7 KEY THEMES, 7 KEY PROBLEMS, and 7 KEY SOLUTIONS For Solving the Problems of America’s Inner Cities: In Order to Stop Deferring the Dream and to Actualize it
A Vision Paper by Ron Edwards, with Peter Jessen
August 31, 2003
Based on The Minneapolis Story, Through My Eyes By Ron Edwards as told to Peter Jessen
The main themes spring from the words of DFL co-founder, Nellie Stone
Johnson: No education, no jobs, no housing. No education,
no jobs, no housing. No education, no housing, no hope.
To this we add the words of Sandra Scarr: Opportunity breeds predestination.
The goal of this paper is to provide both an UNDERSTANDING of and ACTION STEPS
for closing the gaps in education, jobs, housing, public safety, safe environment,
governing, ethics and hope, in order to open opportunity and foster an end to
the development of helplessness and despair of the descendents of America’s
slaves in the inner city neighborhoods of Minneapolis. These are citizen steps,
be they the citizens of families, churches, neighborhoods, voluntary associations,
schools, counties, cities, state, or be they citizens serving on councils, committees,
legislatures, etc. At the forefront must always be the citizens, We the people!
We must, together, understand and then act. The 7 key themes and their 7 key
problems suggest 7 key solutions in 7 areas: (1) education,
(2) jobs, (3) housing,
(4) public safety, (5)
safe environment,
(6) governing, and (7)
moral/ethical stances. These
are followed by my rationale
and a list of addtional resources.
What follows is based on my book, “The Minneapolis Story: Through My Eyes.”
The Minneapolis Story continues. Unless otherwise stated, all references are
to Chapters, Interludes, and pages of this book. The Minneapolis Story continues
on The Minneapolis Story web site in the weekly columns, Solution Papers,
and daily web log entries. Following the list of recommended solutions, I will
list my rationale and the background for these 7 themes, 7 problems, 7 solutions.
Whites are always saying “I was never a slave owner,” so don’t
blame me. This is true. HOWEVER, Whites remain part of the problem in either
helping the DEFERMENT OF THE DREAM, or looking the other way as others do so
through their votes on candiates and policy that affect, positively or negative,
minorities in this country, especially those in the inner city. Deferment after
slavery was done through Jim Crow and the polices and attitudes following the
1968 Kerner Commission Report (which said Blacks couldn’t make it on their
own and thus would always be dependent on government). As long as Whites participate
in or don’t fight the ongoing deferment, they are as guilty as the Whites
of the 17th and 18th centuries for what goes on in America’s inner cities
today. The good news is of how so many Blacks have excelled anyway. I’m
not talking of those who have moved on. I’m talking here of the inner
city, where we have the greatest example of the dream deferred as seen in the
GAPS in education, jobs, housing, etc. Neither this paper, nor my book, is about
how bad Minneapolis is. It is about how it can be better. Read p. 262, para.
1 “Society needs visionaries”) through para. 7 on p. 263 (”Thus,
there are two Golden Triangles”). Minneapolis is a wonderful city. Much
progress in race relations has been made (Interludes 5 and 7). Yet there is
still much to do (Interludes 2 and 10): it is the work to be done to bring about
equal access and equal opportunity in education, housing, political participation,
entrepreneurial growth, by bringing inner city minorities nto the social/economic/political
mainstream. And, of course, facts are facts. My goal is to contribute to the
reversing of current and disturbing trend lines as discussed on p. 115 of Chapter
6 of “The Minneapolis Story, Through My Eyes.” Nonetheless, as I
say on p. 294: “I am bullish on Minneapolis.” Nonetheless, “I
will keep my eye on the prize of freedom” and “I will continue to
beat the drum of freedom” (Chapters 5 and 17). This paper is about the
ACTION STEPS needed to be taken to achieve a NEW VISION for Minneapolis, a vision
for everyone. The future is important, for, as the old saying goes, it is where
we will spend the rest of our lives. The Star Tribune ran a series in 2000 on
“Minnesota’s greatest challenge: whether to compete or retreat in
the face of a new economy.” I vote compete. That is what these solutions
are all about. Not following them is about retreat. As the Strib pointed out,
“The thrust of our argument is that global and technological forces are
speeding the rearrangement of capital and talent, sorting out metropolitan regions
into winners and losers.” Our problem? “Complacency.” The
writer states “The Twin Cities…has been coasting…in part because
of a smothering cultural contentment…[that] will only guarantee further
slippage unless a community-wide efforts is begun to rekindle the flame that,
in the 1950s and 1960s, led to an extraordinary burst of civic energy.”
