In almost every forum Conservatives are constantly defending their positions regarding race in the United States. They listen in bewilderment as time after time insults are hurled at them and they wonder how it is that they can be so misunderstood. Anecedotally, I would have to say that two of the favorite ephitets from the left are to smear the Conservative by calling him/her a bigot or a racist. It would seem that there is no room for discussion. For those on the Left the words are synonyms. I can practically see those on the Left nodding their heads in agreement in righteous indignation. One only needs to review the results of most elections to see that the Democratic Party has essentially locked up the Black vote. Although the Republican Party has a reasonably good record in promoting and nominating African-Americans, as well as other minorities, rarely is it given any credit. I would even venture to say that in at least some cases, it is in reaction to the Republican Party's actions that the Democratic Party feels compelled to react with candidates of their own. Even the nomination of President Obama could be seen as a reaction to Republican movement in the case of Colin Powell and C. Rice, but this is not the subject of this essay. The question is how did the party who freed the slaves become the party comprised of bigots and racists and the party who cares little about minorities in general.

The answer to the question became very clear to me as I read the book, The History of Jim Crow. I would be remiss if I did not here highly recommend that those who are interested in race relations immediately pick up a copy of the aforementioned book. I will be addressing only a small portion of the subject matter covered in the book and obviously will be giving you my interpretation of the events he describes. I cannot emphasize enough my suggestion you read the book for yourself.

In essence, the battle of today is a continuation of the battle of yesterday, but not necessarily in the way you might think. During the early years of the Civil Rights Movement the goal of most of the leaders, as well as the more passive population, was to destroy segregation and promote integration. As Martin Luther King, Jr. so eloquently stated, his idea of a just society was one where color did not matter. He dreamed of a world where Black and White would live together in harmony with a variety of other factors being much more important than that of race or color. He believed in passive resistance and that as the facts came out the citizens of the United States could not help but support his agenda of freedom for all of America's children. Many in the country were swayed by his powerful vision of fairness and justice. This is now the view of America's Conservatives. Integration and opportunity for all.

A funny thing happened on the way to complete integration. As the country moved towards this dream, new leaders of the Black Community arose with new and different ideas. They began to rethink their goals and aspirations. They began to realize that in winning the fight for integration they were losing their identity as African-American Americans. Their unique heritage and culture could possibly be swallowed up by the larger dominant culture. Their leaders, merchants, and other prominent groups were at risk of losing their privileged positions and their communities were at risk of becoming much more fragmented with the success of integration. The result was that the goals of the various factions became more fragmented and difficult to combine. Yes, they wanted equality of opportunity and the benefits of the larger culture, but they also wanted to retain their own culture and mores. In essence they wanted their cake, and to eat it too. Ironically, some of them began to agitate for the very thing the older leaders had been so vehemently opposed to; separate, but equal.

I would suggest that this is now the dividing line that the United States is still addressing. Conservatives take the position articulated by Martin Luther King, Jr. and cannot understand why this position is regarded as bigoted and/or racist. Essentially the position is one of complete integration where each individual is viewed and judged as an individual regardless of color, race, etc. Conservatives think of this as the "American Way" in a society where the rights of the individual are sacrosanct. Division, when it occurs, is more a matter of culture and economics than of Race. Perhaps ironically this very wish to absorb all members of the society into one common society, true integration, is the very thing that many minority leaders battle against the hardest. This position is not only misunderstood, but also widely dismissed by the Liberals in today's society.

Liberals take the other side of the debate as a way to fairly address the question of race in the United States. They have joined with those leaders who reacted strongly against the loss of a separate cultural identity for African-Americans. They want equality, but not full integration. They want the security of the group and the special privileges being a part of that group might bring. They want to be seen as equal, but still distinct and different. They feel that the group is more important then the individual and only through the power of the group will they maintain and increase the status that they now have. From their standpoint, being African-American is the primary factor in all contacts with the larger society. This further leads to the dichotomy in White America of racism being a one-way street. Any attack on the solidarity of African-American Society is viewed as racist while the reverse is never the case, and is considered impossible.

Here lies the divide between Conservatives and Liberals. Conservatives are basically tired of the race question. It's over. As requested by MLK, Jr., they wish to judge each person by his/her own actions and cannot understand why this causes such a violent reaction from others who continue to call them racist and/or bigots. From the Liberal side, they cannot understand why the Conservatives persist in being unable to understand that African-Americans do not want to be completely integrated into society. They want to retain their culture and heritage and interface with the rest of society on their terms. From the group comes power and heretics cannot be tolerated. Any observation regarding one is an observation regarding all and how can Conservatives not understand how racist they are when they persist in insisting that African-Americans integrate into the dominant society by losing their own heritage and culture. This is the divide we must address and perhaps we can better understand that neither side has a monopoly on goodwill.