Forty years after the passage of The Civil Rights Act and fifty years after the landmark Brown vs. the Board of Education case, race is still a topical and often controversial issue in America. Alphine Jefferson, professor of history at The College of Wooster, reflects on the movement toward racial equality during the past half-century and offers a candid assessment of Blacks in America today.

Q. What lies at the root of racism?

A. Racism is a multi-faceted issue. It comes out of the heritage of slavery when Africans were taken from that continent and brought to the New World as workers. Prior to the 15^th century, when Portugal went to Africa and started taking Blacks to sell them into slavery, there was no conception of race and racism as we know it today. Human beings have always enslaved other human beings, but what happened in about 1450 is that European nations devised this notion of racial difference, in other words, "Black" and "White", in order to justify the continuation of an economic system that became slavery in the Atlantic system of the New World. I would say that the basis of racism is this differentiation and separation of Blacks and Whites into an inferior group and a superior group to justify the continuous enslavement of Black people in the United States.

Q. Have Black Americans made significant strides in the past 40-50 years?

A. Since 1964 when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights bill into law, Black America has made tremendous strides. Based on the activities of the Civil Rights Movement and the protests, obviously many sectors of American society have opened up. There are no laws on the books promoting segregation. No longer are there signs for colored and white in the South. No longer are certain kinds of restaurants segregated. Blacks can go anywhere and do anything if they have the means to do so. So certainly, Black Americans have made great strides. However, there is a sector of the population, approximately one-third, that is not doing well.

Q. What’s holding that sector of Black America back?

A. This segment of Black America has either been denied access to the educational system or chooses not to participate at the level it should. There is a degree of anti-intellectualism that allows them not to compete in society, not to value education, and not to have the habits and behaviors that are necessary in order to succeed in American society. Certainly we cannot deny the factors of contemporary racism – issues such as racial profiling and the large number of Black males in prison – but the unwillingness to take responsibility for their own lives and their own actions has been problematic. Certain sectors of the Black population have not taken advantage of the opportunities available to them.

Q. What are the consequences of this resistance to education?

A. The anti-intellectualism in the Black community and the failure of some parents to push their children and demand high academic achievement throughout the entire educational process remains a barrier for some families.

There are numbers of Black males, and to some extent females, who do not graduate from high school, which means they cannot go to college and therefore have the educational facility to participate in a society that is becoming more technological, more advanced, and more sophisticated. Most of the jobs in the future are going to require high levels of technological skill, multi-cultural skill, and a certain level of social finesse – I call it social capital. Unless you have that social capital, you will not be able to participate in American society at the highest level.

Q. What is your take on the recent comments by Bill Cosby?

A. Bill Cosby created a firestorm in Black America because as the featured speaker of the NAACP’s annual convention – this one commemorated the 50 years of Brown vs. the Board of Education – he castigated lower class Black America. Basically he said that that population is mired in poverty and ignorance as a result of its own habits and behaviors. He was criticized by some of the leaders in the NAACP because he did not ascribe their situation to racism, and lots of Black Americans think that race is the only factor that creates certain kinds of urban realities. In reality, Bill Cosby mentioned several superficial issues affecting Black America. He said that members of the lower class cannot read or write, and do not have the social wherewithal to function effectively in society. And whereas this is true, I think he missed a very important opportunity to educate people about the values that are necessary in order to succeed. He didn’t speak to why Black Americans don’t succeed on standardized tests at the rates that White Americans do, and this transcends both class and race. It has to do with culture. It has to do with a population tragically focused on quick glory, quick money, and quick fame. We see that through our sports figures and entertainers. A lot of young people grow up thinking that if they have a certain kind of talent, they’ll be able to parlay that talent into immediate fame and immediate money. Their parents are not giving them a consistent message about the value of education, hard work, and delayed and deferred gratification.

Q. What needs to happen to bring the races closer together?

A. I think the races are together in significant ways, particularly through popular culture. Young, White, suburban males consume most rap music, most hip-hop clothing, and have even adapted the language and lingo and the behavior and mannerisms of urban Black males. So in some instances, I think the races are very much together. What is interesting is that despite all the positive legislation, Blacks and Whites continue to live separately, and I think this is the most important issue. As long as people live in segregated communities, there will not be the kinds of association necessary for those two groups to share and to benefit from all that America has to offer.

Q. What do you see for the future of race relations and racial equality in America?

A. Certainly racism remains, but one of the beautiful factors of American society is it is an open society where people who work hard, people who are diligent, people who are determined can succeed. We see this year after year after year in a variety of people. In not using racism as an excuse, my advice to Black America would be for each parent, each family to gather its own family members around and to assume responsibility for people in their immediate family and their extended family. Those who have an education, those who have progressed, those who have moved into the middle class have a responsibility to lift other people in their society, in their groups, in their families into a better situation. We cannot simply move to the suburbs, which is a major trend in Black America, and forget about the inner city. It is absolutely essential that those who have made it see it as their responsibility to contribute to the larger Black community and to help to address some of the problems in that community because if we do not help our brothers and our sisters, we ourselves remain at risk.