That is what these 7 solutions are all about: trying to foster a burst of civic
energy, for all. See the articles at:
I discuss some of these on p. 115 of Chapter 6. The SEVEN KEY SOLUTIONS of
this paper are recommended for consideration, after which I discuss the background
and rationale for these seven. As noted above, Chapter and Interlude numbers
refer to my book “The Minneapolis Story, Through My Eyes.”
1. In terms of education : (See Chapter 7)
a. Abandon the notion that neither the city nor state has “no meaningful
obligation to provide any high school education at all” (p. 121).
b. Change the attitude from accepting poor schools (”beat the odds”)
to expecting good schools and expecting all kids to be winners (p. 122).
c. Divest the investment in ideologies of college prep, muted or no gender
identity, and invest in the practicality of positively channeling male puberty,
not ignoring or subverting it.
d. Recognize that the skewing of the education system as a socialization
system for high achieving boys fails those with no desire for or inclination
to college, who are thus not served by a college prepatory system.
e. Recognize that socialization takes many forms, not the few offered in
the schools, especially during the period of puberty. “The crux of the
matter, as with all societies, is how best to harness the energies of young
men” (p. 152).
f. Re-evaluate the college prejudice of “modernity” and again
provide boys with vocational schools and/or technical tracks.
g. Abandon “the modern” prejudice against physical and technical
education that is so needed, especially for adolescent males.
h. Enable choice in education, as in birth control, especially in inner city
Black neighborhoods, even if that means including vouchers (as they have been
approved by an overwhelming majority of Black parents, which will do more
for society country wide that adding a couple more students to the University
of Michigan School of Law.
i. Before getting apoplexy at the mention of “vouchers” above,
consider what Jeff Greenfield, the liberal columnist, asked the Democratic
candidates at the Democratic candidate debate at the Appollo Theatre, February
21, 2000, as one of the moderators of the debate. He asked: “in light
of the different proposals, from revolutionary improvement to gradual improvement
to public choice and private alternatives, how do you respond to this question:
if, after 35 years and $100 billion in Title I money, with the SAT scores
gap not narrowing, why not conclude that the opposition to choice is an example
of the support of [adult] special interests and not the interests of students?
How do you defend and account for this incredible potential unfulfilled?”
Both candidates dodged the question and the issue.
j. Return unions to protecting the work environment of its members NOT the
educational content of the curriculum, returning education to local control.
The Education Secretary echos the notion that the union is out of step.
k. End education unions political pacs as part of the unions; pacs are OK,
but let pacs be independent of union automatic dues contributions.
m. Business can play a very helpful role. See http://www.strategy-business.com/policy/97407/page1.html.
In the latter we read: “25% of the current American workforce is not
sufficiently educated to be qualified for jobs that would pay enough to sustain
the middle-class life.” There are many good suggestions in this article.
2. In terms of jobs : (see Chapter 9)
a. Make sure that all Minneapolis laws of compliance are followed regarding
contractors and hires, rather than ignoring them as the city now does.
b. End the exclusionary nature of the construction contract system.
c. Graduate minority contractors from small time to prime time (p. 148).
d. End this: hiring laws are “being broken on every Minneapolis construction
site, and the city and state are standing by and letting them” (p. 153).
They can’t claim they don’t know as key city and state officials
(as well as people from the trade unions and contractors) attended the meeting
at the Sabathani Community Center on August 3, 2002, that laid this all out
(p. 153-4). Progress? None.
e. 9 steps to take to correct this are on p. 154.
f. How this relates specifically to young Black males is on pp. 154-156.
g. Open Minneapolis to young Blacks. In 19th century Boston, window signs
said “Irish need not apply.” Official Minneapolis says, “young
Blacks need not apply.” The Minneapolis Civil Rights Department admitted
in October 2002 that it had no information regarding compliance in construction
and no information on the Civilian Review Authority (p. 156).
h. Include Blacks in jobs (providing training where necessary). The category
“Jobs” includes economic development, living wages, wealth building
(whether through savings, investment, or entrepreneuring). Are the opportunities
the State of Minnesota website discusses available in North Minneapolis (www.dted.state.mn.us/05x00f.asp
)?
