jewish currents september 1966

5
SEPTEiltBER, PETER WEISS'S ]IEW PLAY By HARRY SLOCHOWER o ]IEGRO RADICAL YIEWS RAGIAT LIBERALS By C. E. WTLSON o DE]IilIARK VISITED By ETHEL G, LEWINE TUHIT G||LON PIIWER? "Voice ot' the Prophet," by Ruth lodicka, lYew Yorh, wekled, bronze and brass, L954, 27"xLU'xV'. 0un 20fh- fitruiannaanry- q/edL A]U EiDITORIAI,

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Contains a viewpoint piece by a black militant journalist on the problem with white liberals.

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Page 1: Jewish Currents September 1966

SEPTEiltBER,

PETER WEISS'S]IEW PLAY

ByHARRY SLOCHOWER

o

]IEGRO RADICAL YIEWSRAGIAT LIBERALS

By

C. E. WTLSON

o

DE]IilIARK VISITEDBy

ETHEL G, LEWINE

TUHIT G||LON PIIWER?

"Voice ot' the Prophet," by Ruthlodicka, lYew Yorh, wekled, bronze

and brass, L954, 27"xLU'xV'.

0un 20fh- fitruiannaanry- q/edL

A]U EiDITORIAI,

Page 2: Jewish Currents September 1966

l{egro Radical Uiews Racial libera,ls

Sees only what's wrong

Negro) Iiberals on

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By C. E. WILSON

C. E. Wilson, who lms contributed, articles lo Liberation and, IYegroDigest, uas until Dec., 1965 a uriter lor Liberator, a New york blZcknationa.list rad,ical monthly.

We publish this article ahhough we ore not in a,greenx,ent with itss/ress only on the negatiue as_pe-cti ol racial liberatiim (the lnrge gapbetween its prot'essions ol so[idarity'with the Negro and its hZtiti,"i,u,neuen, incomplete acts ol _solidarity with him)

-and, its omission ol

*ryt is positiu'e in racial liberalism'(its prot'essions are acts in them-selaes; the dynamics of liberalism are foruard). Houteuer) u)e belieueracial liberals and' other readers shouid hnow lrom his own moutltwhat an intelligent, sophisticated, articulate Negro rad,ical thinks oltheir weaknesses. Our uieut is that the [Yegro p"iplu, as a small minoi-ity of -th.e United. States population., must liaui white allies il theirstruggle lor equalitv is to succeed' Su,ch uhite allies cannot be reitricted,only to u)hite radical,s. A ratlir:al-liberal-labor coalition is ind,ispensableto any imme.diate g,ains as uell. as to ultintate uictory. To see'onlt, thenegatiue in_liberalisnr rls to isolate onesell in righteouir"r, and, coniemptot' potent.ial and actu,al allies-a.nd isolaiion bieeds ileleat. Mr. Wilsoi'sobseraations are acute and need, attention, not least'ot' alt bec,ause hisposition_ is tltat ol ory-e in transition. His article, incidentally, was ac-9:p"q by ^ t'or publication in May, before the current d,islussion on"bl,a,ck pouter."

TO BE. A

. Negro in this society is experts to look in on the patient with-

r- to be in the position of having oul the patient's knowing that he isto. allow everyone free rein to inspect-, being observed. Frequen"tly, on thecriticize, gnd examine you, Ior your inspecting side of thai miiror is the_own _good. Rarely is the Negro al- Negro's old {riend-the racial liberal.Iowed. the freedom to look at- friend For the past decade racial liberalsor foe, or evaluate any situatio_n for have been ihe easy target of sharp,himself. It means_ goilg through life caustic criticism from NEgroes, whicho.n the wrong side of one of those the liberals consider in-.ulting, un-observation windows in hospitals and warranted, repulsive, even uulg"ar, es-elinics which permit the doitors and pecially since they are only trling to

with white (and

raeial issue

help him. By dismissing the observa-t ions of Negroes. many racial l iberalsIose or willingly give up the chanceas Robert Burns puts it, t'to see them-selves as others iee them."

