[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 11 (Friday, January 26, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S521-S523]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 THE STATE OF RACE RELATIONS IN AMERICA

 Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I would like to place in the 
Record a copy of a speech about the wrenching subject of racism, 
written by a good friend and colleague. Mr. Jim H. Paige III is the 
West Virginia Secretary of Tax and Revenue, and he recently gave this 
speech before the 115th Annual West Virginia Council of Churches 
Governing Assembly. Its words struck me as most sincere, insightful, 
and educational. I hope it will be just as beneficial to everyone else.
  Despite America's proud history as the melting pot Nation, we still 
struggle with the signs and attitudes of racism in virtually every 
corner of our society. It is a problem that most Americans would say is 
abhorrent and unjustifiable, but also one that will not disappear 
without even more effort.
  But I believe it is not only possible to combat discrimination, it is 
also essential. Diversity in background, skin color, family ancestry, 
religion, and geography should be celebrated and viewed as the way to 
build a stronger nation.
  The more thought and study each of us give to the issues of racism 
and discrimination, and the more discussions we hold with others on how 
to spread tolerance and equality, the more we can enlighten and educate 
ourselves to move toward making equality for all people a reality.
  It is my honor to submit this compelling text by a very fine West 
Virginian into the Congressional Record.
  The text follows:

  Speech to the West Virginia Council of Churches Governing Assembly, 
                            October 19, 1995

                         (By Jim H. Paige III)

       It is indeed an honor to be asked to participate in your 
     Annual Governing Assembly.
       I have been intrigued with the forum which has been 
     organized here and impressed that you set aside a special 
     time to discuss the hopes and concerns of West Virginia's 
     spiritual community.
       I was asked to speak here tonight about racism.
       It is a topic that deserves our most intellectual thoughts 
     and energies.
       Historically, as you know, in the 1860's the most divisive 
     issue in the United States was slavery.
       The issue of slavery divided the nation.
       The industrial North had very little use for slave labor.
       However, the agricultural South had a great need for a 
     large slave labor pool.
       At that time, slavery was based strictly on race.
       The Civil War was fought and the slave issue was settled, 
     but the issue of racism was not resolved.
       Even after the Civil War and during the reconstruction 
     period, our nation still struggled with the issue of racism.
       Because even after slavery, we had a legacy of Jim Crow 
     laws--of segregation--and this issue of racism was based 
     purely on color.
       So, although the Civil War was over, our nation was still 
     confused about Lincoln's notion that ``Four score and seven 
     years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new 
     nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition 
     that all men were created equal.''
       And over 100 years later, in the 1950's and 60's, the 
     nation was still divided by race.
       As a result, there was a whole movement led by the Civil 
     Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who was basically 
     trying to get America to live up to the Constitution.
       As Lincoln had noted earlier, our preamble states ``We hold 
     these truths to be self-evident--that all men are created 
     equal.''
       From a historical perspective I think it interesting that 
     during the 1860's there was a strong polarization based on 
     slavery.
       And in the 1960's that polarization still existed--not on 
     slavery, however, but on segregation, in an attempt to 
     separate our races.
       So the Civil Rights movement resulted in legislation that 
     was to end this segregation.
       Therefore, we experienced a desegregation of schools, of 
     public facilities.
       We now have laws on the books that make segregation 
     illegal.
       We come to an interesting stage in this brief historical 
     perspective, because what the laws could not do were to 
     change racial attitudes--the way people think and the way 
     people feel about each other.
       Although tremendous strides have been made, even 30 years 
     after the great Civil Rights movement, the issue of racism is 
     still prevalent in our society today.
       The recent O.J. Simpson trial and verdict brought back to 
     the surface again this cancer of racism.
       But the questions that still linger ``What is racism and 
     how do we solve it?''
       How do we define racism?
       In order to deal with a problem, we should try to define it 
     first.
       I define it as an attitude people have in which they feel 
     they are superior to another group of people, and that 
     superiority gives them certain privileges of authority over 
     those people.
       Now the result of racism is that the people who have been 
     victimized by racism respond with bitterness and resentment 
     toward those who exercise that authority.
       And, the alienation becomes even greater.
       So, if you think about it in a logical fashion, racism is 
     based purely on ignorance.
       Because racism takes one criterion, a superficial 
     criterion--race--and it passes judgment on an entire group of 
     people.
       Utilizing folklore, tradition, and stereotypes--not facts, 
     not any type of intellectual analysis--racism concludes that 
     all the people in a certain classification are a certain way.
       I think we all could conclude that this type of deductive 
     reasoning is unwise and unproductive.
       Whether it's black against white, whether it's white 
     against black--it doesn't matter.
       This type of attitude is unproductive, unhealthy and 
     undeserved in our society today.
       Now that we have defined the issue, how do we find 
     solutions to address this evil?
       I don't believe racism is an issue that our government can 
     solve.
     