3. In terms of housing : (See Chapter 8)
a. Stop red lining.
b. End the cycle of negative gentrification (when it results in neighborhood
racial cleansing) and financial corruption paid for by tax payers (p. 135).
c. Allow for manufactured homes in the city (p. 139).
d. Be informed by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (p. 139).
e. Be informed by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Urban and
Regional Affairs (p. 140).
f. Make the Metropolitan Council follow the 1976 Land Use Planning Act (p.
140).
g. Coordinate state and city tax, construction and growth policies such that
housing can be affordable, and thus reverse what some call a trend from neighborhoods
to slums.
h. Stop the “concentration and containment” of Blacks in crime
impact and poverty neighborhoods, and open all housing to all.
i. Make affordable housing affordable. Get answers to this question: “How
many “affordable” housing developments (that open not being affordable)
were paid by government money and how many by private?” If the former,
this is neither fair housing nor fair development nor fair taxation.
j. Cap the allowable increase of property taxes (some predict doubling over
the next 5-10 years) to force the city to live within its means (i.e., no
more taxes) if it continues to refuse to do so, generating more and more debt,
more and more fees for buddy developers, less and less services, and less
less public safety and environmental quality.
k. Open access to development and end insider access to subsidies for a “development
funding gap” that is on paper only for the purpose of subsidy bondselling.
l. Publish political contributions made by all who obtain development deals
with the city.
m. Establish “Truth in Taxes” rule: taxes paid by those receiving
city funds.
n. Establsh “Truth in spending” rule: have all developers disclose
how they spend all monies received from the city or state.
o. Establish “Affordable Occupant Accountability” rule: all percentages
figured for affordable housing units must be leased at original affordable
rates on which subsidies are provided, with no exceptions.
p. See weekly columns #2 - 12, 14.
4. In terms of Public Safety: (Chapter 16)
a. Reverse my thesis (right side page titles of Chapter 16): “Unrest,
disturbance: The Status Quo Price Minneapolis is Willing to Pay.” Thus
I ask the question on p. 269: “Can we stop long enough to talk about
how we can just get along?
b. Acknowledge the problem that Black youth and crime have reached emergency
proportions and needs to be dealt with immediately (see my my Solution Paper
on the emergency with Black youth).
c. Stop making the war on drugs a war on young Black men (”When society
purposefully not only prevents, but also withholds opportunities for decent
education, jobs and incomes through policies that allow discrimination and
exclusion, it is the same as making war on them” (p. 148). Call it racism,
call it prejudice, call it discrimination, call it what you will (as a rose
by any other name is still a rose). Regardless the need remains the same:
end the disparity in arrests and imprisonment among citizens:
iNote: “76% of all users of illegal drugs are White, yet 70% of drug
convictions are Black…White youths are one third more likely to have
sold drugs than Black youth, yet it is Black youth who get arrested”
(pp. 150-151). ii. “Blacks constitute 13 percent of all drug users,
but 35 percent of those arrested for drug possession, 55 percent of persons
convicted, and 74 percent of people sent to prison” (Human Rights
Watch Report: Punishment and Prejudice: Racial Disparities in the Criminal
Justice System, May 2000 Vol. 12, No. 2 (G).
d. Re-evaluate drug laws and end their wrong-headedness (p. 150).
e. Conduct mediation with the city between the police and the community.
f. Develop an approach that recognizes the need to change from a youth value
system emphasizing “honor” (fighting for respect, which means
different things to different people, with a tendency to listed to peers over
society) vs. conscience (operating on a higher moral order or values other
than what peers think)
g. End the double standard: even the Strib, through Syl Jones, admits we
work “in the valley of the double standard” (p. 273).
h. Work to end the tensions. The tensions are not unknown. I handed packets
to the city clerk for Ms. Glenn (Federal Mediator), the mayor and the council
members in September of 2002 showing the history of the tension between the
police department and its Black officers. They “lost” the packets
for a while, delaying getting relevant information before the decision makes
(p. 278). Such “accidents” are not “incidental.”
i. Facilitate both Mediation, which will be crucial to enhancing public safety,
and implementing the agreement reached. The city has fought mediation (Chapter
16, pp. 285-291). It must no fight the agreement.
j. Consider adopting or adapting recommendations from the reports about the
riots in the U.S. in 1965 and 1967, pp. 292-293.