For what one writer termed the Re-treat of the Liberals in L96L, viz., the,":*".I_ of- racial liberals, especiallyof the Northern variety, to have sec-ond thoughts about .u"iul equality inpractice, has now become the Rout ofthe Racial I-iberals. The reasons forthe retreat from liberalism can befound first, in the vague nature andposture of racial liberalism and, sec-ondly, in 4" kinds of people whocompose the specie homo

- sapiens

Americanzs racial liberal. At the riskof telling tales out of school (the un-pardonable sin of telling people ex-actly what a Negro__,not o/l Neg.oes-gees) let us look again at the raciall iberal.

Racial liberalism is a most aaguecatch-all phrase which has attracterlal l kinds of individuals to i ts banner.Actually, racial liberalism is a ;rostureor a group of cultural types which on,f" "race question" claims to rejectthe notion of the unquestioned infe-riority of the- Negro and historicallysuggests that the time honored patternsof inequality in America should bechanged. Lacking a consistent philo-sophic matrix, racial liberalism his re-p1in9d a hodge-podge of amorphousbeliefs about ih" r,al,lte of the ,aceproblem and the remedies needed forsolution of that problem.

Racial liberalism, because it isthe most important conviction of thosewho deal or who are assigned to dealwith the "racial problem-" (racism),has attracted a strange group of in-dividuals. Without a

"oncrete pro-

gram, _racial liberalism has attemptedto deal with the symptoms rather thanthe causes, is pron e to uictim analysis

SrprrnrerR, 1966

( the long and le isure ly exarr r i r ra l i . r ro f the fau l ts o{ the v ic t ims of rar . is rn ) .patronization, paternalism, and (()tt-clescension The major weapons oIracial liberalism have been investisa-tion, research, orderly examinaticins.conferences, and r"poitr in which l ib-erals have talked generally to them-selves.

Its dominant y6luss--rnoderation,education (of Negroes, of course), re-spect for Law, along with a lack ofpassion or zest for outright struggle;its dominant mythology--the J"irt-ence of a racially uncommitted ma-jority of decent white Americans: itsconstant demand-Negro objectivity;

'its historic central failure-the i"abil-i ty to dev_elop a_ mass fol lowing; i tsmotto and watchword-racial prog-ress; i ts recurring duy dreams-peace and_ love; its maj'or deceits-that nobody has been hurt and that.although white prejudice (racisrn) isi r ra t iona l , the Negro wi l l cont inue tof ight . ra t iona l l r ; i ts major \ {or ry -not n 'h i te in jus l i r :c . but l l lack v io lence. :i ts r r ra jor v i1 'p" -n . r -ogar)ce and thehabi t o f g iv ing unsol ic i tec l adv ice.

Racial l iberal ism has several majorcultural tasks: 1. the representationof "white good faith" ; 2.- the provid-ing of human punching boys for boththe white and

-the blalk ,id"., scape-

goats- whose sufferings may "atorie,,for the white society'J mistriatment ofthe _Negro; 3. the providing of ex-pendable racial go-betweens withouthonor or portfol io.

There are various styles o'f behav-ior, on the part of diiTerent groupswithin the specie racial liberal. The_vare a product of the differing orienta-tions which are often so divJrse as tomake it all but impossible for anyNegro to communicaie with the entirlspecie. Not all the members of theracial l iberal groups are white; someare prominent Negroes. For racial l ib-

J,

J

13t2 Jswrsg CunRnnrs

Page 3: Jewish Currents September 1966

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I

MICKEY SCHVERNER'S PARENTS APPEAL FOR STVCC

Dear Friend: The chips are down. The broadsides against SNCC inmost of the press, distorting SNCC's position, have caused uneasinessto some of bur liberal-minded friends. We've heard criticisms thatSNCC is now Black Nationalist-too militant.

But where does the truth lie? It is as right and necessary for a

Jul ian Bond or a Fannie Lou Hamer to represent a Negro majori ty ina particular community as it is for an Irishman or an Italian to wieldpolitical power in an Irish or Italian-dominated area. Negroes mustspeak oui for their needs through their own representatives. For us,this is what SNCC's Chairman Stokely Carmichael means by "blackpower." And for us, that is the bare bone of civil rights; _that is_ thegoal of SNCC's "new policy" which is, in fact, as old as SNCC itself.

