Today is the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and white Americans like Tom Brokaw are still trying to figure out "how far we have come" on matters of race in this country.Most Americans will tell you that we have come a long way, and that the country is nothing like it was 50 years ago. Most Americans.
I am sure that quite a few Americans wish that it could go back to the way it was. All this civil rights and political correctness talk is making hard for some people to cope. (BTW, it's called political correctness for a reason: because it's the correct thing to do.) The Civil Rights Act changed the laws, but sadly, it did not change the attitudes of many in the majority population, particularly conservatives who want to conserve this particular part of America's history.
Let's not forget that conservatives were against the Civil Rights movement (even though they will try very hard to rewrite history since they were on the wrong side of it) and their leaders at the time, like Barry Goldwater, spoke out strongly against the passing of the Civil Rights Act. They are still trying to twist historical truths today, and every time you see an article written about the republican party and Civil Rights, you will find a conservative writing about the democratic party of old before white Southerners bolted for the other major political party.
“It so happens that I am in agreement with the [anti-racial segregation] objectives of the Supreme Court as stated in the Brown decision,” writes Goldwater. “I am not prepared, however, to impose that judgment of mine on the people of Mississippi or South Carolina. . . . That is their business, not mine. I believe that the problem of race relations, like all social and cultural problems, is best handled by the people directly concerned . . . [and] should not be effected by engines of national power.”
That is a stunning quote from the hero of the conservative movement. But not surprising.
Ironically, the leaders of that movement are just as backwards on matters of race and civil rights in 2014. And a quote such as that from a current conservative member of congress, or tea party representative, would not even cause us to raise an eyebrow.
Finally, since we are speaking about conservatives, I want to talk about the black conservative sister who had her face painted white on a billboard, recently.
This was not cool. The sister should have a right to declare her political allegiance to whatever party she chooses.
"Glo Smith, an African-American Republican challenger for the House of Representatives, has been subjected to the unfortunate trend in which there are racist attacks on African-American Republicans. The Florida Republican candidate has had her campaign sign vandalized with white paint over her face. The incident occurred last week in her district.
Her district is overwhelmingly comprised of Democratic voters via details of the area’s voter registration. According to the National Review publication on Monday, this vandalistic attack on Smith is the latest in a long line of incredibly racist attacks on African-American Republicans.
Beyond the whitewashed campaign sign, Smith – whose full name is Gloreatha Scurry-Smith - has said that many of her campaign signs have also been stolen. Last Tuesday, she was told of the racist defacement of her campaign sign. The costly signage to promote her candidacy for congress stands eight feet tall and four feet wide. The sign that was destroyed was placed in a very visible location for maximum exposure. The sign was on private property along Interstate 10 in Jacksonville, Florida. In the vandalism, it is apparent that the criminal vandalized the campaign property by spray painting white over Smith’s face. The work of the vandal was carefully calculated."What a shame. I would like to personally contribute to help get a new billboard up as soon as possible for this poor conservative black sister.
If anyone reading this knows the aforementioned Ms. Smith or anyone in her campaign, please have them reach out to me.
I will send them a check in the mail as soon as possible.