5. In terms of the environment:
a. Remedy the fact that Hollman/Heritage Park is being “built upon
the tops of brown fields, environmentally toxic areas, ecological volcanoes”
(p. 134).
b. See Columns #2 - 4, 6, 8 - 11
6. In terms of governing as a mix of related
issues: funding in terms of taxing, spending, and investing:
a. See weekly columns #2 - 7, 10
b. End the end-around to the Constitution and the City’s own laws by
the Mayor and the City Council (p. 279). These are not acts of cowardice but
bold and deliberate acts to avoid the will of the people and the law itself
(p. 280).
c. Seek greater cooperation by the City’s mayor and council. Each were
sent a copy of my book and a letter addressing these problems, and many sent
the book back unread citing their inability to accept “gifts”
(see letter to Council.
d. Work with the Committee Chairs and sub-committee chairs of committees
in both the Minnesota legislature and the city to effect changes in laws,
statutes, regulations and rules. This is critical and key: without this all
is noise and clanging gongs and chest thumping and whining. Let them hear
from the people at the grass roots level, let them hear from articulate spokesmen
and women from institutions and the media, and let them hear from attorneys
and specialists regarding achieving change in laws, statutes, regulations
and rules.
e. Work with key department and agency heads to keep informed and to keep
them aware that the citizens are watching.
f. Develop an “Accountability” watchdog group regarding city
spending. Budgets have rightly been called “swamps. Reforms have failed
(LBJ used the term “planning-programming-budgeting system,” Carte
used “zero-based budgeting” and Nixon used “management by
objective.” They all died due to congressional indifference (read our
own City Council and Mayor, past and present) and bureaucratic inertia (the
departments want to grow, not cut), and sweet heart deals (read friends, relatives
and campaign contributors, especially with developers).
g. Have city council, a watch-dog group, or both, use “performance-based
budgeting,” meaning evaluate spending on how well programs are doing
what they are supposed to do and that they are accomplishing what they are
supposed to accomplish. This would eliminate ideological fights as any ideology
would have to use the same criteria: whether they actually worked or not.
See “The Accountability Budget,” By William D. Eggers, The Wall
Street Journal, p. A16, February 4, 2002.
h. Recognize that there is a negative to racism.
i. Recognize also the need to allow people to speak freely and be “whistle
blowers” without retaliation. See “City Pages” cover
story.
j. Stop playing games with the will of the people by trying to circumvent
them with new elections. See chapters 11, 12, 13 (suggested remedies for the
redistricting problem), Interlude 12, the “7 remedies for the redistricting
problem listed on pp. 204 and 304, and my February 3, 2003 Solution Paper
on Disenfranchising Voters.
k. Include a tax plan that is fair to individuals and corporations while
at the same time will facilitate the strengthening and growing of the economy
in general and jobs for people in all groups in particular;
l. Provide funding fair to private investor developers rather than just to
public funded developers and non-profits who are subsidized by the city, causing
housing at higher than market costs, indebting the city and taking away from
needed spending on public safety and a safe environment.
m. Explore establishing a separate yet unified public and private funding/taxing/investing
process and method.
n. For steps to take to correct oppression of Black people in going before
various official bodies, agencies, and investigations, see p. 304 of Chapter
17.
o. Within this framework, explore the Minneapolis trend lines (p. 115 of
Chapter 6).
p. Specific chapter on city government is Chapters 11. For how new elections
and redistricting are being used to disempower Blacks see Chapters 12 and
13 and Interlude 12.
q. Consider the YESes and NOs of Chapters 5 and 17 and the seven values on
p. 316. May each of us ask ourselves the four questions of p. 321, and may
we give serious thought to the “How do we get there?” question
of pp. 321-323. I offer my personal answer on p. 323.
r. Develop relationships with law firms and public relations (PR) agencies
and seek their advice and, as often as possible, pro bono (free) work and
representation, where applicable.
s. Determine the most appropriate level for the delivering of city services:
city agencies, non-profits, voluntary associations, churches, neighborhoods,
or directly to families.
t. In other words, empower people at the most appropriate levels (see my
pp. 2,4, 55, 203, 211), rather than disempower them (see pp. 2, 8, 21, 38,
59, 60, 68, 99, 103, 187, 202, 202, 294, 311).