Please join us in supporting this most couraf{eous group of youngpeople. We understand that they are now entering another campaignind that they will be joined by a Freedom Force of over 100 volunteers.We fear for them, and with reason. They are the combat troops of de-mocracy, brave and tough-but they need your help. Join us in support-ing them in their fight to help all of us, black and white, attain those"inalienable rights" which are still unrealized by so many Americans.

(signed) Very sincerely, ANNn ScnwrnNrn; NarulN ScHwERNER

P.S. This letter was not sol ici ted from us by SNCC; i t ruas volunteered.Please show your support by sending a check to SNCC (f00Sth Ave.,N. Y. f0011)- the need is great and most urg,ent . - -A.S. ; N.S.

eral ism is a strange, perplexing, al-rnost self-contradictory doctr ine whichconfuses Negroes to the point thatsome Negroes privately state that"racial liberals are like obscure sub-stitutes on a ball team-you can't tellthem without a score card."

I offer ct seore card.. First is theOrganizational Racial Liberals who arethe foremost group and the loudesttalkers among the racial liberals. Theirparticipation in the major civil rightsorganizations has been historically im-portant, even indispensable, whetherthe groups were educationalist (as isthe case of the Urban League or theSouthern Regional Council, or legalist(as is the NAACP), or act iuist (as in

l 4

COITE and the Rev. Mart in LutherKing Jr. 's Southern Christ ian Leader'ship Conference.

The organizational racial liberal hasshaped not only the direction of themovelnents but also the conception ofthe Negro members themselves. Sincethe organizational racial liberal is ofhistoric vintage, he never tires of tell-ing how much he did for the Negroin the 20's, 30's and 40's. The organ-izational racial liberal never tires oftalking about the need for responsibleNegro leadership, but never is toobashful to accept a position or rec-ommend another white person forleadership of a "Negro Organization."The racial liberal is fond of the Negrochurch ancl thrr local Negro minister

rvho is always referred to as "one,r[ the very respected Negro leaders,someone whorn )'ou people should be

1 ' r , iud o f . "'J'o

the organizaiional racial liberalthe Negro he likes to deal rvith is acultivated, educated man who, whilet\\-are of the shortcornings of his race,st luggles manful ly to approximaterrhite middle-class values, standardslnd ways. This conception of the\egro has become institutionalized int.he organization and curriculum oflnany Negro colleges and inspiresrniddle-class Negroes to a "penny-in-the-pocket" mentality so naive thatsuch Negroes still believe that the cul-tivation of the right attitudes will bringthern acceptance.

In reality, the kind of Negro be-havior encouraged by the organiza-t ional racial l iberal is that of a con-servative, even a reactionary, approxi-nrating the "cast-down-your-buoket-rvhere-ye-are" dicturn o{ Booker T.Washington. The Negro rnust see. or 'say he sees, progress irr spite of real i ty"avoid independent thinking or radicalideas. He rnust be appropriately per-plexed by the treatment Negroes re-ceive, since this treatment allegedlydoes not reflect the standards of theConstitution or the Laws of the Land-as though these documents ever ap-plied or were ever intended to applyto the Negro in the first place. The or-ganizational liberal's Negro speakssoftly, laughs carefully, is duly sen-sitive to the whims of his patron, al-most pathologically so. The onganiza-tional liberal's Negro is a showpiecein an all-white neighborhood or at asocial affair, believes in the Americanpanacea--education, or at leasl sayshe believes in this allegedly omnipo-tent cure for all America's social,economic and political ills.

To be a silent friend of the Negro isimpossible for an organizational racial

SeptnlreuR, 1966

l ibera l . He l ikcs l to t j r r . . l l , I ' c , i r ( ' -knowledgec l for h is g , ror l rk ' t ' , l s l r r r tpub l i c l y p ra i sc ' d . ' l ' l r t : o rg : r r r i z r r I i . r u r Il ibera l and the Negroes t t l r , , r , , r 'pc t ' i r l r 'with him cl istrust the trtassr:s urrr l fcir t 'a society in which the poor' nri .ry lr t :powerful. Therefore, they join forct:sto provide leadership for the poor-rvhite as well as black.

