the Mecca, where blacks can work, pay taxes, but cannot play. DISHing It Up Hot Homepage

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