r
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a
eo
a
n hite skin color is
the to get a job
and other services and
previlege ill society, white
people in geueral benefit.
Over the years there
n some jobs were
for WHITES ONLY, and other
in t ees hen whites
automaticaly received much
h· for doing exactly
tee job. Hence whites
�Iopcd both a psyc ogical
. e in the preser-
vation and perpetuation of
r cis , segregation and dis-
, .. .
Put more bluntly, being
ra· could be profit !
To be sure, rich whites are
r .. to p y B ck or
.-
Help Blac
children:
xpand He d
SI rt
Every time I visit a Head
Start program I come away with
the strengthened conviction
that we can make a difference to
our children. 'The effectiveness
of thi program as dearly
reflected in the e ger, lively
faces of the children who
greeted me when I recently
topped by a Washi on, D.C.
Head Start facility.
Head Start erves the
needie of our children. Ac­
cording to 1987-88 report su
mitted by the progr more
than haIf of Head Start f :
- have an annual income
below S6,(XX);
- b ve a primary care er
·th a GED 01 education;
- are receiviD& some type of
lfare help.
Head S children need a
trODg boost to avoid getting
pulled d by the burden
of poverty. We t these
children are up against: hunger
ad m Inutrition, untreated
health problems, inadequate
ho� d the·threat of home-
lessn . We knoW ere too Congre pIa
many of the are headed hen Head Start pe
they gro up: school failure, . We m t old eir feet to
dropping, painful fire by writing em and calliDg
cycle of poverty. them to insi at they follow
Head Start br t . nega- through, and th they coatinue
live cycle by giving young ot boost Head tart . in
dilldren the mix of services they future years un every
need to thrive, develop and . vant ged you ster can be
gro . They get to learn and dis- hel
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white orker the full
they are cptitled to for their
ork. But by giving hite
people a p ychological d
D)ateri I incentive to per­
petu e r· the whites t the
top COIl nieolly d profitably
can exploit both tb . BI c and
· es lodged at the bottom of
. the � pyramid. Racial
an onism, therefore, is often
ost acute whe BI ck and
· es compete for jobs and
opportunity beDdits es-
CclaM:ati • recreation
eet,
The level of r cial an­
onism is usually exacer ed
and intensified during periods
of CCODomic hard tim In hard
times so white people may be
inclioed to want e economic
benefits of r cism to payoff. On
the her hand during times of
prosperity overt r cism and ra­
cial an onism seem to recede.
The historic 'struggle of
African-Americans for civil
rights d human ri ts whi c
• so popular,
more of the
it? Estimates
tha Head
18 percent of
)
benefits of the "good life· wide­
Iywithin virtually every sector of
the American populace. It
as if America could ·afford r -
cial progress.
The reality .
racism remained j
surface in t American COOD-
iousness, Though fe uld
argue that there have not been
gains in r ce relatio r cism
has been too deepJy ingained in
the culture of America nd its
institutions for it to die an easy
death.
The American s em is still
n exploitive y em which
thrives on the exploit tion of
. I bor and rking peopl both
t home and abro d.
The power elite in America,
I in the final analysis, could care
les about race, color,
nationality or ethnicity. The rich
and the super-ricb care
bout money nd maximum
profit bility, and when r .
can be used to dvance their
cause they will use it without
conscience or concern. And
when the American economy
. faltered in the I e eveaties
under t weight of high infl -
lion d beavy unemployment
(stagflation) and dedinin tor­
por te profitability, the e
w set for racism to rear its
bead anew.
And so it with that the
nee-co rvative forces siezed
upon these circumstances to
bring Reagan into the pr . den­
ey.
Racist im code words,
d t on affirm tiYe ac­
tion and Black interest were
used for a right wing faction of
th American power elite to as­
cendto power. The subtle aDd
n 0 subtle image portrayed
w that of an America sinking
under the burden of welfare
che S, food amps chiseler
and lawen - all of
}NDO were B ck of cour e.
tt"he t . wer virulent and vi­
d the P yed to the
ears of . e randwor·
people, d the inter of big
business (a d old refrain).
trioti m, sal vation of
untry and th red, white and
blue e evo ed to legitimize
. ugly rise to po r.
Ma e no mistake bout it
aci m w responsible for
Reagan' ri e to po r, and
Iteaganism and Reg nomics
re re pon ible for the ex­
plo ive ri e of r aci m in
Am rica today.
Ron Daniels erves as Presi-
. dent 'of the Institute lor Com­
munity Organization and
Development in Youngstown,
Ohio. He may be contacted at
(216) 746-5747.