' fhe orgarriza-

t ional l iberal and his Negro are notopposed to the System; instead thevrationalize its inconsistencies. TheNegro friend of the organizational lib-eral easily becomes an organizationallyoriented race-relations bureaucratmore aware of his organization's his-tory and needs than he is of the needsof the or*-anization's ostensible constit-uents-Negroes.

Next is the Conseraaliat, Rut:iulLiberal, alntost a contrat l ict i txr. Jrulthe confus ing Arr rer ican scent : is fu l lo f sut 'h l la r t 'a t t l , ,x t s .

' l 'h t : r :o t ts r r rvat iv t :

r ac ia l l i l x r r a l i s l o l a l l v t , o r t v i r r r , e t l o r lt l r t : ono l r a r r r l o f l l t t t t t o l ' a l i l 1 , r [ ] r i sve rba l l y P r t , t , l a i t r t t : r l l i l r c ra l t : t h i r : a ls ta t tc lards aud, o t I the o ther , o f t l revalue of conservative behavior.

' I 'ht:

conservative racial l iberal is a f irnrbel iever in the American dream (anv

person who works hard can try tomake i t) and an ardent exponent ofthe bootstrap theory. Although 60per cent of all Nesroes are in thepoverty classes, the conservative lib-eral can be heard to demand thatbarefoot Negroes pull themselves upby their bootstraps. He loves to offerhis own life and that of his ethnic

Eiroup as prime example of what canhappen if the Negro really wanted towork. Irving Kristol in Feb., 1965Harper's Magazine suggested the Negroshould pattern his life after the styleo{ Kristol's own ethnic group andother ethnic groups which havemounted the ladder to the Americanconsumption-oriented heaven.

JuwrsH Cunnnnrs I5

Page 4: Jewish Currents September 1966

society's fantasy-plans to make war5i0n the evils of the society, and are=most vociferous in cri t ic ism of violent ' ;

anteed rights"; its kry phrases are"Negro entitlement" and "societal ob-ligation," but it avoids the reality ofthe reluctance of the great body ofwhites.

This group likes to take an auantgard,e position, but spends more ofits time on guard against reality thanadvancing on the problem of racism.Like the other groups of racial liber'als, the literary set has its favoriteNegro, "the Urban Primitive." Nor'man Podh oretz, one of the liberal lit'erarv set. described the Negro of hisset as a kind of exotic Nelro urbanprimitive-a wild, athletic, self-as'sured, hostile, uninhibited person whocan roam the streets with impunityand feel comfortable in seeminglydangerous situations ("My NegroProblem and Yours," CommentarY,Feb., 1963). This conception of theNegro, mixed with twinges of resent-ment, is a fearful one and envious ofthe Negro's manhood. Podhoretz' per'ception of his Negro, based on theauthor's own fears and anxiety, showthe Negro as "blessed in his beauty"and somewhat larger than the Negroreally is, and thus reactivates shadowyfears of the author's boyhood. True tohis l i terary l iberal background, Pod'horetz inrplores us to learn to love oneanother so that we can resolve hispersonal dilemma about ils Negro.

Fourth dre the Southern racialliberals, a very strange breed in terms

of the open virulence of the racial

hatred found in their part of the coun'try. Having grown uP Southern, thisbrand of liberalism is a product of

upbringing. Southern liberals oftenhave to live a life of constant apolo-gizing or must change their drawls. It

i. s,., rnuch easier to explain than

change one's way of speaking that al-rnost inevitably they choose to explain.

A Southern racial liberal receives

a great deal of reinforcement for hislrehavior, most of which comes from,rutside of his homeland. As a writer,()r ' as an after-dinner speaker, his fur-t ive passes at l iberal ism are blessedu ith appropriate hosannas or amens.

