Welcome to the Tyler Together Race Relations Forum
We are a group of concerned individuals from the Tyler, Texas area working to promote racial and ethnic equality through programs, open-discussions, education and advocacy. We are in the process of bringing some of these activities and information to this web location. Please check back often.
"I will not be who I aught to be until you are who you aught to be and you will not be who your aught to be until I am who I aught to be." -- Dr. Dwight Fennell, President of Texas College, Tyler, Texas January 16, 2012
Williams’ Column Showed Lack Of Insight
Tyler Morning Telegraph, April 8, 2012---
Regarding the recent Walter Williams column, “High Crime Rates Devastating to Minorities,” did he ever answer his own question, repeated four times, about who is, or is not, a racist? If so, I missed his answer.But I am not certain that any person putting the word “simple” in front of the word “racism” is utilizing the best vocabulary his academic pedigree indicates that he might have more wisely chosen.
I did catch that, after failing to define “racist,” he subtly changed the term and began to talk about “racial profiling,” which he seems to roundly excuse for two reasons: first, we are not God, and second, it is justified by statistical evidence. (Maybe God just hasn’t seen the stats.)
The real shell game Williams played was to hope we wouldn’t pick up on the question he was afraid to directly ask and answer: “Is ‘racial profiling’ ‘racism?’” Let me consult another African-American “doctor,” Martin Luther King, Jr., who dreamed that one day his children might be judged “not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” But according to Williams and his statistics, skin color and wardrobe choices are close enough.
To give you an example of how this works, permit me to cite another column in the same section of the same Tyler paper that noted the Miami police had once found a screwdriver in Trayvon Martin’s backpack “that could be used as a burglary tool.” Since I have six of those in the trunk of my car right now, can someone tell me whether it’s the Phillips-head or the flathead ones that are the “burglary tools? Oh, yeah, I forgot — I’m not a young, black male with my sneakers untied. Mine are just screwdrivers, not “burglary tools.”
“Simple racism,” Dr. Williams? Only to the simple-minded. Rather, these are complex questions and issues that deserve continual discussions leading to better understanding among people who care for one another and for our communities. By the way, God doesn’t care about the stats; God looks at the content of our character. We might want to make every effort to do the same.
Steve Russell,
Past Chairperson, Tyler Together Race Relations Forum“Rhythm in Motion...featuring Dallas Black Dance Theatre II”
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