7. In terms of a moral framework:
a. First, as on p. 98, Chapter 5 (”Justice and Fairness”) deal
with three main issues of (1) fairness, (2) expectations of individuals, and
(3) how it is all to be addressed: individually, collectively, or both? The
Minneapolis Story continues in my weekly columns (posted on The
Minneapolis Story web site. See especially column #1.
b. As it anchors all the major religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity,
Islam), base personal and institutional behavior on The Golden Rule. In other
words, required and needed is BOTH personal responsibility and institutional
accountability. Understand the need for all to be involved in a moral and
ethical grounding from which to make decisions about education, jobs, housing,
public safety, the environment, and for making decisions regardng how and
for what public and private spending should take place. I outline the Golden
Rule approach in Chapter 5 of my book, as it is shared by all the major religions
and ethical frameworks. In other words, we need to acknowledge the barbarians
both at the gate and those inside the gate, and work as One to preserve our
Constitutional way of life for all as set forth in the Declaration of Independence,
under E pluribus Unum, one out of many, not the trendy and fashionable and
yet dangerous many out of one.
c. Self-reliance requires an asset base, which includes education, housing,
and jobs (p. 147). Stop taking Black wealth (Interlude 8) and instead enable
it to be made.
d. Recognize the genius and follow the moral and ethical example set by Martin
Luther King, Jr. in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” “The
Playboy Interview,” and his “I Have a Dream” speech, all
brought together at The Unfinnished Dream.
Establish a “Sullivan Commission” for Minneapolis to sort all
of this out (see Chapter 14).
e. Explore the propositions of Peter Berger, as listed in the Conclusion
of my book, p. 315. Use as a base the seven values held universally around
the globe by many, as a starting point, on p. 316, in the Conclusion. Explore
the theses of Peter Berger on p. 297 of my book, Interlude 16.
f. Call “a family meeting”: as has been pointed out elsewhere,
back in the year 2000, Dave Jennings, (with the school district as of this
writing), in discussing the stadium problem, said “someone other than
the teams have to create a public discussion about the future of the Twins
and the Vikings in Minnesota. The teams are crying out for somebody to call
the family meeting” (Star Tribune,8-10-00). So too, the problems outlined
in my book call out for a public discussion, for a “family meeting.”
Who should call it? Why not the Urban League, the NAACP, or the two together?
How about a newspaper? A company? A coalition? A church. A church denomination.
Let the family meeting be called. Let the conversation begin. Use this Solution
Paper to develop the agenda.
g. Consider, for goals, the lists on p. 305 of Chapter 17, as taken from
the reports on the Watts Riots in L.A. and from the Kerner Commission on the
riots of 1967.
h. Use as criteria for evaluating policies and actions the YESes and NOs
listed in Chapters 5 and 17, and use a calculus of meaning and a calculus
of pain (see Chapters 1, 5, 16 and Conclusion).
i. Utilize the best that can be found in conflict resolution models (see
),
as well as the four questions on p. 321 in the Conclusion chapter.
j. Recognize the need to expand news coverage to include all, and engage
not just the limited and biased Star Tribune, but also the Black newspapers
(see my “On Why American Cities Need Black
Newspapers”).
k. Seek a wider representation for input from Blacks and stop relying on
just the Urban League or the NAACP. In terms of the NAACP, it has, for all
intents and purposes, abdicated its responsibilities and turned it self into
a tool of White DFLers. (see my “Eye Off
the Prize”)
l. Recognize that whatever is done must be done within a state and national
context, not just Minneapolis context.
m. Calm the nerves and steel the spine with the music we have used historically
to sooth us and inspire us.
n. Calculate a better future for all: follow Interlude 16. There are “positive
future possibilities for Minneapolis” and a process to follow to achieve
them (Chapter 17). This will happen if we don’t lose sight of the prize
of equality’s freedom (”Conclusion” chapter).
o. Never forget: “The stakes are high for ALL of us, which is why hope
still beats eternal” (p. 324).
p. Ponder this: “Since slavery, Jim Crow” etc., we know what
man is capable of. Since the Civil War…riots of 1965 and 1967…we
know what is at stake” (p. 325).
q. Ponder this as well: Be more careful with therapeutic language, substituting
“well” for “good” and “ill” for “evil.”
The U.S. in World War II understood that. Today’s relativism does not.
BACKGROUND, PERSPECTIVE, RATIONALE
The Federalist Papers that frame the meaning of our Constitution talk of the
need for a moral base to make democracy and freedom work. People need to be
reminded of the moral base. Hence my beginning with the Golden Rule. But all
have something: the Golden Rule and the beatitudes of Christianity, the lists
of Hinduism (the Rules of Dharma, Yogananda’s 10 Rules of Eternal Happiness,
which are his commentaries on the 10 Commandments), the list of Buddhism, the
list of Islam, etc.). Without principles and conscience we can’t last.
There will also be those at our gates astride their envy and armed with pain.
