Melvin B. Miller
Editor & Publisher

Changing times

College graduation is a life-changing experience for African Americans. With a degree in hand, a world of promise and opportunity opens to them.

That was not always the case. The elders who graduated 50 years earlier confronted a different reality. The class of 1957 found themselves in the middle of the civil rights movement. The Montgomery bus boycott began on Dec. 1, 1955, and ended on Dec. 20 of their senior year.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. emerged from the Montgomery bus boycott as the nation’s preeminent civil rights leader. According to the 1950 U.S. Census, Dr. King was one of only 161,040 African Americans 25 years of age or older who had completed four years or more of college. That was only 2.1 percent of that age group.

It would have been very difficult for young graduates in 1957 to ignore the reality of the times. Racial discrimination was in full flower. Indeed, there had been some hope that the nation’s terrible racial policy would change. In its May 17, 1954 decision in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that racial discrimination in public education was unconstitutional. African Americans were elated. But by 1957, that elation had been dampened by the plethora of cases which had to be filed to enforce the law.

Involvement in the civil rights movement by the class of 1957 was not just an academic exercise. They understood that legal protections to racial discrimination would have to fall if they were to enjoy professional opportunities. According to the 1950 U.S. Census, only 3.25 percent of the African American workforce was engaged in employment in “management, professional and related occupations.” Fifty years ago, professional opportunities were inadequate to encourage African Americans to obtain a college education.

It is important for the African American graduates of the class of 2007 to understand what opportunities their elders helped to achieve for them. The Montgomery bus boycott lasted for more than a year. Sit-ins and demonstrations exposed participants to violence. Yet the elders persevered, and on July 2, 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed. This made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race anywhere in the United States in places of public accommodation, education and employment.

Now, 43 years later, the class of 2007 can take these hard-fought rights for granted. Now, according to a 2006 Census report, 18.5 percent of African Americans 25 years or older have achieved at least a bachelor’s degree. And now, 27 percent of the African American workforce is engaged in “management, professional and related occupations.” This is an increase of 831 percent in the past 56 years.

It would be unwise for young graduates to ignore completely the continued existence of racial discrimination. At the same time, it would be foolish to believe that racial prejudice is as severe a problem today as it was 50 years ago. The best course of action is to take advantage of professional and business opportunities while still supporting programs that confront prejudice.

There is an old style of black leadership which is hopefully on its last legs. Under today’s circumstances, it makes little sense to characterize African Americans generally as victims. Certainly, Deval Patrick and Barack Obama do not fit into that category.

Respect for the sacrifices of the elders does not require that young blacks feign to be civil rights militants. The new challenge is to build political power and black wealth so that this nation can fully benefit from the unique contributions of African Americans.

“I guess this is really
just the beginning.”