The secret life of the Southern ra-cial l iberal shows that more ottenthan not he has both feet squarelyplanted on conservative ground. In au'ord, he is hung up between his image,,f himself as a racial liberal and thereality of his conservative training andincl ination.

The Southern racial liberal, consist-ent with his peculiar brand of patroni-tation, prefers his favorite Negro, rep-lesenting his commitment to Negroes,to be, as Murray Kempton put it (ltleutRepublic, Nov. 7, L964)-devoted, pa-tient, grateful, someone to count o[,a good and faithful servant, willing totake the society's left-overs withoutsquawking, someone to control an ac-tor or performer for the benefit andamusement of the white society. Aperson who is easily cheated, trusting(I have never known a Negro who didnot trust us too much) and naive ("Ihad known few who really understoodrvhat was being done to them").

Although the Southern racial lib-eral states that his Negro must be pa-tient, what the Southern liberal meansis that the Negro must be long-suffer-ing, because the Negro must be con-tent with having these liberals elo-quently enumerate and chronicle Ne-gro suffering, as if the Negro isn'tcapable of describing his own situa-t ion. Don't look for act ion, however,from this species of racial liberal, forhe demands that his Negro take actionto change himself, to accommodate toracism, to take the long implausibleroad toward a society where colorwon't make too much difference.

Then there are the guilt ridden

SrprrMsrn, L966

rac ia l l ibera l .s , a l ) ro lour r , l t r in l t . l l lt hose who con re i r r co r t l r r r ' l r r i l l r l l r r r r r ,Thei r constant demarr r l is l l r r r l \ , .1 . i r , , , . .abuse, cast igate , put r lo r r r r . r ' r i l i , ' i r r .or vi l l i fy them in order t lr l t t l rr .r ' rrrnrl ive wi th the mass ive r :or r l rnr l i r ' l io rnwhich American racism pr' , ,r l rrr ' , . . ,Constantly the gui l t r idden sr.ptrrrr. tr lwants to talk about the race. prolilrm,hoping against hope that someholy 111,,broad body of Americans wil l r ' ( .( ' r f l {-nize the dangerous collision ooursr.on which they are embarked.

' l ' l rr .

guilt ridden liberal spends most oI hist ime convincing Negroes of his gui l t .sparing his fellow whites of havin;3to vielv the spectacle of a hard rvork-ing masochist.

At cocktail parties or social affairsthe Negro victim of guilt ridden lib-erals must be verbally inexhaustibleabout the problem, omitting, however,facts, data and theoretical concepts. Ifnot he risks his popularity with thisset. The guilt ridden liberals wantto hear the strangled angry cries, thegasps of disbelief and the vague, wildthreats of black retribution.

If the Negro chosen is in turn ex-ploitive, he can hustle these guilt rid-den liberals for money, status, etc.,but only at a price-his own debase-ment. James Baldwin is this group'spet Negro, but strangely enough, Dr.Martin Luther King is a genuine fa-vorite. For while Baldwin and otherwriters put these guilt ridden racialliberals down lower than a snake'sbelly, Martin Luther King offers themforgiveness and "redemption" as wellas the Hope for a Better Tomorrow.Thus, the spiritual Dr. King, the mag-nificent orator, is of even greater valueto the guilt ridden racial liberal thanis his secular literary counterpart.

This guilt ridden segment of racialliberalism sometimes finds the newblack nationalists, particularly thosefaddists who seem to want to substi-

T.r-.atI

E

iI

' l 'h is r ' lass of racial l iberal is. ex

Il r t r r re l r l ' , r rcefu l when I e c t u r in g$\,.gr,, is on how to l ive with the evi l i$,, f i 'acism and enjoy i t . Conspicuous by$tlrr: i r f l ight from their orvn lofty ideals!since I960. the conservative racialFliberals are most _hopeful about the$society's fantasy-plans to make wari

outbursts of angry frustrated N"gro".. iTheir favorite question ("what would i

Negroes want now?") often revealstheir poorly concealed ignorance.

