THE FORGOTTEN RACE

By: Xaivier Martin

Watching TV during the month of February, I was both pleased and disappointed by what I saw. Many cable channels like ESPN, MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon's "TV Land" chose different ways to pay homage to those African-Americans who have had a profound effect on our society. As important as these people who graced my screen may have been, they all have something in common, other than being Black. They all affected the world of sports & entertainment.

I recognize African-Americans have made some of their greatest advancements through athletics and entertainment. Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby breaking baseball's color barrier in the National and American Leagues, respectively. Tommie Smith and John Carlos, using the 1968 Olympics to bring world attention to the poor conditions of Blacks in the U.S. Music legends like Jelly-Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald helped bring African-Americans to the forefront of art and culture both here and abroad.

Still, the fact that in the 21st century we as Blacks can't move past recognition for contributions in sports and entertainment is a sad reality. I remember as a child seeing tributes to George Washington Carver, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, Frederick Douglass, Barbara Jordan, Sojourner Truth, Phillis Weatley and Harriet Tubman, to name a few. Granted, I didn't understand their importance at the time, but I knew the names and eventually I asked about them and discovered the tremendous roles they played in our country's and my people's history.

All this reflection made me think about where the state of African-Americans ranks among the country's priorities and where it ranks among the Democratic Party's priorities.

Somewhere around 2020 - depending who you ask - minorities will become the majority in these United States. Of those grouped in the minority, Latinos will be the dominant race/ethnicity by numbers. People of color are not foolish enough to believe there will be a sudden paradigm shift of power just because our numbers may increase. Numbers are great, but anyone who has a clue knows the direction of our country is decided at the top.

Despite the strides made by the U.S. in expanding equality and opportunity, most of the people at the top are still melanoma-deficient. In response to this impending demographic change, the last five years have seen a greater emphasis on issues that affect Latino-Americans such as immigration, identification/documentation and bilingual education.

Events like 9-11 and Operation Iraqi Freedom have brought about a greater emphasis on issues of defense, intelligence and privacy. The state of Massachusetts' controversial decision concerning same-sex marriages has brought issues involving homosexuality and the definition of marriage to the forefront. Republican sweeps in 2000 and 2004 have given the Christian Right and such leaders as Pat Robertson even more clout than in the '80s, allowing them to bring out golden oldies like school prayer and abortion. Not one issue relating to the welfare of Blacks outside of Bush's attack on Social Security is being discussed on the national stage.

It used to be that during the month of February one could expect to be inundated with gestures, proclamations and declarations from elected officials all over the nation. February used to be a month where a general "state of the race" assessment would be taken for African-Americans. Now, many of the requests and complaints made by Black leaders were often explained away or denied, but at least there was an opportunity to be heard.

In the latest contest for the Democratic National Committee Chairmanship; there was but one African-American candidate, former Dallas mayor and failed senator candidate Ron Kirk. Kirk's bid ended before it began and one of the most powerful Blacks in the Democratic Party is freshman Senator Barack Obama (IL), a captivating speaker and rising star, but far from having the power to make any significant change.

Obama is only the third African-American to be elected to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction and only the fifth in this nation's history - the first two being Republican Reconstructionists from Mississippi. The first Black Vice Presidential candidate would have come from the Republican Party, but Colin Powell - in what is probably one of the smartest moves he has made - decided against it.

African-American voters have been a consistent and strong base for the Democratic Party since the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement fifty years ago. Yet one could argue that the African-American voter has made more progress towards gaining positions of influence and power in the nation-at-large than it has in the party he or she supports year in and year out.

High School Drop-Out rates continue to climb, and of those who are able to graduate and get into college, an alarming 41 percent have to take remedial classes to make up for a lack of basic skills. Prisons continue to teem with Black men and women, most of whom are there on marijuana possession charges. With public schools getting worse, things will just get more crowded.

A disproportionate percentage of Blacks continue to make up the working poor or the impoverished. Affirmative Action continues to get attacked in favor of "merit programs" like the "10 Percent Program" in Texas that allows any high school senior who is in the top 10 percent of their class admission to any state college of their choice. At first, the merit before race argument makes sense, but when one considers the lack of educational opportunities for the average African-American student as compared to the average White student, the failure of "merit based" programs to address issues of inequity comes a bit more into focus.

I am not dense or insensitive to the plethora of issues facing our nation and its people, but this country's ever-so-subtle shift in issues of national concern is quite troubling. Even more so is the Democratic Party's failure to keep issues that directly concern Black America either in or somewhere around the national discussion. Still, the most troubling thing for me is that more African-Americans have not brought attention to their own race's lack of attention. Until then I guess I'll just have to comfort myself with a viewing of Ken Burn's Jazz series or another 15 second Black History Month tribute on TV next year.