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February 21, 2005
Do We Need to Continue Affirmative Action for Older, White Racists?
Today is the 40th anniversary of gunning down of Malcolm X, or Malik El-Shabazz as he chose to be known later in life. Much can be said about his enormous legacy, but one thing is certain. He does not need "affirmative action" to qualify for the Nebraska Hall of Fame.
"Malcolm Little" was born in Nebraska 80 years ago, and he remains one of the most important historical figures of the 20th century worldwide, let alone Nebraska-wide. Yet, last year, the Nebraska Hall of Fame voted to induct Sen. Kenneth Wherry, instead of Malcolm X, into the Hall.
Who is Kenneth Wherry, non-history buffs will ask. He is a former senator and Rebublican whip who "sold cars, pianos, and livestock, and was a licensed undertaker before entering Republican politics in Nebraska in the 1920s." One of his most notable claims to fame is that he was very active in the witch-hunt against homosexuals during the Mcarthy era, at one point declaring, in an interview with the New York Post in December 1950, that: "You can't hardly separate homosexuals from subversives. . . . Mind you, I don't say that every homosexual is a subversive, and I don't say every subversive is a homosexual. But [people] of low morality are a menace in the government, whatever [they are], and they are all tied up together."
By May of 1950, Senator Wherry quoted reliable police sources that 3,750 homosexuals held federal jobs. A month later, the Senate authorized an official investigation, the first of its type in the history of the United States. The results of the "pervert inquiry," as it was popularly named, came out in December at a time of profound concern over national security.The Senate Report accused the Truman administration of indifference toward the danger represented by homosexuals in governmental positions. The Report explicitly mentioned "lack of emotional stability" and "weakness of . . . moral fiber" as defining characteristics of homosexuals that made them likely targets of Soviet propaganda and recruitment.
So, Nebraska Hall of Fame committee chooses this examplary man over Malcolm X, who would have been the first African-American inductee. Unfortunately for them, they held the vote in secret and the Attorney General of Nebraska says they have to vote again since they are legally obliged to have an open vote. Along with some shenanigans to increase the number of years an proposed inductee must be dead to 50 years, and thus exclude Malcolm X, there is a counter bill in the statehouse suggesting that "the governor consider 'gender and ethnic diversity and the person's appreciation for the history and culture of the state' when choosing appointments to the Hall of Fame Commission. A state senator explains the issue:
“When you consider the makeup of the people on the commission — older white people — the likelihood is not the greatest,” said state Sen. Ernie Chambers of the chances for Malcolm’s inclusion.
In other words, one has to propose laws that look like affirmative action in order to have a composition that would not be so boneheaded. But the reality is that it has been affirmative action of the other kind, the kind that perpetuates unqualified, conservative white people in power, that has led to a commission so blinded by their racism that they are unable to evaluate historical merit using any reasonable standards of evidence. I mean, really. What on earth are those people doing on that committee? What does it say about Nebraska's establishment that a bill is introduced with the implied suggestion that one has to be African-American or some other minority to appreciate Malcolm X's historical importance? Are there really no white people qualified at that minimum level of historical grasp? If that is indeed the case, perhaps we do indeed need to continue affirmative action for white people until further education and enlightenment can bring down the blinders of racism. Where would they be without it?
Posted by zeynep at February 21, 2005 02:24 PM
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Comments
Yeah. I live in Virginia and I don’t expect to ever see any state recognition of his thoughts, positions, spirit or courage. Until four years ago, Virginia recognized Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson Day in place of Martin Luther King Day. Now, we have a four day weekend holiday that recognizes all three.
During the seventies, a seventy-five-year-old activist told me, “This environmental movement is fine, but all of the best workers and minds are working on that and have forgotten the race issue and poverty issues.” I think he was correct. Global warming may destroy everybody, but I still wish more people would pay attention to race issues.
Thank you for today's blog.
Bob
Posted by: Bob at February 21, 2005 05:36 PM
Canada does not have a dead white guy hall of fame, but it can go one better on historical gay-bashing. At the time the good Senator was on his crusade,c 1950, the Canadian government was trying to develop a "fruit machine." It would be a sort of lie detector that could identify homosexuals by their reactions to certain words-words like "tea room", for instance. It never worked, in part because they could not get volunteers from government and the Mounted Police to try it out; presumably they were afraid of losing their jobs if they reacted to "tea room" or "rose" or other suspect terms.
Posted by: Michael Cross at February 24, 2005 07:05 PM