That the conservative liberals pro-mote the Negro bourgeoisie as theirkind of Negro is not surprising sincesuch Negroes, as E. Franklin Frazierhas suggested, are imperfect copies ofthose very liberals who advance theircause. The new middle-class Negroeslack a political, economic or culturalphilosophy and are engaged in thepursuit of status and recognition solong desired and so often denied. ThisNegro middle-class, therefore, is idealfor this segment of racial l iberal ismfor, l ike i ts sponsor, these Negroesenjoy tokenisnr and exult in i ts bene-f i ts . The conservat ive l i l rera l then isreal ly not a l iheral, nrerely a prag-nratic cr lnservative.

Then there is the literary racialIiberal set, long famed for its forward-looking racial backwardness, whichhas not had to retreat too far fromits time-honored position to achieveits present type of open-mouthed lib-eralisrn. This claque of racial liber-als is by far the most radical of thevarious types, but their "radicalism"is safe within the scheme of things(the status quo) and therefore islittle more than liberalism clothed inattractive verbal garments. The loudrhetoric of this group about "fair play,the intrinsic value of the Negro," theguaranteeing of "constitutionally guar-

I6L 7

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T

ttute black capitalism for white capital-ism, especially attractive candidates forthe role of their Negro. Their Negroshould embody all the attributes gen-erally forbidden to the Negro male.If the gui l t r idden racial l iberal is arvoman, all the sexual fantasies at-tached to the American hellhole maybe activated, requiring the Negro maleto have both arms free and ready tofend off those misguided attempts toatone personally for the sins of Arneri-can racism.

Speaking frequently in terms of re-ligious values, the guilt ridden liberalsoften serve to confuse the issue, andeventual ly bore and al ienate Negroes.i"or rvhi le the gui l t r iclden l iberalspeaks ulrd sonretintes experiences"gu i l l , " the r t 's t o f the soc ie ty on ly isconcel 'ne( l ubot t t the i r emlrar rassr .nent( image) or the i r personal inconveni -

ence ' Whether r r ro t ivater l l ,y < leeplyfelt gui l t or trapped l ,y their ownrhetoric. the gui l t r idden l iberals arefrequently, however, in the forefrontof act ion-of the non-r, iolent varietyparticularly.

Finally, the racial liheral uho isa social worker or educator f inds him-self in a special occupational type ofliberalism. As such he is a profession-al mutant and rnore frequently a pro-fessional nuisance. Primarily inter-ested in his orvn specialty area, to theexclusion of all other areas, this lib-eral loves to pontificate about implaus-ible solutions to racial conflict. Whilethe racial l ibcral plolessional mayhave some understandins of the de-based condit ic;r oI the Negro urbanmasses, he maintains very nri ;ciy thatiI tI-': r'est of white soci :t', ' knew, theyrvoul- l imrnei iatel-,- , , . :eir to help al le-viate th: suffering of Negroes.

'lhis professional's liberalism is

often of the 9 to 5 o'clock variety-disappearing into the shadows after the

IB

5 o'clock whistle, to be dusted off againthe next duy.

Almost without fail the liberal pro.fessional likes to be on speaking termgwith the lone, or one of the few, Ne-groes on the staff of his agency. Forhis friendship, this "liberal" demandsfirst that the Negro share his frameof reference, that the Negro limit hisou,n view to conform with that of theliberal, and finally that the Negro mustconcern himself with the appropriateconcerns of the organization for whichthey are employed.

The Negro correctly perceives thatu'hat is expected of him is never tobroach the unpleasant realities of life(the causes) and to stick to fin.dingsome sort of feasible compromise. Intirnes of strife and conflict, the racialliberal who is a professional may askthe Negro to forget he is a Negro andbe a rnan (as if to be a Negro makesa human being a zebra or some lowerspecies). This request highlights hisconception of the Negro and, in fact,all Negroes, viz., "they just haven'tachieved full hurnan status n"1."-1hsyaren't ready.

The Negro professional rvho speaksin platitudes, who entertains, prefer-ably at home with his best china, whoavoids controversy and harsh words,who is more ruthlessly self-centered(he'll do anything to be successful)is an ideal Negro. Should the Negrobe successful, this racial liberal pro-fessional will always think of theNegro as "his boy," "his girl," or "hisprotege," who is "coming along verynicely."