There are also those within our gates, both native born and immigrants, who
seek our downfall. Eternal vigilance is the watchword again. To review: the
7 KEY THEMES are
(1) equal education for all, (2) equal opportunity for jobs for all, and
(3) equal access to housing for all. Underlying these are (4) the need for
public safety, (5) a safe environment (air, water, soil), (6) governing to
achieve a balance between the separate and different public and private funding,
which includes a tax plan, fair to individuals (livable wages) and corporations
(economic growth) to facilitate the strengthening and growing of the economy
and jobs for all, and (7) the moral and ethical grounding needed for laws
and their enforcement from which to make decisions about education, jobs,
housing, public safety, the environment, and how and for what public and private
spending takes place. The key moral rule that I outline in my book is the
“Golden Rule,” an ethical standard shared by all major religions
and ethical frameworks. In this process, we need to acknowledge the barbarians
at the gate and those inside the gate.
The KEY PROBLEMS to solve are
(1) the gap between educational achievement in K-12 and SAT scores for college,
(2) compliance with hiring rules requiring jobs for all, not just Whites,
(3) stopping red lining and the “containment” of Blacks in crime
impact zones and open all housing to all. Underlying these three are (4) the
need to meet the emergency of Black youth that has resulted in so much crime,
including Black on Black crime, impacting on both White and Black public safety,
(5) a safe environment (air, water, soil), including former “projects”
like Hollman/Heritage Park, (6) the governing issues as a need to balance
separate and unified public and private funding/taxing/investing issues, and
(7) a return to a city ruled by its laws not lawless men and women (elected,
appointed, hired bureaucrat), whether the lawless are black collar or white
collar or blue collar, using a politics of inclusion, not one party rule,
including the inclusion of all the rules.
Obviously, or at least I hope it’s obvious, we are attempting to bridge
the city’s racial divide. There is racism to deal with to be sure (from
both Blacks and Whites). Both sides are not innocent of patronizing and demeaning
the other. So we must start with the admission of animosity existing in some
Blacks and in some Whites (some might use the word many). The second admission
we must make is that we really do, in terms of Native American reservations
and inner cities, have 3rd world enclaves within our country. This is factual.
There is a history as to why. We must change it so that it remains history past.
But no matter what Whites want to say about the behavior of Blacks in the city,
especially the gangsta and the gang bangers, and those seemingly unwilling to
join civil society, the historic roots must be remembered. The story of Blacks
in America, as opposed to immigrant Blacks and other immigrant minorities, is
the story of deferment. What some consider the first real play about Blacks
(other than musicals or comedies) was the March 7, 1959 opening of the Lorraine
Hansberry play (she was 26 years old) “A Raisin in the Sun.” That
was 44 years ago. 40 years ago on August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr.,
when he was 34, delivered his “I have a dream” speech. It is due
to this purposeful deferment that both sides of the Affirmative Action debate
are correct. It shouldn’t be that way. Race based is wrong. Color blind
is right. But that sword buts both ways when slavery, Jim Crow, and the Kerner
Commission Report, were race based, are factored in. See my paper “Restorative
Afffirmative Action,” which synthesizes these two seemingly polar opposites.
And this is where these two admissions intersect, for in the play “A Raisin
in the Sun,” we have the line “What happens to a dream deferred/
Does it dry up/ Like a raisin in the sun?” Whites need to think of the
damages done directly to Blacks and indirectly to Whites in terms of motivation
and initiative caused by the deferment (250 years of slavery, 75 years of Jim
Crow, and the past 35 years of the 1968 Kerner Commission Report that said Blacks
are different and can’t make it on their own. Whites must repudiate this
central rational for the policy of the past 35 years. And Blacks need to confront
that lie, dismiss it, stop acting as if it was true, and get on with living
free and independent lives. This problem is also addressed in the Solution Papers
section in the paper The Unfinished Dream,
which contains three pieces from Martin Luther King that addresses this problem,
as well as excerpts from the book, “The Minneapolis Story, Through My
Eyes”. This is being written in the context of a city that has witnessed
many shootings of Blacks and police harassment of Blacks, and a city trying
to avoid the mediation process between the police and the community. Finally,
this is being written against the back drop of an as yet undigested historic
event: 9/11, showing us that there are those who would change our way of life
and our liberty and freedom because they want everyone to worship God as they
do, with their clerics in charge. This is happening while strong misgivings
remain about the one thing America needs most at this time, a true melting pot,
where multi-culturalism becomes a respect for other peoples’ culture in
their homes and community but only after all, Whites included, subordinate their
public life and roles in the community using the same language of English. If
we can’t attain that, we will splinter and those at our gates will win.
