A few weeks ago various ceremonies were held around the nation commemorating the 100^th anniversary of the publication of, "Souls of Black Folks," W.E.B. Dubois' 1903 treatise in which he intoned that this country's real challenge of the 20^th Century would be race.  Recent events serve notice that he could have included the 21^st Century as well. 

On Monday, June 23, the United States Supreme Court handed down a split decision on Affirmative Action upholding the constitutionality of using race as a consideration in admissions to the University of Michigan's Law school while knocking down the point system the university used for admissions to its undergraduate school.  On that same day life was snuffed out of Maynard Jackson, arguably our nation's most successful practitioner of efforts to eliminate the current effects of past discrimination, and level the playing field for future generations.  I understand that part of Maynard's reasons for being in Washington at the time of his death was to help a friend and former constituent hold onto an airport concessions contract, which was initially received as a direct result of his Administration's affirmative action program.  How ironic.

I first met Maynard in April 1970 when he came to Charleston, South Carolina to keynote a banquet being held to launch my political career.  The following morning I drove him to Columbia.  His imposing physique left little room for me in the front seat of my 1969 non air-conditioned  Mustang.  And when he spoke, I found it necessary to keep the windows cracked, more to let out the decibels of his resonating voice than to let cool air in.  He provided me with my first experience with surround sound.

            A significant portion of Maynard's time and efforts during what turns out to be his final days were devoted to re-igniting the passions that in earlier times drove people of color to vote in record numbers.   He had made that interest known in recent meetings of the Democratic National Committee.

            As an African American, issues of race color my daily life.  I experience them riding on elevators, getting on airplanes, and driving along the state's and nation's highways. And as the first such member of South Carolina's Congressional Delegation since post-Reconstruction (1897), racial issues occupy more than a fair amount of my congressional duties and responsibilities.  But it often takes significant events to bring these issues into proper focus.  

Three days after Maynard died, Senator Strom Thurmond passed away, and CNN requested an interview from me the following day.  I consented, and met them at the Senator's monument on the south side of the Statehouse grounds prepared for an interview about the great statesman's life and legacy.  Instead, I was led to the Confederate soldiers' monument on the north side of the Statehouse grounds, where the Confederate battle flag is prominently displayed.  During the interview I was asked if I thought Thurmond's death meant South Carolina could now move beyond its preoccupation with racial issues. 

            In answering the reporter's query, I said simply, as long as the Confederate Battle flag flies in a place of honor and maintains a cloak of currency, lingering affects of our state's segregationist past will continue to infiltrate our daily lives and color our official conduct.  That is why the United States Supreme Court affirmed the need to take affirmative action to level the playing field in college admissions.  It is why every speaker at Senator Thurmond's funeral sought to affirm Thurmond's change of heart on issues of race.  And it is why the ghost of WE.B. DuBois still lingers in our judicial chambers and legislative halls.

#   #   #