Black-on-Black Racism: Part II

Recently, I wrote about the two black kids in S. Carolina that sued their school for racial harassment (here), at the hands of fellow black kids. The school district settled out-of-court for $150,000. In that post, I placed emphasis for the award on the retaliation taken by the school administrators against the family. The school initiated an investigation by DSS (Department of Social Services), as to the fitness of the mother/caretaker of the two girls, and one boy. Said investigation included false claims of beatings and pimping of the girls.

As it turns outs, the uncle who testified (as reported) on behalf of the girls is the ‘boy’ mentioned above. He was a 15 year old student in the same district as the younger girls and was also subjected to verbal and physical abuse by the black kids. The attorney for the family, Lawrence C. Kobrovksy, read my post and sent me the full transcript of the boy’s testimony. Suffice to say, it was heart-wrenching and amazing testimony. The treatment of the family, both by students and administrators, can only be characterized as brutal.

The name-calling and assaults were, without doubt, racism, but the kind that is allowed to remain protected within the black community. The offending black students saw the three black kids as white, and treated them with all the hate one could muster for someone of another color. The label of ‘acting White’, preceded constant threats, assaults, and finally, the attempt to break-up the family by the district. After my reading, the $150,000 settlement seemed a pittance of punishment to the school district.

The boy’s testimony presented a transference of hate for whites and their behaviors, in this S. Carolina community, onto any blacks who are perceived to ‘act White’, by (in his words) pursuing academics, rather than using/selling drugs, getting into trouble with the law, and other 'acceptable' behaviors. He described that there were no whites in the public schools, as they would suffer a similar, but worst, abuse. The boy’s description of his stand against these people and their abuse is compelling.

Inasmuch as the ‘Black Belt’, that concentration of Blacks across southern states, remains intact, the experience of these kids in S. Carolina is probable. Addressing Black racism, be it against whites, or against blacks, needs to come out of the closet. It should be no more acceptable than white-on-black abuse, or vice-versa. This is the only way Blacks can gain a foothold in getting at those of the group left behind in the shadow of advancement.

James C. Collier

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