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Real Answers™
jj103
Copyright: ©2007 James J. Jackson
620 words

THE KEY TO GOOD RACE RELATIONS

By: James J. Jackson

Emmett Till was my cousin.  His lynching had a profound influence in shaping my life.  

You might think it would have made our family bitter.  That’s what people automatically think should happen.  But our reaction was much more complex than that.  

Emmett’s widowed mother, Mamie, and my father, Sam Jackson, were first cousins who grew up in Mississippi before seeking a better life in Chicago. During that time, many parents sent their children from the cities to spend the summers with relatives in the South. Groups of fathers and uncles would travel south in caravans, returning in late August to pick up the children.  

When Emmett was killed in 1955, seven of my siblings were in a nearby town, Hazelhurst, visiting our grandparents. My younger brother, one sister and I stayed home. My uncle, along with several other men, drove from Chicago to Mississippi, dropping children off in places like Money, where Emmett’s grandparents lived, and Hazelhurst, where my grandparents lived as share-croppers. Blacks could not rent motel or hotel rooms along the way and could only stop at service stations with ‘Colored’ facilities.  

The travelers packed items that would keep, such as bread, crackers and cheese, fried chicken and cakes and jugs of water (not every town had ‘Colored’ water fountains). Some of the states along the way provided ‘road-side stands’ for such travelers. These pull-offs consisted of one or two picnic tables and a trash can; a place to pull off and stretch and, perhaps, change drivers.   

In the minds of the children, this was just an exciting adventure, but the adults had to be ever-vigilant for racist KKK members, or car loads of teens looking for trouble. They rarely tarried long at any place, driving almost non-stop to their destination. After Emmett was murdered, there was a mad scramble of concerned fathers and others who drove south to bring the children back home. The confusion and anger was frightening for me as a six-year old. I also remember the sad open-casket funeral.   

February is Black History Month, and Emmett Till is a part of my history and of all our history.  But too many people use this month to dwell upon the discrimination that still exists and spend too much time looking for bigotry in every situation.  Many Black leaders encourage people to ignore signs of true progress in race relations.   

We should reflect on the struggles our forebears endured. But it draws us down when we continue to live in that era; ignoring changes and living in a ‘slave mentality’, which hinders us from moving forward.   

In my own life, I’ve faced many instances of prejudice and racism, but my parents always put it in the right perspective. I was taught to pray for those who offended me, and to figure out a way around a situation or to ask for grace to endure it. My Aunt Bessie, who raised us after our parents’ deaths, taught us a saying-- “This, too, shall pass,”--which has brought me spiritual peace many times during my life.  

I was taught that prejudice will always exist, as long as sinful mankind exists, but that I must never allow it to define me, confine me or stop me from seeking success. That has been the theme by which I have lived my life, and success has come through seeking excellence and not allowing others to limit or determine my success.   

Most importantly, I was also taught that Jesus gave a new Commandment that encompasses all of the original Ten: “Love one Another”.  Failure to follow that command is the root of all prejudice. If we all apply that one key, it will go a long way toward ending all prejudice.  

"Real Answers™" furnished courtesy of The Amy Foundation Internet Syndicate. To contact the author or The Amy Foundation, write or E-mail to: P. O. Box 16091, Lansing, MI 48901-6091; amyfoundtn@aol.com

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