Racial discussions still important, even after Obama’s election
http://baystatebanner.com/Opinion58-2009-03-19
Jeff Stone
Its rare when the Bay State Banners editorial page and the Boston Globes Derrick Jackson are aligned with Jeff Jacoby, also of the Globe. But they were all recently in sync in rejecting any urgency to Attorney General Eric Holders call for frank talk on race in America.
The Banner preferred to focus on President Barack Obamas election as evidence that diligent effort can overcome racial discrimination and said black militants were delighted to hear Holders words (Time to take note, Editorial, March 5, 2009). Jackson, in a March 7, 2009, Globe column, said Holders statement was largely needless, given that the nation now has a black president, and Jacoby opined on Feb. 25, 2009, that weve been jawboning about race for two centuries and more race talk is the last thing we need.
With due respect to the apparently dialogue-averse Banner editorial board and Globe journalists, I side with Professor Charles J. Ogletree Jr., who in the Banners own March 5 Roving Camera said, This speech started a long-needed discussion of race in America.
There are two major points I believe the Banner, Jackson, Jacoby and many other commentators have underplayed: that interracial relations in the United States remain, to our detriment, arms-length at best, and that Holders frank talk does not have to center around resentful debating and accusations about each others deficiencies.
FULL story at link.