A Nation of Cowards?

Holder: US is Nation of Cowards on Racial Matters

WASHINGTON (AP) - Attorney General Eric Holder described the United States Wednesday as a nation of cowards on matters of race, saying most Americans avoid discussing unresolved racial issues.
In a speech to Justice Department employees marking Black History Month, Holder said the workplace is largely integrated but Americans still self-segregate on the weekends and in their private lives.
"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards," said Holder, nation's first black attorney general.
Race issues continue to be a topic of political discussion, Holder said, but "we, as average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race."
He urged people of all races to use Black History Month as a chance for frank talk about racial matters.
"It is an issue we have never been at ease with and, given our nation's history, this is in some ways understandable," Holder said. "If we are to make progress in this area, we must feel comfortable enough with one another and tolerant enough of each other to have frank conversations about the racial matters that continue to divide us."
He told Justice Department employees they have a special responsibility to advance racial understanding.

Rebuttal
(The following letter was sent to Mr. Holder at the U.S. Department of Justice)

Dear Mr. Holder:

OK, Eric, let's do that. Let's have a talk about race...

First, let me say that I have read your entire remarks and I had no idea that you were such an aggrieved soul. I can't remember the last time I read such a negative speech. You owe all white Americans an apology. Since I'm fairly confident that an apology will not be forthcoming, let me begin by asking you, didn't America just elect a BLACK man as President of the United States? If we are such cowards on the subject of race, what were we thinking? It was WHITE Americans who put Mr. Obama in office, not black Americans. There aren't enough blacks in American to get the job done, so you might have been better off starting your speech by congratulating America for electing a black man to the most important office in the land.

Yours was not a speech about racial understanding to commemorate Black History Month, it was a lecture. You lectured white America on what we need to do to reach out to black America, and how we need to change to better understand black America. It didn't foster one single ounce of racial understanding. Instead, it widened the cultural divide.

There also wasn't a single word in your speech about what black America needs to do, or how they need to change. Having lived for sixty-one years in this country, and witnessed the changes that white America has made for the benefit of black Americans, it is my humble opinion that perhaps it is time for black America to change. They need to clean up their own act before they -- including people like you -- start lecturing white America on what is wrong with us.

Now on to my personal opinions about race...

1. Most whites in America are not racists. Yes, there is racism in America, but I submit to you that there are more racist blacks, by a percentage of population by race, than racist whites. Far too many blacks in America were raised to "hate whitey". You know it is true, they know it is true, and we whites certainly know it is true. Most black Americans hate white Americans simply because we are white.

2. Most blacks in America still haven't gotten over slavery. Not one of them has ever been a slave, and no living white Americans have ever been slave owners, yet they continue to cling to this part of American history as an excuse for their economic circumstances. If America is such a horrible place, why don't they move back to Africa? Even if they just visited Africa for a month, it would be a healthy exercise for all of them.

3. Racism is not the reason that many blacks can't get jobs. It is because that they are not qualified for meaningful jobs. People from other races have come to this country in recent decades and started in similar or worse circumstances than blacks, and as a group have made great social and economic strides. The vast majority of blacks have been trained by their culture to become dependent upon the state. Perhaps they should try a little personal responsibility instead of blaming white Americans for their circumstances. White Americans are damn tired of the inner city welfare queens and Section 8 housing that we pay for with our tax dollars, and we're particularly disgusted with being called racists as we pay ever higher taxes to fund inner city programs for predominately black neighborhoods that continue to decline. Why don't you try lecturing black Americans next time. Tell them it is time to clean up their own act.

4. Virtually everyone in America knows damn well that O.J. Simpson was guilty of murder, and yet, I remember watching in shocked amazement as hundreds of blacks exploded in celebration at the reading of the "Not Guilty" verdict. It was the moment in my life that I understood, for the first time, the depth of the hatred blacks had for white America. By their reaction, they were saying, "We got even!" You got even for what? Finding a black man not guilty of murder when all of the evidence pointed to an obviously guilty verdict is somehow justice?

My perception of black America has never been the same since. It demonstrated to me that most blacks in America have a chip on their shoulder over perceived injustices that their race has endured at the hands of white Americans. They have convinced themselves that they are the victims of social injustice at every turn, despite the fact that they are the beneficiaries of so much from the predominately white American taxpayer. Welfare, Food Stamps, Affirmative Action in Universities and in Business, Hate Crimes Legislation, Great Society Legislation, Small Business Minority Set-asides, Section 8 housing, Free College Education, Free Healthcare (Medicaid), Neighborhood Stabilization Block Grants. For example, the Community Reinvestment Act, which is at the heart of the recent economic meltdown, was created by the misguided Jimmy Carter to, in great part, help inner city blacks own homes that far too many of them coud not afford. How did that work out for white Americans, Eric? We will be paying for that mistake for decades.

