Originally posted by: Arkitech
I usually try to not let it get to me but its tough sometimes. Just a few weeks ago my wife and I were looking at some new homes in a new subdivision in a suburb of Chicago and the lady who was showing the homes actually told us "would'nt you be more comfortable living in an area with your own kind". I was so mad that I just left without saying a word. It would be so nice if people were treated by their actions instead of appearances.
That lady was very stupid and ignorant. I can really understand your being mad about that, and I don't blame you for walking. It's the only thing I can imagine doing in that circumstance. I'm a minority (Jewish) but people can't see I'm Jewish so it's a lot different. However, even being Jewish you can feel really different from other people - Jews have somewhat different values from the Christian majority in America. I'm sure you know that Jews have had their share of persecution. I think it's really important for everyone to realize that the color of your skin and ethnicity in general says nothing about your quality as a person. America has been populated by immigrants. If you take into consideration that even American Indians immigrated here across the Aleutian Straits some thousands of years ago, everyone you see in America is an immigrant. America is a sum of minorities. America without any one of its minorities would be less of what it is. However, I think that America would be diminished more by losing it's black Americans than by losing any other minority. Yes, I think black Americans are something very special. Every minority in America hangs onto something that differentiates them from the others. For most, it's a heritage of customs from the "old country", religious rituals, customs, loyalties, nostalgia, identification with country of origin, etc. Blacks were the one minority that were introduced here against their will. They were therefore deprived of their attachment to their former location, at least in the normal sense. Thus, Casius Clay spurned his "slave name" and took on a new name (Muhamed Ali) based on his heritage and newly adopted religion. However, I think that black Americans, in not having the same attachment to their past represent to a large extent the finest development of the American character. American blacks by and large chose names they decided they could live with. I assume this is how most got their names. Maybe some were given their names by their slaveowners, I don't know. However, they didn't have their African names, they didn't bring their names with them when they came here. I think that's very symbolic of the difference between black Americans and other Americans. However, as such, the black American represents a very noble destiny - that of transcending the past, which is something that
everyone has to do to reach a higher level of existence. Yes, America would be more diminished by losing its black citizens than by the loss of any other minority. I think that the finest hopes for America are inextricably entwined with the hopes and destiny of its black citizenry.