(democratandchronicle.com) The many reports of bad news in African-American communities may lead some, including many young black people, to believe that black people achieve nothing positive.
However, over the last 40-odd years, since the demise of legalized segregation and the passage of several anti-discrimination laws, the positive accomplishments of black people have been remarkable in number and quality, exceeding any negatives by several orders of magnitude.
The recent announcements that Harris Beach had elected prominent attorney Todd Bullard to a partnership and Ursula Burns had been promoted to president of Xerox Corp. are great examples of these positive achievements.
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Forty years ago, many black people were just beginning to vote in numbers, black legislators were rare, black mayors did not exist and there existed only a handful of civil servants, primarily in servant classifications. Black power was merely a slogan. Today there are more than 10,000 black legislators at the federal, state and local levels. About 40 black representatives are in the U.S. House. They chair the Committees on Ways and Means, Homeland Security, House Administration, Appropriations and the Judiciary and about 17 subcommittees. James E. Clyburn of South Carolina is serving as House majority whip. Black people are or have been mayors, Cabinet secretaries under Republican and Democrat presidents, and governors. New York and Maryland have black lieutenant governors. There have been three black U.S. senators. And now a black U.S. senator is making a credible run for president. (more…)
Engaging the culture by challenging the status quo
