Editorial
103
Editorial
Religion and Racism
About two years ago, a commission of distinguished Americans headed by Governor Otto Kerner of Illinois published the report of its study of the riots that had shaken several large American cities in the summers of 1966 and 1967. Violence and the fear of violence among whites and blacks were constant features of these uprisings. The essence of the Kerner Report was that America was racially divided and that 100 years of fitful efforts at integration had failed to bring the justice and equality of opportunity that liberal whites urged and blacks demanded. The Report raised the question whether integration was now a possible or desirable goal. It suggested that "Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white, separate and unequaL" The commission named the root cause of the civil disorders "white racism." It said that, along with the American ideal of a democratic and open society, there existed a deep, ugly, pervasive prejudice of whites against blacks that was proving to be more powerful than our basic principles of democracy. The conflict between the two forces created unjust and anomalous situations. Legally, a black man could live wherever he liked. In practice, large areas in the urban centers that offered the best schools, desirable housing, the greatest convenience, and other important features were closed to black people. The bars were made by deep, often unconscious racist feeling and practice. Large numbers of white Americans knew what was right, understood what was meant by equal rights and opportunities, and proposed to do little or nothing about them. They would deny that they were withholding these rights from
104
l ortr~.al of Religio,l a**dHealth
black people--even that white racism existed. Two years after publication of the Kerner Report, the masquerade is still going on. The riots have not been repeated in the forms of 1967. Some good things have been done in the ghettos, but they are still centers of poverty, bad health, poor education, unemployment, and crime. Integration has proceeded slowly. Fewer than a quarter of our black children attend integrated schools. Blacks are still the last hired and the first laid off. In many industries only token jobs are open to them. If they try to leave the ghetto, they have trouble finding housing. The most significant development in race relations during the last two years is the growth of black militant groups. These groups declare that integration has failed, because the whites never really wanted it and because in effect it means the loss of black identity in an overwhelmingly white society. Their goal is to help the black man achieve a sense of his worth and his power to help himself. They regard integration as a false goal that means in fact more domination of blacks by whites. It is not clear how large a segment of the black population these groups represent. Our view is that it is relatively small and that the vast majority of black Americans still see progress for blacks as part of progress toward equality, justice, and freedom for all Americans. This situation will not remain static. If there is not soon substantial social, economic, educational, and cultural growth toward democratic values for all Americans, we may expect an increase in the number and power of militant groups, black and white, and further polarization of our society. For this reason we approve the Academy's decision to focus its 1970 Annual Meeting, to be held jointly with the Metropolitan Applied Research Center in N e w York in April, upon the race issue and to examine it from the point of view of religious values and psychological understanding of social change. Racism, black or white, is a disease that is curable if we no longer delay the effort to enable people afflicted with it to recognize their condition and to free themselves from the fears and hostilities that cut them off from their fellow-men. Harry C. Meserve
103
Editorial
Religion and Racism
About two years ago, a commission of distinguished Americans headed by Governor Otto Kerner of Illinois published the report of its study of the riots that had shaken several large American cities in the summers of 1966 and 1967. Violence and the fear of violence among whites and blacks were constant features of these uprisings. The essence of the Kerner Report was that America was racially divided and that 100 years of fitful efforts at integration had failed to bring the justice and equality of opportunity that liberal whites urged and blacks demanded. The Report raised the question whether integration was now a possible or desirable goal. It suggested that "Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white, separate and unequaL" The commission named the root cause of the civil disorders "white racism." It said that, along with the American ideal of a democratic and open society, there existed a deep, ugly, pervasive prejudice of whites against blacks that was proving to be more powerful than our basic principles of democracy. The conflict between the two forces created unjust and anomalous situations. Legally, a black man could live wherever he liked. In practice, large areas in the urban centers that offered the best schools, desirable housing, the greatest convenience, and other important features were closed to black people. The bars were made by deep, often unconscious racist feeling and practice. Large numbers of white Americans knew what was right, understood what was meant by equal rights and opportunities, and proposed to do little or nothing about them. They would deny that they were withholding these rights from
104
l ortr~.al of Religio,l a**dHealth
black people--even that white racism existed. Two years after publication of the Kerner Report, the masquerade is still going on. The riots have not been repeated in the forms of 1967. Some good things have been done in the ghettos, but they are still centers of poverty, bad health, poor education, unemployment, and crime. Integration has proceeded slowly. Fewer than a quarter of our black children attend integrated schools. Blacks are still the last hired and the first laid off. In many industries only token jobs are open to them. If they try to leave the ghetto, they have trouble finding housing. The most significant development in race relations during the last two years is the growth of black militant groups. These groups declare that integration has failed, because the whites never really wanted it and because in effect it means the loss of black identity in an overwhelmingly white society. Their goal is to help the black man achieve a sense of his worth and his power to help himself. They regard integration as a false goal that means in fact more domination of blacks by whites. It is not clear how large a segment of the black population these groups represent. Our view is that it is relatively small and that the vast majority of black Americans still see progress for blacks as part of progress toward equality, justice, and freedom for all Americans. This situation will not remain static. If there is not soon substantial social, economic, educational, and cultural growth toward democratic values for all Americans, we may expect an increase in the number and power of militant groups, black and white, and further polarization of our society. For this reason we approve the Academy's decision to focus its 1970 Annual Meeting, to be held jointly with the Metropolitan Applied Research Center in N e w York in April, upon the race issue and to examine it from the point of view of religious values and psychological understanding of social change. Racism, black or white, is a disease that is curable if we no longer delay the effort to enable people afflicted with it to recognize their condition and to free themselves from the fears and hostilities that cut them off from their fellow-men. Harry C. Meserve
