Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 22, 1992 TAG: 9201220392
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: OLIVER HILL
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
EQUALITY STILL ELUSIVE
THE BILL of Rights may be our nation's most durable document, but the rights guaranteed by the first 10 amendments have yet to be fully applied to one group of Americans who came to this continent a year before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock - African-Americans.Indeed, historically minded Americans of African descent are concerned by the similarity between the events of today and those of earlier periods. To appreciate the enormity of this concern, we need to examine the events that have transpired since Africans first arrived in the English colonies.
Though historians are still debating whether those first Africans were slaves or indentured servants, by the beginning of the 18th century perpetual slavery was codified throughout the 13 colonies. As slavery evolved, so did the practice and custom of relegating slaves to the status of ordinary chattel.
By 1855, the U.S. Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision confirmed the beliefs of the vast majority of whites, especially Southerners. Blacks, according to the court, had no rights that a white man was legally bound to respect. Eleven years later, following the Civil War, a humane and patriotic Reconstruction Congress invalidated the Dred Scott ruling by enacting the Civil Rights Acts of 1866, 1868 and 1872.
These laws expanded the rights guaranteed to all Americans to the newly freed slaves and other blacks. The Reconstructionists, realizing that what one Congress can do another can undo, drafted the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments. These amendments, in conjunction with the Civil Rights Acts, mandated federal responsibility in ensuring that blacks would enjoy the same freedoms as all American citizens.
The federal government attempted to uphold the rights of blacks and their white sympathizers by stationing federal troops in the South. But a combination of actions based on prejudice and greed once again delegated the protection of blacks to the tender mercies of the very state governments acting to suppress their newfound freedom.
Western and Northern states aided in this nefarious endeavor by supporting the removal of federal troops from the South, and by maintaining racial segregation in most aspects of community and public life. A recalcitrant majority on the U.S. Supreme Court, through a process currently known as "judicial legislation," also assisted in once again relegating blacks to the status of third-class citizens by distorting the langauge and gutting the intent of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments.
Indeed, since the abolition of slavery, the numerous short-lived attempts to expand the full benefits of our society to blacks have been rebuffed.
Before we can evolve into a truly democratic nation, before we can truly celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Bill of Rights, we must wake up to the role that race continues to play in our nation's politics.
The great political need of the 1990s is to move beyond defending practices and policies that maintain the status quo in areas of education, employment and housing to the detriment of blacks and other minorities. Our nation would be better served by the elimination of racial segregation and discrimination.
We must reconsider our arguments against the use of special initiatives - even quotas, if necessary - to overcome resistance to desegregation. We willingly risk American lives to defend democracy in foreign lands, but we remain reluctant to use the power of our government to effect democracy within our own borders.
We do not live in a colorblind society. Until we do, devices are needed to elevate our nation to a level of civilized conduct wherein human beings treat each other as human beings. A stable, democratic society requires that every citizen have an equal opportunity to be educated, to be employed and to enjoy the benefits available to other members of the general public.
Oliver Hill, a Richmond lawyer, has been involved in the civil-rights movement for more than 60 years. Virginia Forum