Any objective observer would conclude that black Americans actually have more rights than white Americans do at this time in our history. The vast majority of white Americans don't have access to most of the government benefits I listed above, and yet we continue to slog along, paying higher and higher taxes for more and more inner city programs for more and more black Americans who hate us. What's next? Reparations?

Speaking of government benefits for blacks, Eric, you are the beneficiary of affirmative action yourself. All news accounts of your appointment proudly proclaimed you as our "first black U.S. Attorney General". Lest you disagree, let me remind you that as a deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration, you approved the pardon of tax criminal Marc Rich despite compelling evidence to the contrary. You also approved Bill Clinton's full pardon of 16 Puerto Rican terrorists (FALN). The official and public outcry from both of these pardons was deafening. Also, the law firm for which you were working prior to your recent appointment as Attorney General is currently representing SEVENTEEN Islamic terrorists now imprisoned in Guantanamo. If you were white, do you think you would have had a snowball's chance in hell of getting the nomination? and even if nominated, do you think for one minute that Congress would have approved your nomination? Of course not. And yet you lecture white America.

White Americans' taxes probably paid for your college education and some or all of your law school expenses. Perhaps you even gained admission into Columbia University thanks to affirmative action. Your first job out of law school was probably an affirmative action hire, and your rise through the Justice Department was probably due to being black. Even Ronald Reagan, a white American, in case you have forgotten, played a significant role in your legal career when he named you to serve on the Bench as a Superior Court Judge in Washington, DC. You continue to reap the benefits of being a black American, and yet you castigate the very people who put you where you are today.

5. Speaking of being black, do you think Barack Obama would have been elected President of the United States if he were white? Not a chance. If you disagree with that premise, how about if he were white and had attended a church where the white equivalent of Jeremiah Wright's hate speech was being spewed for twenty long years? You know the answer, and so does all of America, both white and black. So get over this notion that white America is cowardly, you arrogant ass. We just elected a black man to the presidency! Barack Obama was elected in large part because of "white guilt", a lousy reason to elect someone to the most powerful office in the world, but a powerful rebuttal to your claim that we are a nation of cowards on matters of race. If we are cowards, it is only because far too many white Americans were afraid to vote against an inexperienced black presidential candidate, and now we have an inexperienced black president. But that's how affirmative action works in business and college admissions, doesn't it, Eric? Choose the black candidate even if he is less experienced than the other candidate. There's a winning formula for America. Dumb down the workplace in the name of reparations.

As for the relationship between Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright, white America still doesn't know whether Obama is a racist. He spent twenty years in that church, which begs the question, Does he agree with Wright's rants or was he just using Wright and his church for political advancement? He is quite good at hiding the real Barack Obama. So who's he lying to, Eric? He's either a racist, or he has been lying to Jeremiah Wright and his church for twenty years. My bet is that he's a racist based on his associations. People like you, Mr. Holder.

6. Speaking of Barack Obama, have you noticed that white America is reticent to criticize him? Have you ever given thought to why? It would be racist, of course. You see, Eric, white Americans have been cowed by black race baiters like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and others into remaining silent on matters of race. The message from black America to white America during the presidential campaign was, "Say nothing critical of Barack Obama or we will accuse you of being a racist!"

7. While we are on the subject of black leaders, race baiting, and accusations of racism, let's talk about Jesse Jackson and his infamous Ranibow/PUSH organization. It's that so-called "affirmative action" group whose primary objective is to supposedly place more minorities on the payrolls, in the boardrooms, and on the supplier lists of major corporations, when in fact it is nothing more than an extortion racket. As you know, Eric, they target a corporation using publicly available information and, thanks to affirmative action laws, they research their minority hiring practices. If Rainbow/PUSH doesn't like what they see, they contact the corporation and essentially tell them, "If you will hire our firm to help you hire more blacks, we won't expose you to the public and to the media for having fewer blacks than the national average." Thanks to these and other similar tactics, Mr. Jackson is now a multi-millionaire who flies around the country in his private jet extorting millions of dollars from more and more corporations who don't want the negative publicity of being labeled a racist corporation by Rainbow/PUSH. Yet, if white America should complain about his tactics, they too will be labeled racist. It's a nice racket...if you're a black hustler.