Thus this is not about White guilt (although there is room for some) nor about
victimization (although there is legitimate room for some here as well). It
is about finding common community ground. The issue is not the lack of dialogue
about race (unless you don’t consider as part of the dialogue the 49 years
since the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education or the 39 years since the 1964 Civil
Rights Act or the 37 years since the 1966 Voting Rights Act, or the dozens of
race riots, especially in 1967, or the hundreds of deaths and millions of dollars
in property damage as well as looting, and the staggering amount of paper used
to print the many pieces of legislation, not to mention the dialogue about the
billions spent on the War on Poverty and other race based programs, not to mention
the fact that it sometimes seems as if there are is affirmative action for more
people that there are actually people in this country. As the old saying goes,
BS talks, action walks. We need action. Let’s all admit that the race
hustle is over, that there is no special “Black reality” needing
special spokesmen or women. And lets admit this is not about Blacks in general.
Many are doing well. This is about the inner cities, the plantations run by
the Democrats for votes and city control. We must also admit that many cities
are headed by Black leaders (Newark and Oakland come to mind) and yet are not
doing well at all. So mental and psychological adjustment is needed by both
Blacks and Whites. That brings us back to the question of deferment. Deferment
must end. And we cannot, as some prominent Black and White leaders are saying,
wait generations. Where Whites are clearly part of the problem is well documented
in my book just as I document the fact that Blacks too are part of the problem.
Neither side is pure. Both sides can transform. We have problems in education,
jobs, housing, public safety, the environment, governance, and particularly
with our Black youth. But we can solve these problems. And we need not wait.
The solution process to follow is the “old” civil rights model.
One is reminded of the old baseball combination of Tinkers to Evers to Chance.
In this civil rights model, it was speaker to people to legislators and judges.
Martin Luther King was made the spokesperson. The people responded and demonstrated
and caused people to see the truth of the vision and the dedication of purpose
and the sincerity of not taking their eyes of the prize of freedom. There were
many spokesmen, especially in church pulpits and Black newspapers. Thurgood
Marshall went before the Supreme Court (and was the lead attorney of an army
of lawyers working the capital and the state houses. We also need tireless advocates,
such as Clarence Mitchell, who worked the halls of congress going before the
lawmakers while King went before the public and Marshall went before the courts.
They were the point men of the many that did so. Mitchell fanned out into Congress
and worked with those who fanned out to the state houses. These “types”
represent the kind of people needed for success in the civil rights cause. So
too, we need the same strategy today in Minneapolis and every city: we have
plenty of spokespersons in our Black newspapers, on the Internet, in our Black
TV and radio talk and forum show, in the Black preachers and the Leadership
Forum, in our two Black Council members, the Urban League, and, when it ever
gets its act together, the NAACP. They can stir the pot and carry our message
to the greater population of Minneapolis, Minnesota, the United States and the
world. Next we have the people, the readers of our Black newspapers, the viewers
of our Black TV shows, the constituents of our City Council, and the parishioners
of our Black churches, as well as all of the White sympathizers who stand in
solidarity with us, a group which represents the majority of Americans. Finally,
we have the hard part, attorneys and law makers, wherein we work on drafting
proposed changes in the law and then work with legislators in general and, in
particular, with the Chairs of the committees dealing with the areas of our
concern, in order to provide them with our own legislative proposals for changing
the laws/statutes/regulations/rules such that it helps to stop or reduce racism
and its discrimination in education, jobs, and housing, as well as shore up
public safety, environment and governing. Without this key critical and crucial
last part, all the rest is for naught. To succeed there must be changes in the
laws/statutes/regulations/rules. And this can only be done by working the halls
of Congress, the halls of our state legislature, and our city council. We need
people to speak out. We need people to follow them. Without someone working
with the rule makers, it won’t make much difference. Different groups
and neighborhoods can meet together as a “people of the whole” and
divide up these seven areas in order to get information and research, demonstrations
and spotlights, and new language for state and city laws, statutes, regulations
and rules. Consider the “appropriate” deliverer of city services:
city as agency deliverer or city as overseer of those delivering services for
the city. Some say city services should be provided by an ever expanding modern
