'Nation of Cowards' Aside, Holder Was Right, Especially About Black History Month
By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
I was traveling all day yesterday, and the most intriguing headline I saw on the newsstand was that Attorney General Eric Holder had called the United States a "nation of cowards." Curious, I found his remarks online as soon as I landed here in Texas. Click here to read the whole transcript of his speech, which is actually pretty thoughtful. In it, he questions the value of Black History Month as it exists now, saying we're a nation of cowards who are uncomfortable when it comes to talking about race:
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.
Holder makes the case that American history and black history are so entwined as to make celebrating them separately seem obsolete. Black history is American history, he says, but treating it separately means it's been given unequal treatment by the schools. The contributions of Americans such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and Frederick Douglass shouldn't be treated as a novelty, taught in schools only in February of each year.
Holder is right. It should be part of our everyday lives, our national conversation. Just as President Obama called for Martin Luther King Day to be a day of service this year, maybe it's time to shift the focus of Black History Month.
Despite the "nation of cowards" comment, which seems a little extreme, I think he might be on to something. With so many African-Americans reaching the top levels of business, government, and sports and entertainment over the last decade, maybe it is time for the rest of us to move forward as well.
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Reader Comments
Holder was wrong
Re: Holder’s comments – I’m so sorry that Mr. Holder is disappointed because the ‘promised land’ isn’t perfect – but he and Obama are living proof that we have arrived! It took a combination of shame, then bravery to change the way most white people think. It will take trust and forgiveness on the part of minorities to get us the rest of the way. Only a small percentage of white people are still prejudiced. Racists should be held in the same regard as the willfully ignorant and people who talk at the theatre. You’ll know we’ve arrived when we start telling jokes about *being* racist. Ex: “So, a religious fundamentalist, Rush Limbaugh and a racist walk into a bar…” Oh – sorry, that’s all the same thing, isn’t it?
I agree..we ARE a nation of Cowards...
Are we a nation of cowards, yes we are, his words may have been extreme in nature but when we honestly reflect on history in american period and then the seperate struggle of those ancestors of the black community, yes we are a nation of cowards who like to hide behind legal antdoctes, racism, sexism, HATRED, we are a nation that likes to brainwash, steal others accomplishments, overlook the underlining root of our problems and place other words for them, we are a nation that has overlooked the history, contributions, and accomplishments of blacks in america rob, lynch, kill, steal, fill with hatred but then turn around and wonder why there's so much animosity within the seperate ethnicities, we are a nation that was built on the backs of slaves, a melting pot of all different kinds of ethnicities, afraid of whats different and what we can't explain, we are a nation fixated on placing labels on everything..well being a bright female who thinks outside the box and i thank god for that we have a lot to fix and it won't start by continuing to point the blame of stay fixated on our past but in the same token lets stop forgetting what America has done, lets stop glorifying the holocaust and forgetting the struggle of blacks in America, which is still going on today, there is only one race and that is the Human race, but we all have a story, let's take the time to hear it and acknowledge it then maybe we can move on!
Eric Holder-A nation of cowards
All Mr. Holder has done is spread more hate and separation. We will never have true equality until all of us can look at each other and say "I don't agree with you on this" or "You were wrong about that" without a race or gender war because women, African Americans, and gays tend to be the world's worst about pointing a finger without looking at your own faults (not everone). I understand the history and feeling behind the sensitivity to racial, gender, and sexual orientation comments but I also understand that not everytime someone makes a comment that seems derogatory does it mean that the comment is derogatory. Also, it would be beneficial to monitor your own derogatory comments unlike our AG.
We all are products of our experiences and just like when an African American or woman or gay expresses feeling hatred from others because of actual or perceived events, there is also truth in the complaints of White Americans, men, and straight people because of actual or perceived events.
We are all responsible for our actions and comments and when folks such as Mr. Holder make inflammatory remarks as he did it just continues to put a wedge between the races. Just look at all of the articles and blogs that have arisen from his comments. Look at all of the blaming that has occured.
Honestly, trash is trash no matter what color it is. Mr. Holder's comments were just as bigotted as an Archie Bunker.
I do like Ms. Cary's thoughts at the end of her article though. So far, it's been one of the most intelligent suggestions I've seen yet.
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