Dr Ada M Fisher
The palpable
anger of young blacks and millennials directed against violence
leading to the death of allegedly unarmed young black males is justified. That
toward free speech and intolerance for opposing views is disturbing. Are we as
blacks being used by those with an agenda not our own to undermine hard fought
rights while flailing unjustified wrongs.
It was intriguing to see pictured on
the front of the New York Times, black Harvard graduates holding a separate
ceremony apart from that for the general student body. Some said they wanted to
have the essence of a black experience in their education. Pray tell why didn't
they chose a Historically Black College and University where such is offered,
usually in a small safe setting?
In Washington State, black students
tried to set up a day without whites which proved disastrous and a flagrant
example of black racism. Ironically one white professor who prided himself on
being liberal and sympathetic to the Black Lives Matter concerns was offended by
his treatment. Why would higher education tolerate such?
In California's Claremont College,
blacks have been declining to room with whites. What a take on my time at UNCG
in the late 60's when black and white students were not assigned as roommates by
university policy. When my black roommate left, I refused to accommodate the
university and move in with another black student but didn't deny them the
option of assigning me a white roommate. This gave me a single room in what
should have been a double occupancy space at no additional cost. The Neo-Black
Society was formed to prepare students for college success, graduate them,
insure that our culture was part of the curriculum and to reach out to students
in the community. The fact that UNCG has the best graduation record of blacks
and others and its student population is proportionate to the state's with 24.5%
black students without quotas, says we got it right with the initial help of
Chancellor James Ferguson from the sixties.
As our status as minorities is
undermined by any and everyone being granted such distinction in cutting line
ahead of blacks, years of wrongs are being skimmed over and our 40 acres and a
mule or reparations remains a pipe dream which never was. Democrats continually
pimp the black population without a required return for their votes. The
Republican slate seems wiped clean of its memory that this was the anti-slavery
party started to free slaves, stand for civil rights and put down Jim Crowe and
voter suppression.
So what's a black person to do? Grow
up and appreciate that though the chains are no longer visible, our bondage is
still to a degree largely self imposed. Integration cost us businesses,
community integrity, supportive social structures and so much inherent in our
understanding of what it means to be black. If we redistrict fairly, the
likelihood increases that blacks will lose the representation they have in favor
of Hispanics who are the largest and fastest growing minority. Reality is a
hard pill to swallow when you haven't prepared oneself for a world in which
your skills and opportunities are not paramount for the functioning of
society.
The black lady on the escalator above
me stated, you have nice hair. It hit me again how wounded is the black psyche
when people still are fixated on hair texture, skin color, lips, etc. Rewarding
entertainers and sports figures while our needs are not met or adequately
addressed by our own is sad. Blacks have a net worth of 1.5 trillion dollars
which would place us in the top 20 if we were a nation.
As Billy Holiday sang, "God bless the
child who's got his own.'
Ada M. Fisher, MD, MPH is a licensed
teacher, retired physician, former county school board member, speaker, author
of Common Sense Conservative Prescriptions Solutions Good for What Ails Us Book
1 (available through Amazon. Com) and is the NC Republican National
Committeewoman.
