Beauty and the Beast: A Tale of Two Americas

"We know we are beautiful. And ugly too."

Langston Hughes in "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain"

To say that these are historic times is to state the obvious. One need only look to the occupants of the White House to realize that there has been a fundamental shift in the American body politic. Still, the most cursory examination of recent national news reveals that--even in the wake of the election of President Barack Hussein Obama--we are not quite the bastion of "post-racial" bliss that many have declared.

Take, for example, the events of Wednesday, 18 February. It gave me great pride to see First Lady Michelle Obama welcoming a culturally diverse group of local students to a White House program in observance of Black History Month.

In a marked departure from standard procedure, even the young children of the permanent staff of the presidential mansion--i.e., the servants--were invited to the event which featured the legendary a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock.

Yet, on the other side of the parallel universe that is America, we also awoke to the disturbing news of the New York Post's incredible cartoon depicting a dead primate, lying in a pool of blood--having been shot to death by two White policemen--with the punch line "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill."

Of course most reasonable Americans, regardless of race, find the sketch anything but funny, in spite of the Rupert Murdoch-owned publication's nonsensical justification/non-apology apology stating that the caricature is simply the melding of two prominent, but divergent news stories: that of the crazed pet chimpanzee that was shot to death after savagely attacking a Connecticut woman, and President Obama's stimulus bill.

The Post also tried to deflect criticism by playing the Sharpton card, saying that "Again, Al Sharpton reveals himself as nothing more than a publicity opportunist" bent on ginning up a controversy. In defense of Mr. Sharpton, as an activist, he would have been remiss had he not spoken out about this blatant display of racially offensive and incendiary yellow journalism.

Policemen Gone Wild

Another troublesome, little mentioned aspect of the Post parody is the police gunmen, to one of whom the offensive "joke" is attributed. Could this unwittingly explain the ongoing problem of police violence against unarmed African American men? I mean, maybe cartoonist Sean Delonas is on to something. After all, when you think about it, wouldn't it be easier to gun down a Black man if you consider him less than human?

And speaking of policemen gone wild (on unarmed Black men), on this same news day we saw the press conference of Robert Tolan, the young African American man who was shot in the chest last New Year's Eve, in the driveway of his home in the affluent Houston, Texas suburb of Bellaire--this after he and his cousin were followed because the police suspected that the SUV they were driving was stolen.

Long story short, Mr. Tolan's life was transformed from that of an aspiring major league baseball player to that of a young man with a bullet lodged in his liver, living in constant pain. Clearly, he's lucky to be alive, but sadly he may never play baseball again.

A Profile in Courage

The city of Bellaire says that they are investigating the "perception" of racial profiling and they are requiring that officers attend additional cultural sensitivity training. At this time, no apology has been issued, but hopefully it will, at the very least, open the door to a much needed "courageous conversation" on race in America.

Attorney General Eric Holder went a long way toward this during his recent Black History Month address to Department of Justice employees when he issued the following unequivocal statement:

"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards... We know, by 'American instinct' and by learned behavior, that certain subjects are off limits and that to explore them risks, at best embarrassment, and, at worst, the questioning of one's character..."

Mr. Holder, the first African American to head the nation's law enforcement apparatus, should be applauded for his unblinking, unvarnished truth. Of course, he has been roundly criticized by some, but as the elders in my small Louisiana town were fond of saying, "it is the hit dog that barks."

What I'm saying is that America is standing at the proverbial fork in the road.

Beauty or the Beast?

To be sure, as a nation, we can be proud of the great strides made with regard to relishing our beautiful cultural diversity. At the same time, though, the Post's beastly racist "humor" and young Mr. Tolan's ordeal serve as reminders that, as far as we've come, we still have a long, bumpy road ahead.

An important and long overdue step will be taken if America's new "top cop," Attorney General Holder makes ending police brutality and racial profiling a top priority of his Justice Department. He's proven that he can talk the talk, but will he walk the walk?

As I see it, the questions confronting us are myriad, but these are paramount: Which path will we take? Which America will prevail: Beauty or The Beast?

Mrs. Obama was right when she eloquently told the students at the African American History event that President Obama, as our first African American President is not alone in making history--and nor is Eric Holder. We are all actors in this grand pageant that is unfolding before our very eyes. As she said, we will all write the next chapter of American history.

In the final analysis, there are three things that I know for sure: We all write America. We are all equals. And history will judge us according to our actions.