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February 03, 1991 - Image 2

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
Michigan Citizen, 1991-02-03

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

P 2
ar 0 nnihll
whi e racl 01, a
By Derrick C. Lewl

Stalf Writ�r

Comprising only 10 percent of
the world population. whites
have a fear of genetic annihila­
tion which explains their racist
beha vior, according to
psychiatrist Dr. Francis Welsing.
During a symposium at the
University of Michigan last Mon­
day. Welsin.8 spoke on "Resisting
Assimilation: The Psychology
of Self Identity.
She said this fear has created a
global system of repression.
tuncttonat-tn ult'areas of Our ex­
'i�tarfC�, id ' i � tl1r\�.
entertainment, economic. and
war, which ensures that power
wi II rcrnai n in the hands 0 f
whites.
In order for Blacks and other
, non-whites to fight racism suc­
cessfully, they -have to "have
clearly in mind who they are and
re pcct for what they are." said
Welsing.
She noted that racism existed.
at least 2000 years ago when
Semetic Jews were trying to be
accepted for what they were.
saying racism against Jewish
people continued into this cen­
tury, wi th "destructive media
coverage" in the years before
World We'; II.
"
"JEWS WOULD read
'Nobody would do anything like
[the Holocaust] to us because we'
are German.' They did not un­
derstand the context in which
they were functioning:' Welsing
said.
,
Understanding context and the
times in which one-is operating
�e crucial to gaining self­
respect. she explained.
Non-whites comprise 90 per­
cent of the world population, and
are collectively identified as
minorities. said Welsing.
She said if everyone in the
world was placed in an egg­
beater and sex were added,
everyone would be non-white.
Welsing said black, brown,
red, and yellow �re dominant
colors, and whites believe if they
are to survive genetically they'
must retain power.
Welsing cited a recent �
magazine article reporting that
by the year 2000, the majority in
CORRECTION
We mistakenly reported
there are 900,000 General
AI i ranee recipients in
Michigan. The correct num­
ber is 124,924.
Carolyn Martin was i�­
correctly identified as Patsy
Herbert in a story about the
seminar ponsored by the In­
kster Branch, Top ,Ladie of
Di tinction.
We apologize for any in­
convenience this caused.
ru
1 .
ree ever nd Dr.
The Government of
betn conven d nd
1. or inform lion,
v
thor
I
ental health for
ithout nder­
and white
.:
,
.'
H E AY REVEALS a
Dr. Fr nee Cre Wei 10·
the United States will be people
of color" "They pre ented this as
if it's a problem. saying 'What
are we going to do?"
PEOPL power set the
focus. Wei ing said. "You must
determine how you will behave.
You mu t respect yourself for
what you are and kno w the rules
of the game," .
Welsing is Lhe author of "The
Cress Theory of Color Confron­
tation and Racism (White
,U of M Prof's
ANN ARBO ----- The Reagan
1980s may have been "the lull
before the storm" in the school
desegregation debate. according
to University of Michigan educa­
tion Prof. Charles B. Vergon.
"Over the last decade, concern
for quality has edged out issues
of segregation and racial ine­
quality," he says. "These issues
ca n' t remai n in the shadows,
however. as the number of racial,
ethnic ,and linguistic minority
children continue to grow." .
Vergon is the editor of
"School Desegregation Policy:
Federal Role in the 1990s," a spe­
cial issue of the independent
journal Education and Urban
Society. ;'
The, future course' of
desegregation policy will depend
largely on the role of the federal
government. which, Vergon sug­
gests, must be an active one.
"There are Simply too many
reasons to not to ignore it:
profound demographic changes,
extreme segregation, the over­
whelming cost of a permanent
underctass, and the need for an
increasingly skilled and minority
workforce."
VERGON EMPHASIZES,
however. that the nature of the
federal rele is likely to be dif­
ferent' from the past. It is more
likely to emphasize collabcration
and an active partnership be­
tween and among federal and
state authorities and local school
districts,
A uccessful desegregati{)n
, policy, Vergon says, will-req uire
the pre ident calling for diversity
as wei l as excellence' in
America's schools. The president
"will need to urge states and
localitie to ee schools of diver­
siry as being in their own and the
nation's intere r, rather than as a
civil right objective primarily
for the benefit of insular minority
'group ."
A succe .sful desegregation
policy, .he notes. would also be
j nce n t i ve-d ri vent .rew a rd i ng
tate' for addre ing egregation
and inequality regardless of it
_ay
Supremacy)." Her participation
in the symposium was part of the
