The long, hot urban unrest

We have just gone through a long, hot period of urban unrest, accusations and videos of police violence against minorities, from white ruled Ferguson to minority governed Baltimore.  We in a mountain valley far from those maddening crowds come up with all kinds of theories of why, including a statement  from a writer in this paper that Democrats rule the cities so the problem “apparently” is  corruption.

 In a long hot summer of the  1960’s a Denver neighborhood called Five Points burned.  Five Points at one time was the thriving center of African American life, but as a post war economy boomed, it was clear that neighborhood was left behind.   Resentment boiled over against those in charge, including the white, good ole boy mayor who put his eggs in the basket of developing urban renewal skyscrapers.  Even the health center where my husband was a staff doctor was fire bombed and anger seethed in streets where I have walked door to door registering voters and running surveys of grocery stores that revealed the poor paid more.   

It was not until the 1980’s  that a series of  Denver mayors,  one Hispanic, two Blacks, and a far-sighted  Anglo  led  about as clean a local government as one could wish. And, oh yes, they were all Democrats.  Infrastructure   attention was paid to Five Points, including light rail to transport them to jobs.  From time to time, police brutality is still alleged, but police chiefs are reprimanded or fired.  Their schools are underperforming, but improving.  Few however doubt that the city administration does not care about them. Denver’s Mayor Michael Hancock, an African American, was elected to his second term with 80% of the vote last week in a city that is over 50% white.

Often ignored are the demographic and economic shifts that characterized the last century. It was the migration of southern African Americans to the north or Latino immigrants to the west in search of jobs requiring little education. That worked until those manufacturing jobs moved to the lower wage south or replaced workers with robots. That is particularly true in Baltimore that recently lost its auto manufacturing base.

 Indeed, policy decisions have consequences, but policy is not always dictated by corruption.  Baltimore put its development money into a harbor front renewal project where wealth failed to trickle down to its neighborhoods. Those projects are often a Chamber of Commerce dream, but provide little hope for the urban poor if the tax money they generate fails to address their needs, especially to provide good schools to make their citizens employable.

So why are big cities nearly always governed by Democrats? The party’s makeup has more potential for a chance their voices will be heard.  The GOP is heavily composed of white men from the south and mid west rural areas . Urban dwellers understand the GOP has few policies that address their concerns. The GOP budget now in Congress, like others before, will worsen income inequality with tax policies.  It propose to take away some of what little the government provides in assistance and opposes job generating infrastructure projects.  At the same time, the GOP crusades to make it harder for them to vote and be heard.  

A version of this appeared in the www.skyhidailynews.com May 15,2015

http://www.forbes.com/sites/dandiamond/2015/04/28/why-baltimore-burned/

Felicia Muftic served in the administration of Denver Mayor Federico Pena as Clerk and Recorder and his liaison to City Council.

The making of a Southern liberal and how it happened.

The incident with racial chants at the University of Oklahoma and more violence in Ferguson flashed my memory back to my younger days growing up in eastern Oklahoma in Muskogee. The mid sized town of 35,000 was populated by African Americans, many refugees from the Tulsa 1920's and'30's  Ku Klux Klan, and Whites and Native Americans with Southern US roots.  I also was and am an alum  member of a sorority and still keep  up with my local chapter at Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois. I understand the group think and pressure for conformity such bands of sisters experience.  Most of my sorority sisters were from the north and I never heard such racism expressed as I heard now from  that OU fraternity.

  Back in the 50's what I do recall is that the university was rumored to have a quota of Jews (as was whispered to me by close Jewish friends)  and there were enough African American women admitted to give social opportunity for the African American football players.  My sorority had just begun admitting Catholics ( still no Jews, no Blacks).   My reaction was to be active in the Model United Nations that respected other countries'viewpoints...I was co-secretary general.  In 1960, I led  the Draft (Adlai) Stevenson group in the Mock Political Convention in 1960..  The North Shore parents of my sorority sisters( our sorority house  was the leader of the Stevenson group) were appalled, especially when we almost beat the Richard Nixon forces. Stevenson, a Democrat,  at that time was governor of Illinois.  In short, I was a not so laid back  rebel working within the system. I  have attended a few reunions and let me say both sorority membership and the entire campus is happily very diverse these days.

