Bury Me Broken

Anti-Lynching Bill and Race Politics

The passing of the Anti-Lynching bill with a voice vote was an example of racial politics at its finest. Senator Frist denies that anyone asked for a roll call vote but he also denied that he said anything contrary to Terri Schiavo being in a persistent vegetative state so his credibility is zero. Besides, he blocked the Anti-Lynching bill to come to a vote a few weeks before so we know exactly who is constituency is and what his politics are.

Eight senators remain holdout on cosponsoring which is simply signing one's name in support of the measure. According to the NYTimes:

Absent were Lamar Alexander of Tennessee; Thad Cochran of Mississippi; John Cornyn of Texas; Mike Enzi of Wyoming; Judd Gregg of New Hampshire; Trent Lott of Mississippi; John Sununu of New Hampshire; and Craig Thomas of Wyoming.

There excuses were the obvious to the callous.

Some said they didn't find it necessary to "co-sponsor every nice piece of legislation," in the words of Senator Sununu. Others, like Senators Enzi and Gregg, said through spokesmen that they supported the measure, noting that it could not have passed by voice vote if they had objected.

Senator Alexander, in a lengthy speech submitted for the Congressional record, argued the best way for the Senate "to condemn lynching is to get to work" on legislation promoting good schools and better health care for blacks.

Alexander offers this as if working to help Blacks and alleviate disparities in my community, much of which has its roots in the racist actions of a generation go is not his job as senator. You don't condemn the Klan by working for opportunities for poor rural whites in Klan areas; you condemn the Klan by saying the Klan is wrong. You don't condemn the Holocaust, to use recent controversy, by promoting understanding of Jewish culture or finding opportunities, you condemn the Holocaust.

But some, like Senators Cochran, Cornyn and Lott, raised pointed questions about the wisdom of official apologies.

Is it necessary, they asked, for politicians to confess to sins they personally did not commit? And when the government begins apologizing, where and when does it stop?

To question the wisdom of official apologies is to continue to sweep under the rug the conversation that a nation should have in order to move forward. This language reminds me of my white History professor that never looked at his majority African American class and never used the word slavery as he lectured, looking downward at his legal pad on the "peculiar institution." Furthermore, one cannot confess sins one did not commit but the use of religious imagery by the Right, reminiscent of the moneychangers Jesus threw out of the temple is another subject for another day.

There are times when I feel like an American citizen, a champion of democracy, free speech, life and liberty and an ambassador for goodwill worldwide. Other times, I feel the second class citizenship of being African American when politicians, my representatives, are callous as they dismiss me, the unique consideration of my race and heritage in America and the legacy of America as it concerns African Americans.

Tom Delay ridiculed President Clinton on his 1998 trip to Uganda for expressing regret for the American role in the slave trade. So does DeLay represent Blacks? I would like to know. I want the answer as to whether politicians who dissemble and excuse their refusal to simply make a statement.

Racial politics is a nasty affair that begets anger and dredges up dormant feelings of disgust and disdain as politicians smile and hold babies as if they represent all and yet are unable to simply state that something in the past was wrong as they tightrope between politically correct, politically necessary and not associating with anything that would distance them from their prejudiced constituencies.

I have know Lamar Alexander for years. As a native Nashvillian, his name and face are as familiar as my old neighborhood. I participated in activities for lower socioeconomic Nashvillians of which he had a hand in, listened to his state of the state addresses as my governor and even participated in political activities, wearing campaign t-shirts and buttons and attending rallies. I represented Senator Alexander well; today he fails me.

I am accustomed to the "pecularities" of the South. I am accustomed to stopping for gas in Mississippi and Arkansas adn seeing "Tommy Hillbilly" bumper stickers with Confederate flags. "Southern by birth, rebel by choice" is the surroundings of my teenage upbringing. I heard "the South will rise again" at my schools and riding the buses. I live in Florida now; I know the South.

But I never feel like a second class citizen until I am dismissed by Senator Alexander with the tired excuse of actions speaking louder than words.

I never feel like a second class citizen until Senator Lott places the legacy of killing is equated to social security in the same way they falsely claim Senator Durbin made an analogy.

I never feel like a nigger until Senator DeLay ridicules former President Clinton for expressing regret over the U.S. role in the slave trade.

The Republican party reaching out to African Americans (here, here, and here from a simple Yahoo search) begins with an end to duplicity and dissembling. After all, Senator Alexander said in so many words that actions speak louder. Little does he know how loud his speak.

posted by niteskolar @ 12:50 PM