THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 22, 1995 TAG: 9501200193
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Ida Kay's Portsmouth
SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
What's wrong with this picture?
On Monday, Mayor Gloria Webb and I were the only whites among some 700 people crowded into Fourth Baptist Church for a celebration of the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.
I thought about the several occasions I heard King himself speak. The crowds were there - blacks and whites all devoted to a common goal.
The first time I saw King was in the 1950s, early in his career. The audience was small and certainly integrated - maybe even more whites than blacks.
The last time I saw him, not too long before his assassination, the North Carolina State University Coliseum was filled. Still he drew integrated crowds.
King was not the only black leader who passed through the Research Triangle area to attract both blacks and whites. Now that's not to say there weren't plenty of blacks and whites who were not there, some of whom to this day resist ``mixing.'' Nor is it to say the Triangle area was free of racial skirmishes.
Maybe today, if King were still alive, even the crowds there would be different.
And that is the point.
What has happened in this country?
I never would have dreamed three decades ago that any celebration of King's life anywhere in America would be anything but integrated. Yet the opposite has happened.
The schism I thought would have disappeared instead seems to be wider, especially in Portsmouth.
Granted, Monday's celebration was not widely publicized in the white community.
Maybe whites who had heard of the celebration thought they would not be welcomed if they did stop by. I really can't make judgment on that because I am accustomed to being in a minority at a variety of places I go because of my job - as is the mayor. I never have felt anything but welcome.
All of which brings up another point. Why are we still so uncomfortable with each other?
By and large, people seem to have gotten past color at the workplace, although it certainly is not unusual to see blacks congregated together in one place and whites in another in city offices. But beyond work, most people don't have much to say to each other.
Frankly, I believe Portsmouth will be struggling forever if blacks and whites continue along such separate paths. If we don't celebrate or visit together, we never will understand each other.
Certainly the philosophy of Martin Luther King Jr. embraced all mankind. His message was not for one group of people of any sort. He exhorted us all to be better humans and that is one reason for celebrating his life. His is a wonderful legacy.
Judge people by their character, he said. I like that notion. Some days, these days, I wonder what ever happened to such thoughts.
In the 29 years since King died, we as a nation seem to have backslid a lot when it comes to the importance of character.
Politicians stand for whatever the polls say is hot, not always for what they believe. I say a lot of them don't even know what they really think and some don't even operate in terms of right and wrong.
What citizens tell pollsters often reflects a shortage of good character and a lot of selfish thoughts. They'll vote for someone who represents their special interests, seldom reflecting on the character of the candidate.
King, I remember, said he would like for the world to judge his own children by their character and their works, not by the color of their skin. Even blacks sometimes forget that recurring theme in King's life.
Blacks as well as whites will write off somebody because of differences in skin color, when instead they should be looking at the person's abilities. People are unable to accept criticism from someone of a different color because they believe it is motivated by race, even when the criticism is very valid.
I believed 30 years ago that by now we would have moved far beyond the schisms that divide us by race. Instead, we seem to be plowing deeper and deeper into muddy fields.
Integration does not mean giving up traditional churches, clubs and family circles that might indeed be mono-colored. But it does mean that we will come to know each other better and perhaps come to choose multi-colored circles, sharing and caring for each other.
What's wrong with the picture of the mayor and me at the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration?
If we were living in a world that had grown closer over three decades, more white people would be sharing in the celebration of the life of a man who believed skin color was unimportant. by CNB