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       Because government cannot legislate morality.
       Government cannot tell people to think a certain way or 
     feel a certain way.
       When our government attempts to legislate feelings and 
     attitudes, it creates greater problems.
       In America, our great land of freedom and independence in 
     which we live, we hold it as a high value and virtue that 
     people can think thoughts they want to think and feel the way 
     they want to feel--they have certain liberties and certain 
     freedoms.
       And rightly so.
       The only danger of this is that when people have racial 
     thoughts and racial feelings, it creates a tremendous 
     hardship for society.
       So, if government cannot solve this problem, how can we 
     address this major issue of racism in our society today?
       I think this is an issue that can only be resolved with a 
     continuing dialogue, interaction and commitment.
       Racism is an activity that requires daily moral awakening 
     that leads to real change.
       The only way we can overcome the stereotypes, the 
     tradition, the false information we have been given about 
     each other is through contact with the people we have learned 
     to disdain and look down upon.
       There is nothing government can do about that.
       There is no way we can legislate that black people and 
     white people must sit down together, and learn about each 
     other, understand each other, and appreciate each other's 
     differences.
       Integration certainly went a long way in bringing our races 
     together.
       But further steps are needed to change attitudes. Because 
     racism is not genetic--it's a learned value system, it is an 
     attitude that is passed down from one generation to the next.
       It's a cancer which continues to rob our nation of its 
     productivity.
       If we didn't have to deal with the barrier of racism, 
     imagine the energy, talent and resources which could be 
     directed toward solving problems in our society which are 
     universal and common to all of us.
       Now let's examine some solutions to breaking this barrier 
     of racism.
       First and foremost, I think one has to address this issue 
     openly and honestly on an individual basis using self-
     analysis.
       Let me state I don't think there is anything wrong with 
     cherishing your own race--your own culture and values--but 
     the issue is whether you respect others who do the same.
       In order to have racial harmony in our culture today, we 
     must respect our differences.
       Actually, to have harmony, we must have differences.
       For example, in the world of music.
       You could have an orchestra--which has stringed 
     instruments, percussion instruments--each instrument has its 
     own distinct sound but because they are playing from the same 
     score, and they are contributing what they were designed to 
     contribute, that creates a very harmonious sound which is 
     very pleasing to the ear.
       Again, they are not competing with each other, they are 
     complimenting each other.
       In like manner, we can have racial harmony by respecting 
     the fact that we come from different cultural orientations 
     and different historical experiences.
       But what we bring to the whole, creates something we could 
     not have apart from each other.
       What we collectively bring together could be much stronger 
     and could be much better than what the individual groups 
     would have independently.
       Frederick Douglass once said, ``We are one, our cause is 
     one, and we must help each other; if we are to succeed.''
       And that's the real beauty of America--that we are stronger 
     together as a nation than we are apart.
       The next step in addressing solutions toward the issue of 
     racism in our society is one of education.
       And I feel that this educational component is the most 
     important component because it starts in the home with 
     parents teaching their children about respecting not only 
     their own race but respecting other races as well, teaching 
     them to love their neighbors as they would love 
     themselves, teaching them to respect people who are 
     different than themselves, teaching them to recognize that 
     every individual has some intrinsic value and worth.
       For me, growing up as an African-American in a 
     predominately white City and State, I learned at a very early 
     age to appreciate different cultures because of my parents 
     and my friends.
       Although I was raised in a culture which was not as 
     economically affluent as others in which I was exposed, I 
     still maintained a high degree of respect for both cultures.
       Because my goal as I got older was to pull from the 
     strength of both cultures to be the best person I could 
     possibly be.
       And it's important to note, that one of the severe 
     consequences of racism is that it robs people from being the 
     best they can possibly be, because racism does not allow 
     people to pull from the strengths of others.
       Therefore, education at home and education in school is the 
     key to opening our minds, to breaking down stereotypes, myths 
     and folklore about other cultures.
       Because education is the key, I extend to you an 
     opportunity to work with me.
       I have established several Learning Centers around the 
     state with the primary focus of educating our young people 
     about the difference education can make in their lives.
       I invite you to come and share your experiences with these 
     children who come from different cultures and races.
       Together we can learn from each other and attack the 
     problems which we are finding in our communities--illiteracy, 
     juvenile delinquency, ignorance.