The racial Iiberal professional isoften found working in those profes-sions and occupations rvhich serve asubstantial numher of Negroes, in anagency basically conservative in out-look. Despite his good intent, theracial liberal professional has beensucked into a cushioned trap into

rrhich he invests so much energy and.go that he seldom is able to see the:rr irrr real i ty of the present racial si t-u i t l i o n .

ll''hen racial liberals ol whateaersr'gfirert are on rare occasions honestrr ith themselves, they reveal that ur-l ,unity, cult ivat ion and similari ty ofirrterests, goals, and style alone dorrot assure any Negro of acceptance.What is required of the Negro is thatlre look as white as possible, so thatthe whites can feel comfortable withhim in terms of his education, his man-ners, his dress, his habits of living.Self-proclaimed racial liberal GilbertCross put it succinctly when he wrote:"l lind that I respond best to a Negr<rwho looks like a coffee-colored whiternan" (Look Magazine, Atg., 1963).

Racial liberals of every variety arenow stupified and frightened by theincreasinp; signs of youthful Negrounrest. (Maybe we weren't politeenough to them or maybe we shouldhave given them certain rights faster. )

During the spring and summerrrronths the cleavage between most seg-rnents of racial liberals and Negroes,the supposed recipients of their goodwill, becomes most apparent. First theNegro middle-class begins its timehonored chant of impotence, "There isgoing to be a long hot summer."

Quickly, racial liberals from their lis-tening posts take up the cry, whichis generally ignored by all segmentsof the population save the police. Ifand when the riots occur, some racialliberals "who have been with the Ne-gro through thick and thin"-th.inout; others, depending on their orien-tation, break into songs of despair,sorrow and mourning. To the slum-dwelling Negroes, watching racialliberals fly out replaces bird-watchingas liberals, exposing their real im-potency, can be seen flying all over

SrprsMeBR, 1966

the place trying unsuccessf ul ly trrarouse the syrnpathy of the white oonr-r-nunity to action to remove the lortg-standing inequit ies.

The con{erences and l)ronoulroe-tnents of racial l iberals clo not seemto forestall the violence, winter orsummer. At best, these traditonal l ib-eral gambits only bry t irne for thedonrinant conservative interests tostrengthen the police riot contrr-rlforces and plan to deploy nationalguard units needed to quell the out-breaks.

This description of the di{Ieringstyles of racial l iberals has rtot byany means coverd the possi lr l t : nr.nn-ber o f conrb inat io t rs o f s t r l t :s r l i t l r int he spe< : i es " ra t : i a l l i l , r ' r ' a l . ' ; l ' , xa r r r i r r a -t i o t t o f t l r c va t ' i ous k i l r r l s o [ " t ' : . u ' i t ll i l r e ra l s " t ' ev t , u l s l t , r r r i t npo r t t t r r t i t i sf r l r a n v l ) ( : r ' s o n l o l ' r ' r ' o g l r i z r ' l l r r . , l i f -f e te t t t t y p t ' s a r t r l l r l j u s t l r i s t h i r r k i n ; . tanc l speech i f he u is l t r ,s Lr kr :ep l r israc ia l l i be ra l f l i e r r r l s . l l o s t i l i l v c l r r l r earoused by speak i t tg lo a ra , ' i i t l r , , , t r -servative l iberal as i f he uere a gui l tr idden l iberal or treating a rar: ial l i t -erary l iberal as i f he rvere a racial l i l r-eral professional.

One can almost hear the various seg-ments of racial liberals screamingihow dare he say that or make fun ofus, after all we've done for him and"his kind." But I suppose that's whatcan happen when a Negro tells it likeit is. The truth of the matter is thatin examinine the situation and creedof the various segments of domesticracial liberalisrn the bankruptcy ofthe entire liberal community is re-vealed in a similar way to that whichCarl Oglesby of the Students for aDernocratic Society has shown thebankruptcy of liberalism in the inter-national arena. There are no halfrvay(l iberal) r lreasures to be taken againstracism, just as a fenale canrrot be " irl i t t le bit pregnant."

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