Race - Still an Important Issue

as 50 years ago this summer that I first remember being aware of racism. Our family went to Florida to visit an old friend of my father's. As we were visiting with him, sitting watching TV or the like, he started ranting about Ed Sullivan having all those [deleted] people on his show. African-Americans. Blacks. People of color. I remember vividly as he got more and more upset that Northerners will learn why they should keep [those people] from having rights.

My 11-year old sensibilities were appalled. I remember my mother sitting in embarrassed silence. I don't remember my father saying much. We were northern Democrats in 1960. Civil Rights was something that we would support. I had already become aware of the separate restrooms for "Whites" and "Coloreds" as we had driven south from Pennsylvania. Hey, it wasn't even 100 years since the end of the Civil War.

I remember my mother talking to my brother and myself about this in some comforting way. I don't remember the specifics but it was supportive of civil rights and forgiving of Dad's friend.

I thought of this last Tuesday evening as I sat in a "Diversity Awareness" training session downtown. I have volunteered to be a "lead docent" for a special exhibit coming to town next month on Race.


Rochester Public Library and Mayo Clinic are partnering to bring the national touring exhibit “RACE: Are We So Different?” to Rochester, MN, this year. The exhibit will be on display from May 17 - Sept 4, 2010 on the second floor of the library.

I sat there and watched two excellent videos from the three part "Race: The Power of an Illusion" and couldn't help but be disturbed. This has been going on for 50 years of my life. This has been argued about, worked on, struggled with for a lot longer than that. Here we sit in the 2nd decade of the 21st Century and we are still talking about it, arguing about it, trying to change it. I thought of the tag line of Pete Seeger's Where Have All the Flowers Gone?:

When will we ever learn, when will we ever learn.

I volunteered for this over the next few months because it is an important issue. Here we have our first African-American President, and we are still beset by the racism inherent in our nation's psyche. Immigration laws seek illegal immigrants of color. After all, illegal immigrants from some parts of the world look more like "us."

I cried and then got angry as I watched and listened to arguments still being made after all these years. I shuddered as I watched the history of American racism grow from science and religion to be so pervasive at times as to be invisible and unconscious. I became energized to use my "white privilege" as a way to help change things.

I am sure that I will post more about this between now and the end of summer when the exhibit ends here in Rochester. I will be paying attention to my own invisible prejudices and how to confront them in myself. I will look for opportunities on those days I do my volunteering as a lead docent to help at least one other person move away from racial stereotypes. I will be available to help people see that race is not a biological or genetic inheritance but rather a socio-political-religious construct.

I am looking forward to continue the campaign against racism in our country so that we can more fully live up to the ideals we say we were founded on, that all are created equal and endowed with the same possibilities for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Local Rochester, MN, Information
Rochester, MN, Community Events

RACE- Are We So Different?

Science Museum of Minnesota RACE website

Race: The Power of an Illusion

Race: The Power of an Illusion transcripts