Is there a racist behind every bush and under every rock?
I personally don’t think so.
South Dakota is a state filled with loving, accepting people. That may be true, but I got a lesson in racism recently as I listened to a couple friends share their perspective on the subject. While I still believe that racism isn’t rampant in my home state, there may be more of it than my naivety would have suspected.
This email from my friend Jody Severson followed our discussion over breakfast. It may surprise you as much as it did me.
I can remember being taught racism in Trinity Lutheran Church Sunday School in Madison SD in the 1950s. I would have been in about third grade. I vividly remember the teacher explaining that it’s as though God were baking cookies and left some of them in the oven too long and that’s why they turned black. And, of course, black/ burned cookies are not as good. So we should feel sorry for them (since they’re obviously inferior).
As a freshman at Dakota State in 1967, I was one of about three guys who organized a little fund raising drive to fund a scholarship to bring the first African American student to DSU (then called General Beadle State College). We had a kid in mind, an all-american smart kid, good jock, son of a teacher at the nearby Flandreau Indian School. So I went around town asking for money. A few of the town’s pastors told me that they didn’t want to get involved because it was too controversial.
The head of the English Department (my major) called me in to explain that I didn’t know what I was doing and should quit it because he had moved to South Dakota from New York to get away from those people. I told him I would continue.
Then the Dean of Men called me in to explain that the school wasn’t prejudiced against blacks, it’s just that they’d never had a qualified applicant, so would I please quit stirring this up. (No qualified applicants is, of course, a pretty common ruse when people are trying to explain why their team is lily white). I demurred.
Then the president of the college (who was a temp at the moment) called me in to repeat all of that and suggested that I might perhaps be happier at a different institution. I can take a hint.
A year or so later I was working in the news department at KSOO-TV when news came across the wire that MLK had been assassinated. I tore off the dispatch and gave it to our janitor (a black guy). He leaned against his broom and wept. A day later I expressed my sympathy to the other janitor, also black. He told me that he would much rather be back in Mississippi, because at least there you know where you stand, people are right up front about it, whereas up here in Sioux Falls, they’re still as racist, they still avoid you, they still won’t say hi or nod to you when passing in the street (the way strangers do to each other in SD towns), they won’t hire you, they won’t talk to you, they treat you bad, it’s just there and they try to hide it, they try to pretend they’re not racist. He thought that was worse.
Racism has its roots in hatred. There should be no room for it anywhere in South Dakota… or America. What can each of us do to stop it? First, admit that it does exist. It is not exclusive to whites. Racism finds a home in every race and culture. Tolerating racism serves to perpetuate it. If INTOLERENCE is ever appropriate, this would be the place. Walls come down and racism disappears when we genuinely love our fellow man.
The church I attend is multi-cultural. I think it is the best example of brotherly love I have seen. People from every race and culture come together to worship and fellowship. You should visit sometime to see how it feels when racism is not part of the agenda. Faith Temple Church of God in Christ in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Some people are making a difference and working to END racism!
***Gordon Howie is an author and CEO of Life and Liberty Media***
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I live in Rapid City SD, I am a Christian. I think the Christian beliefs are only practiced in the Church on Sundays. I thinks the more rasist’s sit in the front row and sing the loudest. Then thru the week back to the same old attitude, I think if you came to Rapid City and had private conversations with local white citizens, you could be appalled how bad it really is. Maybe you can start with the Mayor, then to the average citizen.
There are obviously some racists in every community. It is also true that some are in church. I don’t know what church you go to, but mine isn’t like the one you describe. You would be welcome. Come visit Faith Temple Church in Rapid City. You may be pleasantly surprised.