Integration;

For the past thirty years children across the country have heard or recited Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s celebrated, "I Have A Dream," speech.  More importantly, his appeal for us to "...judge one another by the content of our character and not the color of our skin," is spoken annually by politicians of all colors on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

However, while Dr. King's preeminence as an American Icon is widely accepted, the core value of his legacy, integration, still faces pockets of resistance.  

South Carolina's dogged insistence on flying the confederate flag over the state capitol was but a thinly-veiled attack against the Civil Rights Movement.   It's a "last ditch" effort of a dwindling group of right-wing "Dixiecrats" who are bent on fanning the flame of hatred and racial intolerance. 

Closer to home, a number of inner-city communities have developed their own resistance to Dr. King's dream.  They have replaced his call for integration with a self-styled version of the "Separate, But Equal" principles which once codified and legitimized segregation in the Old South.   But I see it as an unwitting leap back to the worse period of our last century, when a them versus us mindset was the rule and the exception.  

It's now vogue for politicians to give a positive spin on the benefits of diversity while assuming a circle the wagons defense against Latino encroachment... visible with an all-Black School Board overseeing a district with a predominantly Latino enrollment.

On the other hand, Latinos more often seem aloof and clustered as though waiting for a takeover... visible with only ONE Hispanic candidate among the eighteen who are currently seeking elective office.  Worse, the few white who remain among us stand nervously along the sidelines while adapting a bunker-like neutrality.  

However, I am sure this is not what Dr. King had in mind. I'm sure he would feel that this short-sighted battle over turf is at the root cause of our struggling economies, underdeveloped regions, poor schools and lagging incomes. This clannish need to be separate and apart can be likened to a cancer that may one day engulf our city!

Therefore, it is essential that our elected officials strive to reach the "better instincts" of their constituents.  They must seek community support on the strength of their character and not the familiarity of their color.  Further, our elected leaders must be willing to acknowledge that INTEGRATION WORKS!  Corporate America knows it; Wall Street knows it; Professional sports know it; Presidential candidates know it, everybody knows it, except those who live in the inner-cities!

N.O.I.S.E.

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