8. Let's talk a bit more about affirmative action, shall we? White America is routinely discrimated against in such matters. We watch as less qualified black students are admitted to elite universities in the name of "fairness" when in fact it is nothing more than racism: discrimination against the white race in the misguided belief that such actions are actually fair. The United Negro Fund is fond of saying, "The mind is a terrible thing to waste." Well, Eric, it cuts both ways. Even a white mind is a terrible thing to waste. And to add insult to injury, you make white America pay for such ridiculous programs in the mistaken belief that we somehow owe black Americans such tokenism. The better solution is to expect more out of black Americans at all levels, starting with black parents. Instead of lecturing white America, Eric, you should have tried telling black Americans to start acting like parents. Bill Cosby tried it, and the black community, including the likes of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and others pilloried him for expecting more out of the black race in America.

9. While we're talking about black families, let's talk about America's ghettos. White Americans didn't create our ghettos, black Americans did. But, thanks to President Lyndon Johnson's ill-fated Great Society legislation, white Americans were asked to spend billions upon billions of dollars on housing programs under the Dept of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). What did we get for all that money? More ghettos and more dependency. There are those, me among them, who believe that all it accomplished was to teach black Americans that dependency on government was a lifestyle choice. Yet, if anyone suggests today that we need to cut back on these programs, he is labeled a racist. Isn't it interesting that other races -- most notably, Asians -- are not trapped in this cycle of dependency. So I ask you, Eric, could it be cultural? You know the answer, but apparently it is more convenient to blame white America in order to keep those "white dollars" flowing into that black hole called America's ghettos. Yes, I said, "black hole". It's not a racist term. Look it up. It will be educational.

10. As long as we're talking about ghettos, let's talk about crime. Did you know, Eric, that blacks comprise 12% of the population yet they commit nearly 60% of the violent crime in America. Is that also the fault of white Americans? When does black America step up and say, "It's our fault, we need to clean up our act." In the meantime, white Americans continue to foot the bill for ever increasing costs for crime prevention, prisons, jails, and so-called rehabilitation programs. But I'm sure it's our fault. Maybe it's all those racist white cops. If they would just stop arresting innocent black criminals, the problem would solve itself.

11. There are also more blacks in our prisons than whites. Could it be that they commit more crimes? The most interesting commercials on television these days are those by Brink's Home Security. They go out of their way to make sure that the viewer gets a nice, long, visual close-up shot of the WHITE burglar's face. It's a pathetic example of corporate cowardice, Eric, and it is born out of fear of black activists. Brink's, of course, is merely trying to avoid a lawsuit from black activists who are always looking for an opportunity to scream "racism!"

Speaking of commercials, why is the white guy always the "dumb guy" while the black guy is always the "smart guy". How about a little balance? Are all of these advertisers so cowed by their fear of being labeled racist that they err on the side of safety? Just make the white guy the dunce and all will be fine? I just wish that every white guy watching these commercials would remember those advertisers and not buy their products. The larger question is why do black apologists bother with such symbolism? Do they actually think that white Americans are blind to reality? We know that white guys aren't the only burglars in America, and that intelligence isn't the exclusive domain of black guys. It's ridiculous. What does it accomplish?

12. I believe that a few words about black athletes is also in order. Here is a group who, through great athletic prowess, have pulled themselves up out of the ghetto, in many cases, but can't seem to leave their pasts behind them. So many of them are laden with gold jewelry, covered with tattoos, packin' heat, and either using or dealing drugs on the side. Anymore, I'm not sure whether NBA basketball is a gang war or a basketball game. And yet I'm a racist for even broaching the subject.

In summary, Eric, I'm sure you have noticed that I didn't use the term "African American" a single time to describe black Americans. That is because there is no such thing. It's fiction; a creation of the politically correct crowd. Their goal is multi-faceted. They want to keep America looking in the rearview mirror; to never forget the indignity and injustice of slavery. It's also an attempt to balkanize America; to keep us as two, separate countries, black and white.

If black Americans prefer a two word description of their heritage, why isn't "America" first? Why aren't they "American-Africans"? Why the reverse? They're Americans with African heritage, aren't they? The reason they prefer "African-American" is obvious. In their minds and hearts they are Africans first, Americans second. And yet you wonder why there is such a cultural divide. You lectured the wrong group, Eric.

I am neither a white American nor an "American American" (as silly as that sounds), and you are neither a black American nor an "African-American". We are both Americans.

You also happen to be the new Attorney General of the United States of America. You might try acting like it.

The next time you think about giving a speech on race relations why don't you try giving one that draws us together rather than one that widens the cultural divide?

