By Ben Todd
Arizona Daily Wildcat
January 21, 1998

Escape from 'mental slavery'

To the Editor:

In 1978, Bob Marley released a tune called "Redemption Song" in which he sang the words, "Emancipate yourself from mental slavery / None but ourselves can free our minds." In light of a recent commentary by Eric E. Clingan published in the Wildcat ("Got Racism?," Jan. 14), a discussion held in one of my classes the other day, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, I think Mr. Marley's words are rather appropriate and deserve further consideration.

The most common type of mental slavery throughout the generations is exhibited most aptly in the narrow-mindedness we show towards each other and the world around us. I see this narrow-mindedness occasionally in the behavior of strangers, friends and myself. I also noticed it when I read Mr. Clingan's "Got Racism?" commentary. Mr. Clingan seemed to be asserting the "reverse racism" argument with the faint whimper of "Woe is me" nearly audible in the background. I understand that Clingan may see the comments of a Sports Illustrated writer or the depictions of children in a "Got Milk?" advertisement as an example of so-called "reverse racism" (which, in itself is a pretty bigoted statement, implying that the only genuine racism is perpetrated by whites or Euroamericans); however, he fails to mention the other side of the coin.

Clingan fails to illustrate how racism is a part of the everyday experience of many Americans, of every skin color. Clingan does make a point of asking if the disparity between graduation rates of Euroamerican and African-American athletes can be attributed to "an inherent gap in intelligence levels." This disparity is a tragedy, Mr. Clingan, not a counterpoint to an ignorant comment about physiology and ability made by another reporter.

Recently, a professor in one of my classes read an except from Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, then asked the class, "Are we there yet?" Dr. King said in his speech that his was ". . . a dream deeply rooted in the American dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed - we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

The truth is that we have made strides in race relations in this country.However, race relations have a long way to go. Just the other day, the Wildcat reported that the president of the University of Florida was apologizing to that school's chancellor for publicly calling him an "oreo." Racism has not been erased from the minds and institutions of America.

We have come a long way, but we need to recognize that there are still injustices to be corrected. If we don't rise up from our own, sometimes shallow perspectives and ideologies, we will never truly live out our creed. We will never liberate ourselves from our mental shackles and we will never be free.

Ben Todd
Media Arts and History senior