It was the summer of 1956 when Jim Crow first hit me right between the eyes in the Charleston, South Carolina airport. I had just flown from Philadelphia to join my ship in the Charleston Navy Yard. In those days propeller driven commercial planes took twice as long as today's flight.
My first order of business upon landing in Charleston was a trip across the tarmac to the public restroom where Jim Crow had a rude awakening for this Yankee. The airport facilities were rest rooms separated by public water fountains similar to what you'd find in airports today but in Charleston there were double facilities and above each, in large bold letters, was a sign proclaiming: Whites or Colored. It's not to say that ethnic prejudice had been eradicated up North but, by comparison, Pennsylvania was light years ahead of what I experienced that day in Charleston.
Using my Charleston experience as a reference point I can say without hesitation, American race relations during the next 50 years were on a path of significant improvement. Two important forces behind the improvement were the leadership qualities of past presidents.
Three examples were Harry Truman, who ordered integration of the Military and Dwight Eisenhower who, with the assistance of federal troops, guaranteed black students a safe journey to southern universities where they had enrolled. The third example was Jack Kennedy who placed his Attorney General brother,Robert, in direct charge of a federal effort to protect peaceful Freedom Marches. Those marches were led by strong and positive leadership in the black community epitomized by Dr Martin Luther King.
Dr King used the Mahatma Gandhi model for his leadership by pursuing peaceful demonstrations and nonviolent civil disobedience methods. Those tenacious methods won the hearts of the American people. In addition, Dr King was an inspiring orator. His “ I Have a Dream ” speech delivered in front of the Lincoln Memorial resonated with the public as Lincoln's Address had at Gettysburg nearly a century before.
Unfortunately Dr King, like Lincoln before him, was struck down by an assassin's bullet before their mission had been completed.
In the case of Lincoln, it was political hacks labeled Carpetbaggers who fouled the efforts of post Civil War Reconstruction. In the case of Dr King it was self serving race hustlers like Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton who filled the vacuum of black leadership , preaching the religion of Victomology rather than Hope.
Despite the retarding effect of weaker community leadership, race relations continued to improve nationally until President Obama took office. Here was the Coup d e-tat.
Obama has been the first president since before Truman to retard race relations by prematurely shooting from the hip whenever a racially charged incident occurred. Weak Presidential leadership has also emboldened anarchists to come out of the shadows and stir the pot of malcontent. National race relations over time can be charted as an inverted fish hook. The last six years represent a downward trajectory toward the barb.
Ending on a positive note: remember, there are less than two years left of this administration. Every candidate in either political party who has already thrown their hat into the ring or is still testing the water, represents an improvement in executive leadership toward improved race relations. Now all we need is strong, articulate, leadership in the community to chase the anarchists back into the shadows and resurrect Dr King's message of hope.