Race, Place and Bamberg

Class discussion today was very good. I liked the idea of meeting at Joe's at Clemson's Madren Center. It made the session seem more like a casual coffee shop chat. Perhaps that made people feel a little less timid about talking about JIM CROW and THE SOUTH.

I write those two things in caps because they are huge, loaded names. You can't talk about either without a discussion about racism, segregation, civil rights, class strife, lynching, miscegenation, the Civil War, or other contentious topics. But talk we did and it was a very open, respectful conversation. In fact, I did not detect any unease, awkwardness or hostility. Is it our maturity? I think it is perhaps because we all voluntarily signed up for a class to work with an economically depressed town that is predominantly black. We are obviously not afraid of race. I also think that everyone who signed up for this class is empathetic and has a social conscience.

We had the assignment this week of reading exerpts from two books: "The Mind of the South" and "Race, Place and the Law." In addition to the reading, we each watched "Corridor of Shame" the movie I mentioned in the last post. The point of the assignment was to read and watch analyses of the state of race, place and South Carolina over a period of time. Yeah, things are quite a bit better in terms of race relations and interactions. Yeah, Jim Crow is dead! But the legacy of the oppression remains and creates a fertile ground for the neglect of an entire population of people simply because of their race and socio-economic status. South Carolina in 2008 is a prime example of the problem. Until this is acknowledged and addressed decisively, South Carolina will continue to be known by and be dragged down by its worst schools in polls and status. Plain and simple.

I am a bit overwhelmed at the thought of how little we, as students, can do in the town of Bamberg, SC this semester. The legacy of racism and inequality is a hurdle that only the residents can jump. Assistance is there, but the oppressed towns have the greatest power to make the changes they want to see.