I’m old enough to remember when older blacks used to tell younger ones that they’d have to work twice as hard as whites to get somewhere in life. There was no bitterness in the comment. The older people had lived through Jim Crow and knew what second-class treatment was like. Their own government codified racial discrimination, and the laws were definitely carried out.
Blacks once relegated to the back of the bus knew that even though laws were dismantled, bigotry and a sense of superiority would never go away. Working “twice as hard” wasn’t just a symbolic gesture to convince whites that blacks were worthy of full citizenship. It was and still is a necessary work ethic in a society where blacks had been subjugated for two centuries. Call it a game of catch-up or making up for lost time.
If you saw the dreadful movie “Soul Man,” you’ll recall that C. Thomas Howell’s character (disguised as a black man so he could attend Harvard on scholarship) failed to turn in an assignment because he’d spent the night in jail. His black law professor, played by James Earl Jones, didn’t accept the excuse, saying something like, “If you have to work twice as hard as these little white sh***, you damn well better work twice as hard.”
The line wasn’t at all shocking to me. It was a fact of life. To blacks younger than I am, however, it’s probably cringe-worthy or offensive.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is a man I usually disagree with, but his latest column reminded me of the “twice as hard” adage I grew up hearing. He writes this about congressional crook William Jefferson and Cynthia “right hook” McKinney:
When they’re popped, they wail that they should not be held to a higher standard of accountability than white officials…Yet, blacks should be held to that higher standard. Their mostly black constituents view them not as politicians, but as leaders and advocates. They look to them to represent their interests and to confront institutional power. Any legal smear on them, which in some cases may be questionable, soils their name. This makes it much harder for blacks to have and retain confidence in them. This diminishes their political power and influence and creates distrust and dissension among black voters. This, in turn, makes it that much more difficult for blacks to generate any enthusiasm to get out to vote or get involved in community improvement actions.
It’s not just scandal that hurts black officials; it’s the race card that hurts too. In far too many cases, blacks accused of wrongdoing reflexively deflect, dodge and muddy the charges and accusations against them, even their guilt, by screaming racism. They strongly imply that racist prosecutors unfairly target them. They then promptly wrap themselves in the martyr’s cloak of persecuted civil rights fighters.
As I said, I don’t often agree with Hutchinson, but I had to comment on this column. Being from the old school, he clearly understands the retro “twice as hard” wisdom.
I’ve always argued explicitly and implicitly that blaming racism should be the last thing blacks do. Even if racism is involved, which in most cases it probably isn’t, accept responsibility for your part in the mess. Forget what whites may think of you. Hold yourselves to a higher standard and accept nothing less (like race preferences) from yourselves and your children. Slavery and Jim Crow are over.
Blaming racism is probably a reflex, but free, smart black people ought to be thinking on a higher level. When enslaved or told to enter through the back door, we could blame racism. But we’re free now. Freedom is not a “frolicking in the park, do whatever you want” kind of thing. It carries with it a heavy personal responsibility to be law-abiding, hard-working, and fair-minded. (Affirmative action is in direct contradiction to these ideas, but I’ll save that for a different post.)
Hutchinson mentioned honor, a trait that’s sorely lacking among politicians of any color. Black Americans’ dead ancestors knew what real racism was. Hiding behind it in 2006 to mask our crimes, character flaws, and failures dishonors them in unspeakable ways.
Addendum: Speaking of dishonor and low standards, the Congressional Black Caucus isn’t embarrassed one bit about publicly supporting a man of low character just because he’s black. That Jefferson hid cash in his freezer doesn’t bother them at all. That he was caught on tape accepting bribes is meaningless. He’s black, and white Republicans are out to get him, says this group of free, college-educated, elected officials. Disgraceful.
This is “black leadership,” people. Read and learn. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi tried in vain to appeal to a “high ethical standard” by asking Jefferson to step down from his seat on the House Ways and Means Committee. She forgot that many blacks, especially political types, want to be judged by a lower standard while pretending they don’t.
Hope she’s learned a lesson.