Sincerely,

Ron Garland


Eric Holder's Complete Remarks

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Attorney General Eric Holder at the Department of Justice African American History Month Program
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Every year, in February, we attempt to recognize and to appreciate black history. It is a worthwhile endeavor for the contributions of African Americans to this great nation are numerous and significant. Even as we fight a war against terrorism, deal with the reality of electing an African American as our President for the first time and deal with the other significant issues of the day, the need to confront our racial past, and our racial present, and to understand the history of African people in this country, endures. One cannot truly understand America without understanding the historical experience of black people in this nation. Simply put, to get to the heart of this country one must examine its racial soul.
Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards. Though race related issues continue to occupy a significant portion of our political discussion, and though there remain many unresolved racial issues in this nation, we, average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race. It is an issue we have never been at ease with and given our nation’s history this is in some ways understandable. And yet, if we are to make progress in this area we must feel comfortable enough with one another, and tolerant enough of each other, to have frank conversations about the racial matters that continue to divide us. But we must do more- and we in this room bear a special responsibility. Through its work and through its example this Department of Justice, as long as I am here, must - and will - lead the nation to the "new birth of freedom" so long ago promised by our greatest President. This is our duty and our solemn obligation.
We commemorated five years ago, the 50th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. And though the world in which we now live is fundamentally different than that which existed then, this nation has still not come to grips with its racial past nor has it been willing to contemplate, in a truly meaningful way, the diverse future it is fated to have. To our detriment, this is typical of the way in which this nation deals with issues of race. And so I would suggest that we use February of every year to not only commemorate black history but also to foster a period of dialogue among the races. This is admittedly an artificial device to generate discussion that should come more naturally, but our history is such that we must find ways to force ourselves to confront that which we have become expert at avoiding.
As a nation we have done a pretty good job in melding the races in the workplace. We work with one another, lunch together and, when the event is at the workplace during work hours or shortly thereafter, we socialize with one another fairly well, irrespective of race. And yet even this interaction operates within certain limitations. We know, by "American instinct" and by learned behavior, that certain subjects are off limits and that to explore them risks, at best embarrassment, and, at worst, the questioning of one’s character. And outside the workplace the situation is even more bleak in that there is almost no significant interaction between us. On Saturdays and Sundays America in the year 2009 does not, in some ways, differ significantly from the country that existed some fifty years ago. This is truly sad. Given all that we as a nation went through during the civil rights struggle it is hard for me to accept that the result of those efforts was to create an America that is more prosperous, more positively race conscious and yet is voluntarily socially segregated.
As a nation we should use Black History month as a means to deal with this continuing problem. By creating what will admittedly be, at first, artificial opportunities to engage one another we can hasten the day when the dream of individual, character based, acceptance can actually be realized. To respect one another we must have a basic understanding of one another. And so we should use events such as this to not only learn more about the facts of black history but also to learn more about each other. This will be, at first, a process that is both awkward and painful but the rewards are potentially great. The alternative is to allow to continue the polite, restrained mixing that now passes as meaningful interaction but that accomplishes little. Imagine if you will situations where people- regardless of their skin color- could confront racial issues freely and without fear. The potential of this country, that is becoming increasingly diverse, would be greatly enhanced. I fear however, that we are taking steps that, rather than advancing us as a nation are actually dividing us even further. We still speak too much of "them" and not "us". There can, for instance, be very legitimate debate about the question of affirmative action. This debate can, and should, be nuanced, principled and spirited. But the conversation that we now engage in as a nation on this and other racial subjects is too often simplistic and left to those on the extremes who are not hesitant to use these issues to advance nothing more than their own, narrow self interest. Our history has demonstrated that the vast majority of Americans are uncomfortable with, and would like to not have to deal with, racial matters and that is why those, black or white, elected or self-appointed, who promise relief in easy, quick solutions, no matter how divisive, are embraced. We are then free to retreat to our race protected cocoons where much is comfortable and where progress is not really made. If we allow this attitude to persist in the face of the most significant demographic changes that this nation has ever confronted- and remember, there will be no majority race in America in about fifty years- the coming diversity that could be such a powerful, positive force will, instead, become a reason for stagnation and polarization. We cannot allow this to happen and one way to prevent such an unwelcome outcome is to engage one another more routinely- and to do so now.
As I indicated before, the artificial device that is Black History month is a perfect vehicle for the beginnings of such a dialogue. And so I urge all of you to use the opportunity of this month to talk with your friends and co-workers on the other side of the divide about racial matters. In this way we can hasten the day when we truly become one America.