university's Martin Luther King
Day activities. which lasted from
Jan 15-21.
Three other ymposium on
Jan. 21 were "Race and Interna­
tonal Affair : T-h Impact of the
Gulf Crisis on A erican Inter­
Group Relation;" nvironmen­
tal Racism: Issues and
Dilemmas;" and "The Future of
Poverty: Local and National
Perspectives. "
orrgms while maintaining
vigorous prosecution, via the Jus­
tice Department, of discrimina­
tion in education. housing and
employment.
The policy would also .urge
greater coordination and
cooperation at all levels of,
.governmcru to address the inter­
related causes of segregation and
inequality in education, housing
and employment.
"Addressing housing dis­
crimination will be a major con­
cern. since by eliminating
discrimination there, you reduce
the need for interve ntion in
schools," Vergon says.
TYPICAL OF THE articles.
in the journal is a discussion of
continuing litigation in Yonkers,
N.Y., in which school officials
have been stymied in their in­
tegration efforts by local
politicians refusing to build as-­
sisted housing in am uent whi te
neighborhoods, Attorne y,
Michael Sussman's discussion of
the case reveals the historically
tight link between housing
segregation and segregated
schools.
"As Blacks repeatedly were .
denied housing opportunities in
the private sector in east and
northwest Yonkers, local
potiucians ensured that no as­
sisted housing would be placed
in these ne ighborhoods,"
Sussman writes. "The rejection
of school reorganization plans, as
well, ensured that white neigh­
borhoods would retain whi te
schools."
According to Sussman. "Only
recently have we effectively
linked school and housing
desegregation litigation, as in
Yonkers. in what may become a
model for future litigation and
publlc pol icy ini natives."
. Another contributor, Leonard
Stevens. examine the dilemmas
of metropolitan egregation. His
article reviews a handful of ven­
tures that use interdistrict trans­
fers and parental choice patterns
to overcome city-suburban
segregation.
facet of the global system of (e.g., Donahue). This 'collection sor of ociaI Work at Howard
white upremacy heretofore un- will discloses fascinating in- Univer ity. She i 7c"urrently a
recognized. Cress Welsing sights on topics such a : the medic I officer at the Depart-
probes the symbol structure of relationship be tween Black nt of Human REsource, Men-
the white supremacist system to children and their parents; rape; al Health Admini tratlon, and
reveal the psychological AIDS and its threat to Black Clinical Director for the Paul
dynamics of racism. Americans; and the crisis in Robeson School for Growth and
Cress Welsing's goal in the. Black male and female relation- Development, Wa hington, D.C,
Isis Papers is to provide ideas by ships. . , The Isis Papers its a provoca-
which all African Americans can Her unraveling of the network tive work sure to excite much
create a p ychologically whole of fears embedded in" such debate, With i publication,
and re i rant culture. Throughout . European symbols and practice Third World Press, one of the few
her work and her writing, she in- as ball games, money, gold, gun independent African American
si ts that "the old walls of artifi- and even the white Christ-figure, publishing houses, in the nation,
cal ab traction are being torn will force readers of all colors to adds Dr. Cre WWeIsing to its
down, and in their place stands a examine their own participation list of distinguished writers, in-
new edifice, a unified field, in a system of racial iolence and eluding Gwendolyn Brooks, Dr.
which can be used to diagnose, negation, Chancellor Williams, Sonia
treat, and cure." Sanchez, Cheikh Anta Diop, ,
Cress Welsing's ideas are DR. CRESS WELSING is Ruby Dee, Mari Evan, Dr. ,
known widely through lecture formerly an Ass_istant ProCes or . Babby Wright and Haki Mad- •
to VI'\.I' In/_"'t� .. U" """"r .I;4···rtUofPetii trt $' t\11�d\'\lli�fP'r01 '- h b . OJ'" _.,.
� o-.:r I!�t�PJ"1)lmc;,l 1�.1 U�GI.:Hn:l J u.'f ·� ... I �u 10.) j � �IJ I nt
'''� ...... i1 " .,
They ay thing . are changing in South Africa. But
30 million black people are.] tilt denied the right to
'vote becau e of the color of their kin.
Now Pre ident Bu h i talking about rewarding
the Pretoria government
by lifting, anction .
Nelson Mandela ays we
hould maintain
auctions until he and all
South African have the
right to vote.
Your vore for anction
again ·t South Africa will
keep the pre ure on
apartheid and help bring­
real change.
SIGN YOUR BALLOT TODAY
YOU CA
HELP
---�---------------------�------�-
SANe 10NS
o I vote for maintaining sanctions until there is democracy for
all South Africans.
Signature
City
State

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