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8
National Commentary =
THIS WAY FOR BLACK EMPOWERMENT
By Dr. Lenora Fulani
America can
‘overcome racism
s we approach the 21st
century the fundamen
tal challenge to our na
tionremains thesame as
it was at the end of the
18th century: the problem of rac
ism. Racism is not easily eradi
cated from America because it is
such an integral part of the Ameri
can experience. Slavery was the
economic backbone of the original
thirteen colonies, and theidea that
an African-American counted as
only 3/sths of a person was institu
tionalized in the Constitution.
Certainly, the character of
American racism has changed over
the past two hundred and twenty
years. African Americans are now
legally entitled to all the rights of
full citizenship. Though this en
franchisement has not been pow
erful enough to overcome the so
cial and economic obstacles to full
equality. Can racism ever be over
come?
Not in America s we have known
it. As long as power in America is
concentrated in the institutions
that pre-date the abolition of sla
very than racism will never be over
come. Refors, concessions, in
creased tolerance, yes, we have won
these things. But racism has not
been overcome.
The Republican Party ended sla
very. One hundred years later, the
Democratic Paty put itself at the
head of our civil rights movement.
But in neither case were African
Americans full partners in build
ing a new America. We wrenched
our freedom and dignity from a
basically white power structure
that was more or less disposed—at
that particular time in history—to
accommodate our demands. The
major parties enlarged American
democracy to “include” us and
other “disadvantaged” constituen
cies not at partneers, but as purely
passive voting (or non-voting)
blocs.
The politic of coming to white
america to get things for Black
america has failed, and will con
tinue to fail. This approach locks
us into the politics of identity vic
tim. We have to reach out to other
Americans willing to work with us
as full partners and build a new
American democracy.
A new democracy means in-
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4
Slavery was the
economic back
bone of the
original thirteen
colonies, and
the idea that an
African-Ameri
can counted as
only 3/sths of a
person was
institutionalized
in the Constitu
tion.
creased citizen participation
hwere all Americans are activits,
and take responsibility for the
country. It means restructuring
the decision-making process to
give all citizens a stronger voice,
using technology to update the
electoral process and makeit more
accessible. And enacting term lim
its to eliminate “professional poli
tics.” It means getting the two
parties out of over-controlling
America; it means depoliticizing
government, our economy and our
culture. It means completely over
hauling our election laws so that
we have truly free-elections that
are not determined by special in
terests and providing equitable
access to mass communications
and debates.
Building a new American de
mocracy requires that Black and
white American’s engage in a new
kind of activity together. We have
complex and diverse feelings aout
one another. But I think it’s very
clear that there isn’t a shared
commanality of interest, of collec
tiveownership of the country. Two
hundred and twenty years of
struggle within this unequal part
nershipyielded toleration, but not'
cooperation. the way to create co
operation is to build something
together. We must remake, re
create our country.
Charles W. Walker
Publisher
Frederick Benjamin
Managing Editor
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Opinion
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TO BE EQUAL by Hugh B. Price
It’s time to beat the street
Throughout the country, cities and sub
urbs are recording significant declines in
rates of juvenile crime—and, by doing so,
placing in sharp reliefthat the most effec
tive way to solve the crime problem is not
Jjust toget tough, but to be compassionate,
too.
Nothingbetterillustrates that than the
stunning progress the city of Boston has
madeinreducingjuvenile crimein recent
years.
From 1993 to 1995, Boston’s juvenile
arrest rate for aggravated assault and
battery with a firearm fell by 65 percent.
From 1990 to 1995, juvenile homicides
there fell by 80 percent—and since July,
1995, no juvenile has been killed by gun
fire.
Those statistics, and the story of how
Boston achieved them, brought President
Clinton to the city last week. He wanted to
useits success as proof that his own $495-
million proposal to combat juvenile crime
can work. The President’s program would
give localities S2OO million to develop juve
nile crime task forces and hire new pros
ecutors to focus on those crimes. That'’s
notjust compassionate, it'seminently prac
tical.
Studies have shown that the peak time
for violent youth crime, drug use and
teenage sexisright after school, from 3:00
to 6:00 p.m.
And, as the President pointed out,
America’s juvenile population is boom
ing—our school enrollment is already at
52 million—which means that unless we
give young people viable alternatives to
crime, “our country is going to be living
with chaos, and my successors will...be
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builds schools
trying to keep body and soul together for
people on the streets of these cities.”
Such ableak environment of rising juve
nile crime seemed about to overtake Bos
ton, according to Frances Kenney Moseley,
until public agencies and private organi
zations discovered that by reaching out to
each other, they could better help the city’s
young people.
Mrs. Moseley is head of the Boys and
Girls Clubs of Boston, Inc., one of the key
playersin the public-private partnership.
That partnership includes the Boston Po
lice Department and the city probation
department, the Mayor’s office, local col
leges and universities, and myriad com
munity organizations. Aided by consider
able funding from the federal Department
of Justice, these entities have stitched
together a program to surround the city’s
youth with what Mrs. Moseley called “a
community of concern.”
Their message to the youth of Boston
was that there would be harsh penalties
for criminal activity of any sort—but also
help for young people who needed it.
“We needed tosend a powerful message
to our young people that we cared about
them and that we had an investment in
seeing that they could and would do well,”
Mrs. Moseley said. “Everybody recognized
that no one nonprofit agency, no commu
nity organization, and no government
agency could do what needed to be done
alone. We had to work together.”
The pursuit of that common goal has
had several payoffs.
One is that the different agencies and
organizations have discovered that shar
ingtheir expertise can help their partners
do their job better. For example, police
officials, now plugged in a network of
social service agencies, have found that
more and moreindividuals and organiza
tions in the neighborhoods are looking to
them not just as jailers, but as a source of
help, too.
And just as the greater coordination of
community organizations’ after-school
programs help youngsters avoid the temp
tations of the streets, so the greater coop
eration between the police and probation
department helps provide juvenile offend
ers with the help they need to go straight.
Boston’s success is further proof that,
whetherit’s called neighborhood policing,
as it is in Boston, or community policing,
asitisinmany other places, involving the
police in efforts to surround young people
with discipline, guidance and compassion
is what works best to reduce juvenile
crime.
That thinking has been the bedrock of
the League’s national and local-affiliate
youth programs for decades. It stimulated
both our now-annual day of celebration to
honor youth who are doing the right thing,
and the five-year publicservice announce
ment campaign we launched on television
and radio and in newspapers with the
Advertising Council last October.
We called that campaign, which focuses
on establishing after-school and summer
programs to keep youngsters away from
negative influences, “It’s Time to Beat the
Street.”
The success of the city-wide coalitionin
Boston shows we're not the only ones who
fell this way. Thankfully, we’ve got plenty
ofcompany.