It is also clear that if we are to better understand one another the study of black history is essential because the history of black America and the history of this nation are inextricably tied to each other. It is for this reason that the study of black history is important to everyone- black or white. For example, the history of the United States in the nineteenth century revolves around a resolution of the question of how America was going to deal with its black inhabitants. The great debates of that era and the war that was ultimately fought are all centered around the issue of, initially, slavery and then the reconstruction of the vanquished region. A dominant domestic issue throughout the twentieth century was, again, America's treatment of its black citizens. The civil rights movement of the 1950's and 1960's changed America in truly fundamental ways. Americans of all colors were forced to examine basic beliefs and long held views. Even so, most people, who are not conversant with history, still do not really comprehend the way in which that movement transformed America. In racial terms the country that existed before the civil rights struggle is almost unrecognizable to us today. Separate public facilities, separate entrances, poll taxes, legal discrimination, forced labor, in essence an American apartheid, all were part of an America that the movement destroyed. To attend her state’s taxpayer supported college in 1963 my late sister in law had to be escorted to class by United States Marshals and past the state’s governor, George Wallace. That frightening reality seems almost unthinkable to us now. The civil rights movement made America, if not perfect, better.
In addition, the other major social movements of the latter half of the twentieth century- feminism, the nation's treatment of other minority groups, even the anti-war effort- were all tied in some way to the spirit that was set free by the quest for African American equality. Those other movements may have occurred in the absence of the civil rights struggle but the fight for black equality came first and helped to shape the way in which other groups of people came to think of themselves and to raise their desire for equal treatment. Further, many of the tactics that were used by these other groups were developed in the civil rights movement.
And today the link between the black experience and this country is still evident. While the problems that continue to afflict the black community may be more severe, they are an indication of where the rest of the nation may be if corrective measures are not taken. Our inner cities are still too conversant with crime but the level of fear generated by that crime, now found in once quiet, and now electronically padlocked suburbs is alarming and further demonstrates that our past, present and future are linked. It is not safe for this nation to assume that the unaddressed social problems in the poorest parts of our country can be isolated and will not ultimately affect the larger society.
Black history is extremely important because it is American history. Given this, it is in some ways sad that there is a need for a black history month. Though we are all enlarged by our study and knowledge of the roles played by blacks in American history, and though there is a crying need for all of us to know and acknowledge the contributions of black America, a black history month is a testament to the problem that has afflicted blacks throughout our stay in this country. Black history is given a separate, and clearly not equal, treatment by our society in general and by our educational institutions in particular. As a former American history major I am struck by the fact that such a major part of our national story has been divorced from the whole. In law, culture, science, athletics, industry and other fields, knowledge of the roles played by blacks is critical to an understanding of the American experiment. For too long we have been too willing to segregate the study of black history. There is clearly a need at present for a device that focuses the attention of the country on the study of the history of its black citizens. But we must endeavor to integrate black history into our culture and into our curriculums in ways in which it has never occurred before so that the study of black history, and a recognition of the contributions of black Americans, become commonplace. Until that time, Black History Month must remain an important, vital concept. But we have to recognize that until black history is included in the standard curriculum in our schools and becomes a regular part of all our lives, it will be viewed as a novelty, relatively unimportant and not as weighty as so called "real" American history.
I, like many in my generation, have been fortunate in my life and have had a great number of wonderful opportunities. Some may consider me to be a part of black history. But we do a great disservice to the concept of black history recognition if we fail to understand that any success that I have had, cannot be viewed in isolation. I stood, and stand, on the shoulders of many other black Americans. Admittedly, the identities of some of these people, through the passage of time, have become lost to us- the men, and women, who labored long in fields, who were later legally and systemically discriminated against, who were lynched by the hundreds in the century just past and those others who have been too long denied the fruits of our great American culture. The names of too many of these people, these heroes and heroines, are lost to us. But the names of others of these people should strike a resonant chord in the historical ear of all in our nation: Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois, Walter White, Langston Hughes, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Joe Louis, Jackie Robinson, Charles Drew, Paul Robeson, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Vivian Malone, Rosa Parks, Marion Anderson, Emmit Till. These are just some of the people who should be generally recognized and are just some of the people to whom all of us, black and white, owe such a debt of gratitude. It is on their broad shoulders that I stand as I hope that others will some day stand on my more narrow ones.
Black history is a subject worthy of study by all our nation's people. Blacks have played a unique, productive role in the development of America. Perhaps the greatest strength of the United States is the diversity of its people and to truly understand this country one must have knowledge of its constituent parts. But an unstudied, not discussed and ultimately misunderstood diversity can become a divisive force. An appreciation of the unique black past, acquired through the study of black history, will help lead to understanding and true compassion in the present, where it is still so sorely needed, and to a future where all of our people are truly valued.
Thank you.
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