Dear Editor:
A few conservative whites and a few blacks felt pained by a recent letter I wrote in which I praised liberal whites for their support in the struggle for justice for blacks more than thirty years ago and condemned conservative whites for their fight to maintain a racist America.
All whites who opposed racism in whatever way they wanted were on the right side of humanity, while those who favored a racist America were on the wrong side. I categorized all those whites who supported civil rights as liberals and those who did not as conservatives. More often than not, there were whites who were liberal under my rubric but who were otherwise conservative on many other issues. I apologize to those who felt my distinction was not clear enough.
To a few blacks it is wrong to thank any whites, even those whites who staunchly opposed a racist America, because America is still a racist nation. These blacks fly into an apoplectic rage whenever anything positive is uttered about any whites. I, of course, understand their feelings. And I share fully the sentiment among African Americans that praise for whites should be very rare. Indeed, there remains just too much injustice in our land for blacks to he thanking whites all the time. Surely, I am sorry that my letter hurt a few blacks.
But I remain steadfast in my belief that now is the time for blacks to rescue liberal whites from the merciless beating they are taking from conservative whites; it is time for blacks to lend a helping hand to our supporters, to lift their spirits, and to challenge them to come out of the closet and join with us with renewed vigor in our struggle to overcome racism.
Although it is hardly chic for blacks to offer support to liberal whites even though they sometimes appear perilously close to extinction, our interest is best served if we can resurrect them. As our allies are nursed back to health, we approach the 21st century and our fight against racism with a much larger army. It is incumbent upon black professors throughout America to assist our students in understanding that our cause suffers when we as a people cannot see any difference between one white man and another, say, between a senator like Jesse Helms and one like Ted Kennedy, or between a congressman like Newt Gingrich and one like former Congressman Donald Pease.
In the past, we blacks did not fight racism alone. Today, our fight is an even greater one. It may be cool to lump all whites together and think of them as our enemy, but that strategy is both wrong and foolhardy. We must do what we can to save these whites who are willing to stand with us in our efforts to defeat racism, be they liberals or conservatives on other issues. We do not have to fight our battles alone today if we realize that it is now time for us to help our sadly troubled friends. These are the reasons I wrote my letter.
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