Walter Rhett: "The Greatest Demonstration for Freedom in Our Nation’s History"

[DemocratsForProgress]

Discussions about race are easier to understand if we realize the conversations are less about race and more about how we think and perceive.

Three dominant perceptions about race sweep through the American centuries: race doesn’t matter and discussions only create problems and ill-will; race matters a lot and everybody should be aware of its dangers and conflicts; race matters sometimes personally and professionally. Within each view, race is potentially negative or neutral—in the American view, the mention of race is seldom good or glorious.

Today is the 50th anniversary of one of its most glorious moments. That glory is being buried in discussions that lean more toward tradition, that sometimes, many times, dangers and problems are tied to race. A review of its denials, its entitlements, its victims, its character flaws and political use is precisely the wrong way to celebrate the remarkable events that took place in Washington, DC, 50 years ago today.

That entire day was a triumph. Its closest rival and heir in our history was the cold January day that Barack Obama took the oath of office, to be sworn in by the Chief Justice as the Muslim, socialist, anti-colonial, “half-white,” inexperienced hater tyrant who wanted Cadillacs for the homies but instead created a run on bullets that resulted in a six-month manufacturers’ backlog as twisted, close readings of the Constitution fueled an internet cottage industry led by a Russian-born lawyer that declared the American President was really born in Kenya, and according to a Cuban émigré, needed to “learn how to be an American,” a comment punctuated by the appearance of empty chairs swinging from lynch ropes slung across neighbors’ trees...

More at : http://www.democratsforprogress.com/2013/08/28/the-greatest-demonstration-for-freedom-in-our-nations-history/