welfare state. Other say this creates ever more larger taxes to support ever
larger government bureaucracies that send more on staff than those the staff
is supposed to serve. Still others say it should be some of both. This is NOT
an argument for expanding or contracting city benefits, but rather the suggestion
that there are alternative mechanisms for providing city services, including
non-profits, voluntary associations, neighborhood associations, churches, as
well as directly to individuals and/or families. See (1) “To Empower People:
From State to Civil Society,” Twentieth Anniversary Edition of book by
Peter L. Berger and Richard John Neuhaus, Edited by Michael Novak, (2) “Institutions
of Democracy,” Edited by Peter L. Berger, and (3) “Small Is Beautiful,”
by E.F. Shumacher. “Oversight” Committees This means that some one
or some group should sponsor one to seven oversight committees dealing with
these seven themes/problems/solutions in terms of how well the city is dealing
with them: education, jobs, housing, public safety, safe environment, governing,
and moral/ethical, and who can also inform the people, spokespersons, and the
attorneys and lawmakers seeking appropriate change in order to get information
and research, demonstrations and spotlights, and new language for state and
city laws, statutes, regulations and rules. These could be by neighborhoods,
blocks, individuals, foundations, neighborhood organizations, corporations,
city council committee, chuches/synogogues/mosques, schools, etc. A way of doing
would be for each or together to develop a web portal for developing and disseminating
information and communications strategies that people can easily follow on the
web page or through Email lists. This could be separate, by committee, or done
as a part of “Cyberpoliticking” by participating in any of several
political E-mail discussion groups of Minnesota’s “E-Democracy,”
at http://http://e-democracy.org/mpls.
There is also “Minnesota Meetings,” at http://www.mnmeeting.com
and, in St. Paul, Politalk http://www.politalk.com
A special committee could also be set up to provide ways (seminars? workshops?
being part of other programs? other?) to demonstrate and teach “Learned
Optimism” (book by Martin E.P. Seligman) and raising one’s “Adversity
Quotient” (book by Paul Stoltz), how to find meaning even in the inner
city ghetto while climbing out, especially needed for young Black men: “Man’s
Search for Meaning” (book by Viktor Frankl), and how to formulate all
of this into the 2nd of the modern skills need to succeed (the first being education),
and that is the presentation of self in every day life (Goffman’s phrase)
so as to learn How to Make Friends and Influence People” (book by Andrew
Carnegie). None of these are based on being “White” but on being
human, and apply across the board, to American culture as a whole and all of
the unique sub-culture that make up the American quilt.
For additional resources from which to gain
a better historical perspective:
1. Nellie Stone Johnson, co-founder of the DFL, Interlude 3 2. “The
greatest trio…The greatest quartet…,” Interlude 4 3. Dred
Scott and Fort Snelling, Interlude 6 4. “Torn from the Land” newspaper
series, Interlude 8 5. “10,000 Men Named George,” the HBO movie
on Pullman Porters and the work of A. Phillip Randolph, as they worked for
jobs and the search for dignity and respect, Interlude 9 6. “Keep the
Faith, Baby,” the Showtime movie on Adam Clayton Powell, about what
a Black leader can do who doesn’t see himself as a victim, Interlude
11 7. Gerrymandering, Interlude 12 8. “The Tulsa Race Riots,”
Interlude 13 9. Lest we forget: Slave stories and slave ancestry, Interlude
14 10. Lynching, assassination, Interlude 15 11. The good news on race, Interludes
5 and 7 12. Racism, the bad news on race, Interludes 2 and 10
A forthcoming new book about young men in general and in the Twin Cities in
particular, by Dr. David M. Pence, discusses many issues germane to the question
of young men, especially the emergency situation with young Black men: “Apostles,
Knights & Founding Fathers: Essays for Young Men.” Dr. Pence heads
“City Fathers, which publishes the periodic magazine about issues vital
to the quality of citizenship in the Twin Cities, “City Fathers,”
especially the relationship between liberty, fraternity, and manhood as they
relate to the public square and civic loyalty. This is a well recommended companion
reader to the Solution Paper State
of Emergency for Black Youth. Last edited/amended: November 30, 2003. Note
also: Building Blocks for a New Minneapolis
Ron hosts “Black Focus” on Channel 17, MTN-TV, Sundays,
5-6 pm. Formerly head of the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and the
Urban League, he continues his “watchdog” role for Minneapolis.
Order his book, hear his voice, read his solution papers, and read his
between columns “web log” at www.TheMinneapolisStory.com.
Permission is granted to reproduce The Minneapolis Story columns, blog entires and solution papers. Please
cite the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder and www.TheMinneapolisStory.com for the columns. Please
cite www.TheMinneapolisStory.com for blog entries and solution papers.
