Comments on: Competing Narratives: Lessons from the Jena 6, Part 2

By: alanbean

alanbean — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 16:23:45 +0000

I agree that the reference to the KKK came off sounding like an anachronistic cliche. It was suggested by the Jena situation but, as several people have suggested, doesn't apply that well to other regions of the South, (or to present day Jena). I had considered editing it out and should have done so. The KKK lost credibility with many southern conservatives because their crude tactics created embarrassing headlines. But the Klan's popularity remained strong in certain regions of the South–particularly in isolated towns. Organized racism, as BlueDeacon suggests, is now largely limited to a variety of neo-Confederate organizations with relatively modest membership roles. It would be a mistake to conclude, however, that every southerner who resents the fruits of the civil rights movement belongs to one of these organizations. Consider, for instance, this disturbing article from the Dallas Morning News: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/new...
Many of the folks Texas governor Rick Perry has appointed to a committee on curriculum standards in the public schools don't think the like of Cesar Chavez, Thurgood Marshall and Anne Hutchinson are sufficiently distinguished to rate a mention in social studies textbooks.

Alan Bean

By: The Face of White Supremacy « Friends of Justice

The Face of White Supremacy « Friends of Justice — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 16:04:56 +0000

[...] the lessons of Jena inspired some justifiable criticism when it was picked up by Sojourners’ God Politics blog. I suggested that folks who grow up attending Klan rallies have a hard time adapting when a new [...]

By: alanbean

alanbean — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 14:23:45 +0000

Alan Bean

By: RegT49

RegT49 — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 06:29:50 +0000

Alan, thanks for your explanation of the issues. To someone outside the U.S. (Australia) your articles and the comments on the Jena 6 debate have been difficult to understand. The article above definitely helped, and now I understand the passion shown in the comments as well. I think your article was fair and balanced, but I agree with the responses that felt that the KKK reference was not helpful (and I acknowledge your justification).

By: alanbean

alanbean — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:36:33 +0000

Was I using hyperbole? Yes and no. Reed Walters, the DA in LaSalle Parish, claims that his mentor was Speedy Long, a Dixiecrat segregationist congressman who left national politics in 1973 when it was no longer possible to push the segregationist line. Speedy Long was related to Hughey Long, Louisiana's most famous politician. Like George Wallace, Speedy Long wasn't a fire breathing racist, he was simply determined not to be “out-niggered” (as Wallace put it) by the opposition. That was the political game he understood. Right up until 1973 Speedy Long would invite the Klan, in full regalia, to his political rallies. I rather suspect that Reed Walters did attend some of these affairs, so in that sense I wasn't exaggerating. But whether or not men like Walters and Breithaupt attended these affairs they grew up in a culture still longing for the Jim Crow past and deeply resentful of the civil rights movement. When David Duke ran for governor in 1970 he carried 70% of the LaSalle Parish vote. Factor out the black vote and I suspect the figure would be over 80%. These people knew who David Duke was and in overwhelming numbers they voted for him. While the South has changed, especially in the cities, the shadows of the Jim Crow era still cover the region. The effect is particularly noticeable in small isolated towns like Jena and is particularly evident in the criminal justice system.

This doesn't mean that southerners are all ignorant bigots. In general, southerners, black and white, tend to be kind, polite, engaging and friendly. But they were that way back in the 1950s as well. I know readers of this blog won't swallow my statements whole, but I do spend a lot of time in communities like Jena and my work cuts pretty close to the cutural bone. The Council of Conservative Citizens figures prominently in the Mississippi case I am currently working on. Many prominent politicians in that state speak at CCC gatherings while insisting they are not racists. The issue, in other words, is complicated. Does the CCC represent Jim Crow's dying gasp? I would like to think so, but I fear the patient has plenty of life left.

By: BlueDeacon

BlueDeacon — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:16:39 +0000

I could ask how can blacks who were raised under Jim Crow ever be expected to trust a white leader. Does this personify the black southern dilemma? You say of the white leaders "They were raised with one set of rules, then forced to adopt a new rule book. No one helped them negotiate these troubled waters; they simply had to make the best of a bewildering circumstance. No wonder they are confused–who wouldn’t be?" Can that be applied to blacks raised in the south as well?

Actually, the reverse doesn't always apply. Southern blacks have always had a good idea of whom they can and can't trust on a personal level; even George Wallace, when he was governor of Alabama in the 1960s and publicly taking stances against segregation, always maintained secret back channels for meeting with African-Americans. (That's why the ended up voting for him when he sought the post again in the 1970s; they understood that he was playing the political game.) Non-violence training, in anticipating victory, taught the folks involved in the Montgomery bus boycott how to act after it ended.

And I do believe that Beam was using hyperbole when he referred to white Southerners attending Klan rallies; in fact, the Klan was always somewhat unpopular in the South only because they considered it "uncouth." More respectable Southerners joined the White Citizens Councils (which still exist -- they're now called the "Council of Conservative Citizens") which was no less racist.

By: paradoxtor

paradoxtor — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:27:08 +0000

"How can men and women who grew up attending Klan rallies be expected to dispense equal justice in the dawning days of the 21st century?"

I found most of this post to be mostly reasonable and balanced until I got to this statement. The implication is that the white leaders in the south grew up attending Klan rallies. The picture is one of a south (that by now would have been in the 70's ,if we assume an average age of leader at 50) where klan rallies were ubiquitous. What a stereotype! Do you have nay evidence that any of the officals involved ever attended a Klan rally? This is the kind of statement that will produce what you allege already exists. While I don't know if any study is out there, I would be willing to bet the farm that the overwhelming majority (95, 96, 97, 98, 99%?) never attended a Klan rally. If your intent was hyperbole, it was the kind that if used on the other side would be denounced as racial stereotyping. You portray the article as a tale of two narratives, but you end by only addressing the problem of one narrative. Is is possible that there are problems with the other side. I could ask how can blacks who were raised under Jim Crow ever be expected to trust a white leader. Does this personify the black southern dilemma? You say of the white leaders "They were raised with one set of rules, then forced to adopt a new rule book. No one helped them negotiate these troubled waters; they simply had to make the best of a bewildering circumstance. No wonder they are confused–who wouldn’t be?" Can that be applied to blacks raised in the south as well? They are not forced to adopt a new set of rules but perhaps the rules have changed and they can't beleive it. It has to frustrating as a black person to feel unable to trust a white leader. It is also frustrating as a white to feel that anything you do will be interpreted as prejudice. When you add those from outside the situation promoting their perception and agenda from both sides, it becomes almost impossible to come together to reach a solution.

I am thrilled with your comment in the discussion of the previous post to hear that there has been progress in churches in Jenna. That gives hope for all. BTW, I appreciate you interaction with the commenters here.

By: BlueDeacon

BlueDeacon — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:15:59 +0000

To me, Roy Breithaupt and Reed Walters sound like a latter-day Pontius Pilates, determined to wash their hands of the situation because they had to have known how things would shake out if the students “[worked] out their problems on their own.” I see them as not so much racist as gutless — as were a lot of white Southerners afraid to take a stand for the right for fear of alienating people.