Melvin B. Miller
Editor & Publisher

Civil Rights – Phase Two

After Christmas, the biggest task is to compile New Year’s resolutions. This is a more delicate challenge than one might perceive. Resolutions that are too ambitious will be discouraging. Those that are too modest will not lead to the desired life style changes.

The ultimate objective is to improve the quality of life. It is primarily a personal commitment to accomplish this. For African Americans, however, there is always the question as to how the group is attaining “freedom, justice and equality.” The beginning of a new year is a good time for blacks to ask, “Where do we go from here?”

The first phase of the Civil Rights Movement is over and African Americans have been successful. Brown v. Board of Education made it unlawful to discriminate in public education on the basis of race. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed racial discrimination in employment, education and places of public accommodation. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 enabled the federal government to intervene to assure the right to vote.

The second phase still lies ahead. In many ways it is more complex than the first. Only a Neanderthal would fail to understand the abuses of racial discrimination. They include: confining black students to inferior segregated schools as a matter of law; requiring that blacks sit in the back of the bus or refusing to serve a black patron a cup of coffee at the lunch counter in Woolworth’s. The strategy of boycotts, sit-ins and demonstrations worked against those willing to ignore the fact of racial oppression. They got the message.

But where do we go from here? What African Americans must achieve in Phase Two is political clout and the development of wealth. The justice system is a part of government. It will take political action to end the discrimination there. Why should there be a harsher sentence for the possession of the same amount of crack as powder cocaine? Why should convicted felons who have served their time be denied forever the right to vote in some states?

There is an old saying that “money is the mother’s milk of politics.” Wealthy individuals and corporations wield enormous influence over the political agenda. In order to become a politically effective force, African Americans must develop sufficient wealth to finance political action. Blacks must rise from the disabilities imposed by poverty and attain a reasonable level of affluence.

The strategies of Phase One of the Civil Rights Movement were effective because they appealed to the basic humanity of whites in power. But that will not work for Phase Two. There is no constitutional provision that requires African Americans to be politically powerful and wealthy. That is something to be achieved by self-discipline, austerity and hard work.

In many ways, Phase Two of the Civil Rights Movement is even more difficult than Phase One. Indeed, it took enormous courage for blacks to stand up to the likes of Bull Connor, the brutal segregationist police chief of Selma, Alabama. It was an act of physical courage to confront high-pressure water hoses and attack dogs. There will be no such demand in Phase Two, but in order to succeed blacks must be willing to defer present gratification and put their psyches at risk.

In order to succeed in Phase Two, blacks must rely on their own resources. Academic achievement is essential. New skills must be acquired for advancement in today’s job market. That is the first step in acquiring wealth. It will be easier for individuals if the whole community embraces the goal of academic achievement. That is where we go from here. The alternative is individual achievement with no concern for the group. The failure of an effective Phase Two strategy puts racial solidarity at risk.