Race in America

Over this weekend there was a  rather significant demonstration in my neighborhood related to the issue of race in America. Race is, and has been for many years, the elephant in the living room in America. Ever since the arrival of Dutch traders in Virginia in 1609 with a cargo of African labor, race has been a polarizing divide in this country. In doing research on my Mother's family, the Conklings who settled in Colonial Massachusetts in 1535, I came across a bill of sale for a five year old slave girl named Phoebe.  She was sold to the Livingston family on Long Island for the goodly sum of 50 pounds sterling. The Conklings were glassmakers and later amassed land around the area of Southold on the North Fork of Long Island.  There are ample records that show many of them left slaves to their heirs in probated wills on record in New York prior to and post Revolution. The family was able to survive and prosper with the help of enslaved labor.


Slavery was not solely a Southern-based institution.There is ample historical proof that least 20% the population of New York City in pre-Revolutionary War time was made up of people held in involuntary servitude.  Unlike European indenture servants, who after an agreed upon time of service were free to pursue their own fortunes, slaves  were held in bondage for a lifetime.  And unlike Europeans who, once able to master the  language of commerce and trade, could easily "pass" into the dominant society relatively easily.  They "looked" right.  African slaves, due to the color of their skin, did not share that advantage.


Neither is segregation a thing of the past or only a problem in the Southern part of our nation.  As of today the three most segregated cities in the United States are Detroit, Milwaukee and my own hometown, New York City. The public schools in New York City are the most segregated in the nation. I certainly can attest to that.  In my 22 year career with the NYC DOE, I saw that segregation up close and personal.  My first week in the classroom in a public school, I asked why there were only three children of color in my top honors class, and 20 students of color in my academically challenged group.  I was told that is how the numbers fell.  I had come from a Lutheran school were my classes were evenly split racially and all were expected to achieve to the best of their ability and beyond. This attitude of blind acceptance on the part of the staff at my new school appalled me, but any attempt to buck the system was met with great resistance.  They would go by the numbers, and that was about it.


  So for many students of color it was a crap shoot, it depended on the attitude of those in charge of placement and balancing the size of the class as to where you wound up. And out of a staff of over 70, I can recall only 9 colleagues and one administrator who were African American in a school where 40% of the students were either African American or Hispanic.


This "crap shoot" mentality came back to haunt me this weekend, and not due to the demonstration and march led by the Rev'd Al Sharpton that began up the block from my apartment.  It was two articles in the local paper each one about a former student, one on Saturday and the other on Sunday.


These two young African American men were in the school around the same time. They were in the mid to low academic track...that is when we tracked students by perceived "ability" as reflected in standardized tests and teacher recommendation. They both had reputations for being "difficult" students.  They both lived in low income city housing projects with single mothers  who were discovering that their sons were becoming a "handful"...ie: growing quickly into adulthood. I think they might have shared the same circle of friends and shared in some misadventures.  But their paths must have diverged somewhere, and their lives took different courses.  One was recently sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in a gang related murder. The other just completed a supported artist-in-residency program at a local cultural center, and his work will be featured on display and for sale in a local gallery.


So, how does this happen?  One to be incarcerated for the rest of his young life, and the other on his way to a career as a noted graphic artist?  Is it just that "crap shoot" that worked out for one, but not the other?  Is there a lesson to be learned here? I think there is: Those of us who do have an unspoken advantaged purely due to circumstances of genetics need to be aware that "white privilege" does indeed exist, and has existed in this country even before its inception.  We all need to consciously work towards a better society where all of our children can have the opportunity to succeed creatively and positively.