Black and White

Superstition, bigotry and prejudice, ghosts though they are, cling tenaciously to life; they are shades armed with tooth and claw. They must be grappled with unceasingly, for it is a fateful part of human destiny that it is condemned to wage perpetual war against ghosts. A shade is not easily taken by the throat and destroyed..

        -- Victor Hugo

One of the people in the drawing was black. Students were asked, one after the other, to describe the scene; but not one mentioned the race of that person. Finally, Mr. Harris suggested that we were uncomfortable addressing race.

He was right. And it’s still true today.

I suspect that the same exercise, if conducted in 21st-century classrooms throughout the country, would elicit the same results today. I think student would describe, in detail, the scene, clothing, poses of the characters and their behavior. But I don’t think they’d identify any of those depicted by race.

After a few months in the south, I’m pretty convinced that race remains one of the more troubling of the unsettled issues in our democracy. Of course I knew this before I left Merced – I’ve known it since Mr. Harris pointed out how we ignore things that make us uncomfortable.

For some reason, the most troubling specific thing that I’m observing is the use of “sir” by black people. I’ve heard the word more times in the past several weeks than in years of living in California. But, speaking anecdotally, it always comes from black people.

I’m not only referring to those who are paid to serve – as in the buildings I’m occupying or gas stations and restaurants. Black people I’ve greeted in parking lots and other public areas seem typically to reply with greetings appended by the word, “sir.”

I suppose part of this may be a social difference here in the South. But on the other side of this coin are racist comments – albeit mild – made in passing by people I’ve met.

Again, I’m spending nearly all of my time interacting with people over 70 and there may be less of this in the younger generations. But it is clear that old attitudes die slowly.

A fellow I dined with recently was the most overtly bigoted person I’ve encountered. Three times he put forth a racist theory and each time I made a clear statement that rejected his notion. A retired professor from Louisiana State University was at the table. He chose to remain silent on all three occasions.

That’s about as close as I’ve come to sharing Steinbeck’s frustration, sorrow, disappointment and sense of futility that peaked when he visited Louisiana more than 45 years ago.

Though I didn’t confront this man overtly, I was diplomatic, deferential and direct. I didn’t ignore his remarks. I hope Mr. Harris would approve.