A Point of View

Gwendolyn Grant
President & CEO
Urban League of Greater Kansas City
November 30, 2007

Giving Thanks During Trying Times

Disgraceful circumstances make it difficult to realize that we have a lot to be thankful for.

In a community where:

• The Mayor and his primary constituency believe it is okay for a member of a hate group to serve on a public board;
• The local leadership of a major civil rights organization fails to support the Latino protest of an insensitive appointment;
• The Mayor’s wife continues to volunteer in his office after allegedly calling a black female staffer “Mammy”;
• The ineffectual Superintendent of KCMO Schools is accused by his former Chief of Staff of referring to black school board members as “bitches” and the black school board president apparently acquiesces;

It may seem that we have little to be thankful for.

Despite these unfortunate circumstances we do have some things for which we should be thankful.
Reverend Wallace Hartsfield who is retiring at the end of the year has been the spiritual conscience of this community for decades. For his wisdom and judicious leadership we can be thankful.

Donna Stewart and her staff at the Kansas City Call deserve our thanks. Without their reporting from a racially enlightened perspective, we would be less informed on issues critical to our community. Thanks for their efforts and kudos to Donna for her well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kansas City Association of Black Journalists.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and their leaders, the Reverends Nelson “Fuzzy” Thompson and Sam Mann also deserve thanks. They consistently fight discrimination and never fail to stand in solidarity for the civil rights of all people.

The Jewish Community Relations Bureau, under the leadership of Marvin Szneler, is an organization that realizes that insensitivity toward any racial or ethnic group is a problem for the entire community. Their support of La Raza in the Semler matter is commendable and deserves our thanks.

In difficult times like these when we are witnessing attempts to restructure constitutional principles, dismantle civil rights laws, and undermine democracy right here in our midst [Ward Connerly’s efforts to ban affirmative action], we should be thankful for the selfless service of Steve Israelite who stepped up to serve as the plaintiff in the lawsuit to keep the Connerly initiative off the ballot in Missouri in 2008.

Since the latter half of the 20th Century, African Americans have had to fight with determined activism to rise above social and racial oppression. We should be thankful for those great, courageous leaders who paved the way for us by standing up, showing up, speaking out against exclusionary systems, and speaking up for human rights.

Moreover, when we’re struggling to find the courage to get in the fight, we should be thankful for the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who said: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others.”

When elected officials, public servants, and governmental institutions fail us, we can be thankful for courageous individuals and organizations that will not compromise their principles.

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