       I'm sure most of you would agree, that these young people 
     are worth saving.
       And as influential leaders, as spiritual leaders, I believe 
     that ``giving back'' to your individual communities will do 
     more to eradicate racism than all of the marches and trials 
     put together.
       Your example as a role model in your community is very 
     influential when children are small, but it certainly does 
     not stop there.
       It is very critical for a young person to have someone to 
     turn to for guidance when they reach an age that they are 
     making the big chioces that will influence their future, 
     whether to stay in school or drop out, whether to stick with 
     their gang or try to move on as an individual, whether to try 
     to hold a job or make money some easier, more dangerous way.
       Someone of this age can really benefit from association 
     with a mentor--an adult with valuable life experience who can 
     guide a young person through some of the tough decisions that 
     he will have to make.
       Some schools or churches have formal programs where 
     individuals are paired based on common interests or goals.
       An adult who is a physical therapist, for example, may be 
     paired with a young person who is interested in pursuing a 
     career in the health field.
       The adult knows what it will take in practical terms for a 
     person to achieve this goal and is, therefore, a tremendous 
     resource for a young person to have for encouragement.
       If there is such a program in your area, I urge you to 
     consider becoming involved.
       If there is not, keep your eyes open for ways that you can 
     support the dreams of young people around you.
       Dr. William Julius Wilson, the sociologist, grew up poor.
       His father died when he was twelve.
       He was the oldest of six children.
       When asked how he was able to achieve under such 
     circumstances, he said:
       ``I was able to get out of that situation because first of 
     all, I always had a role model out there, my aunt Janice, who 
     was the first person in our family to get a college 
     education. She used to take me to museums and give me books 
     to read, and so on. And then I served as a role model for my 
     other brothers and sisters.''
       This speaks powerfully to the tremendous influence that a 
     role model can have on a person's life.
       There are countless opportunities for you to put the skills 
     you've learned in life to use helping others make their way.
       And I am really convinced that this is where all real 
     change, all real building for the future takes place--on a 
     very personal level right around you.
       In the past, some communities have sunk deeper and deeper 
     into decay, waiting for someone to come to the rescue.
       I say, ``We are our own rescuers. We are the ones who will 
     save ourselves.''
       We can hope for money or assistance to come from somewhere.
       Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't.
       But we cannot afford to sit and wait.
       We must do what we can, what is within our power, to make 
     our communities sounder, our children's lives more promising.
       We need to take advantage of every program that is 
     currently in operation to make our streets safer and our 
     futures brighter.
       We are the ones who live in our neighborhoods.
       If we do not care enough to do our very best to make that 
     place a good area in which to live, then why should we expect 
     others to?
       We have the most to gain by working to improve our 
     communities and the most to lose by sitting back and waiting.
       If we want better lives, then the very first step is doing 
     what each one of us can do to make positive things happen.
       Start with you, with your family, your street, this church.
       We must first be responsible for ourselves and our 
     activities.
       Then sometimes you find that changes that occur in small 
     places often lead to dramatic changes in wider areas.
       You never know where your example and influence will lead.
       But I do know that for any of it to be successful, for any 
     change to occur, we must
       Maybe you are not the mayor or a famous athlete or a 
     wealthy contributor to charity.
       But you are a person who influences the quality of every 
     life he touches in small ways and in large ways.
       Use that power constructively.
       Use the tools that God gave you to change your world for 
     the better.
       And this is how I answer the question, ``How do we teach 
     our children how to deal with racism?''
       A change for our futures and our children's futures must 
     come from me and you. Society's rules should change, and 
     eventually I think they probably will. But think of the time 
     wasted while we sat waiting for that miraculous day to 
     happen.
       I feel we are all called to be citizens of action. Today is 
     the day, now is the best time, to start building that new 
     life.
       In closing, I commend your organization's effort here this 
     evening, because we all know that Jesus's ministry is one of 
     reconciliation.
     
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       We will soon enter into our third century as a nation.
       Whether we build in that third century a civilization we 
     can be proud of depends on whether we can arrive at a common 
     conception of what that civilization might stand for or what 
     it might do superbly well.
       It really depends on us and our children. The mantle of 
     leadership has fallen on our shoulders. So let's make this 
     event more than just a dinner and keynote speech, let's allow 
     it to be the first building block in overcoming this barrier 
     of racism.
       Thank you.

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