For those who puzzle at what shaped me coming from Oklahoma as I did in the 50's  there  were several factors:a)  Parents who were not from Oklahoma..Dad from the Fort Morgan, Colorado area a University of Colorado graduate  and a mother from Missouri and educated in Illinois, b) My parents  told me  the cleaning help  and my African American nanny were as well educated as they were  and deserved total respect and if I ever used the N word, my mouth would be washed out with soap; c) My own reading of the Bible...even as a Presbyterian, churches were strictly segregated and I dared ask why since I thought Christ taught otherwise. The answer from church elders: "'They' prefer to go to  their own church".   This was a Southern Baptist Bible belt town and even Presbyterians shared social attitudes. (The Presbyterian Church became one of the most tolerant and welcoming  of "others" much later). However, Presbyterians, Episcopals, Catholics,  and Jews were the "others" and I felt a kindship with them in being a member of "a minority".

 1950's Muskogee observed separate but equal education, separate drinking fountains and restrooms, back of the bus, and no integrated neighborhoods whatsoever. Blacks "who knew their place" were appreciated and those who did not were called with disdain  "uppity N...s".  I remember feeling sorry for "colored people" who had to conform with the segregation rules.  It did not seem fair.  I had a piano teacher who tried to convince me Black people..called Negroes or colored people when being  polite..were directly descended from monkeys and the two races should never mix.  I politely listened. I must have been 12 then and I never believed a word since I knew otherwise from my own experience.

 It was not until my senior year in 1956 that integration began to a limited extent .and we could   compete in debate meets and  to get to know our African American counterparts.  They were  impressive, too.  Keeping up with some of my high school classmates, I have found  many of them are still frozen in the times and attitudes of 1956. Others are not and evolved much like me..

There are two movies with which I personally relate.  To" Kill a Mockingbird " describes my neighborhood, attitudes, and characters I knew. The Harper Lee  book version is perhaps even better than the movie to get a feel of my life in the 50's.  "The Help" takes life from a different perspective and the main white young woman  character was particularly descriptive of feelings and situations I experienced  in the 1950's  and even later as a young adult.

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Peace on earth, goodwill to men sorely needed this Christmas season but so hard to achieve

Peace on earth, goodwill toward men, one of the messages of Christmas, is sorely needed in our troubled world. This year has been less about major wars, but more about individuals gone berserk and sudden rise of terrorist jihadists acting in regions or as lone wolves anywhere.  Modern media has been both the messenger and the tool of the perpetrators that give acts of violence world-wide impact. We have yet to find a consensus for the best response.

 In the United States there are two schools of thought. One is always to meet violence with violence and the other is to search for peace. President Obama seems determined to leave office with a more peaceful world by resolving some nagging conflicts and addressing recent explosions of violence both at home and abroad, but he faces some tough challenges.

 Since he cannot run for re-election, he at least is freed from the consequences of a political backlash if he takes controversial measures. Using his executive powers, he is burying the hatchet with hostile regimes and bringing together those who feel they have been treated unfairly.

Beginning with dialogues with Iran and historic reverse of a fifty year policy toward Cuba, Obama has taken steps to bring Peace on Earth.  Obama had already stopped torture of prisoners immediately when he took office and he is consistent in condemning past torture practices brought to light by a Senate report.

Our country is plagued by riots and police assassinations from Ferguson to the boroughs of New York, heated by racial tensions and angry speech from by both sides of the racial divide. The violence is an accumulative effect of high profile incidents of apparent racial profiling by police  ending in death of Black men and youth.  Obama is threading the needle between empathy with minority communities and finding ways to bring communities and policing together.  It is a delicate balance, but it is a uniquely credible opportunity given he is the first Black president.

The case for peace is as much a matter of pragmatism as it is a moral imperative. Violence begets more violence. One kind of violent action becomes a template used by others who are, or who are not, fighting political causes. Some fueled by personal revenge, hate, or mental health issues copy the latest violent techniques so they, too, can go down in a blaze of publicity.

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Abroad, we have learned that using military force works only in the short term.  Our ultimate goal should be to win over hearts and minds so that jihadists lose fertile ground in which to plant their flags. Otherwise we will be involved in a never ending or reoccurring warfare. Sadly, Iraqi villagers seem willing to exchange ending strife for ISIS order no matter how cruel and oppressive.  Oppression eventually breeds revolt and a search for a better way. The very difficult challenge for Obama is to craft policies that appeal to the better angels in the long term while helping Iraq halt ISIS’ military advance and doing it without our full military engagement.