Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss

In the election for mayor of Birmingham, the masses have spoken. Proving yet again that the Proletariat cannot often be trusted to act in its own best interest, it has embraced the politics of division rather than unity. With a whopping twenty-four percent of registered voters even bothering to show up at the polls, Larry Langford, whose previous stops in public service have resulted in increased taxation and accounting nightmares, was elected mayor of the city of Birmingham yesterday. I wish I could say that I was surprised, but I am not.

Birmingham citizens have proven themselves over the years incapable of making good decisions in whom they elect to office. Regrettably, it has always been this way. This was true when whites were in power, determined to fight a battle destined to fail, desperately holding to the notion of segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever. It is, sadly, true now that blacks have taken control. For the past twenty-five years, Birmingham has had a majority African-American population, which has, up to this point, stubbornly refused to work hand-in-hand with whites to build the city back to its former stature.

Birmingham has elected representatives who don't ever hesitate to dredge up painful memories and do not shy to use these memories to pad their own political nests. If ever called out and asked to provide a list of positive accomplishments made for the betterment of the city during their tenure, these elected representatives instead trot out images of fire dogs attacking demonstrators, church bombings, and fire hoses being turned on demonstrators. It's the Late Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Century example of waving the bloody shirt

If Birmingham residents and Birmingham politicians were truly serious about putting aside our troubled past, they would not have reacted this way--the way they have reacted for years. If they were serious about change, they would not have settled for a succession of exploitive demagogues of which the new mayor is merely the latest in a long line. Poor old Birmingham. The proposed building of a domed stadium to attract a high-caliber sports team will not redeem thirty-years of bad leadership. Nor will it succeed in its purpose. It will be, instead, another government boondoggle. I need not remind you, readership, that there are no panaceas in politics, nor in life.

Cities which have embraced racial unity have prospered. Cities, like Birmingham, which have clung to the same divisive, venomous rhetoric have failed. Langford's campaign could serve as an excellent study in how easy it was to manipulate the anger, envy, and resentment of Birmingham's black population. How easy it was, indeed, to channel hostility against the affluent, majority white suburbs that exist Over the Mountain. Langford won, despite proposing few concrete pledges and holding fast to a vague notion of change, exemplified perfectly in his slogan of "Let's Do Something."

In response, I say, Do something? How? Where? When?

What most infuriates me is that Rovian tactics (naturally, no one would ever characterize them as such) of division, racism, and fear succeeded again. Never underestimate the power of ignorance in a political setting, my friends. It has been proven yet again that political substance can be trumped by racial intolerance every time. Every.single. time. Racial conflict leaves Birmingham farther and farther behind. Birmingham's black residents can continue to gnash their teeth and cast dispersions of resentful ire upon whites and white wealth, or they can come together in a spirit of mutual financial interest, becoming successful capitalists in the process. They can hold fast to their prejudices, or they can lay them aside for a win-win situation that would benefit everyone.

It is true that white flight took a toil on Birmingham. It is true that beginning in the late 1960s, white money and white influence flowed away from the city center out to the former countryside, which was transformed into subdivisions, and now looks like any other conglomerate of faceless lily-white suburbs. It is, however, a gross oversimplification to suggest that this mass migration was motived simply out of racism or a racist desire for maximum self-determination without minority influence.

The other side of the coin, which few want to contemplate, is that newly empowered African-Americans were loathe to work together with their white brothers and sisters for the betterment of the city. Why should this come as any great shock? The Civil Rights Movement taught us that people are people, regardless of skin color. I doubt any ethnic group has any less or any more indebtedness to human nature. Such feelings were only natural, but they were still wrong.

Out of frustration, white leaders left the bargaining table, and Birmingham has never been the same.

Apologists for the African-American community can state their case to whichever degree they wish, but that doesn't change the fact that Birmingham has never moved forward, swallowed its pride, and made a commitment towards making Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's dream a reality. Instead, city after city in the Deep South have taken Dr. King's words to heart and in doing so moved well past Birmingham. Believe it or not, Atlanta and Birmingham were the same size after World War II. Now Atlanta has five million people, continues to grow by leaps and bounds, has a large degree of national recognition, and is home to the busiest airport in the country.

Atlanta became the capital of the New South because both races worked together, not at cross-purposes. Atlanta realized early on that capitalism is a much more potent and profitable -ism than racism. I've heard every argument proposed by the Apologists and may very well hear another batch of them for having the gall to post on this topic. In my defense, let me state that moving forward requires neither looking back in anger, nor falling prey to the same tactics when previously employed, kept a group in shackles. If it be so difficult a task, then why have Atlanta, Memphis, and Jacksonville managed to accomplish it?

Before I lived in Atlanta, I used to believe that racial tensions and the inevitable divisive politics which were derived from them were the same everywhere: in every state, in every region of the country, and in every city. After spending nearly a year in Atlanta, a year in which I saw a spirit of mutual tolerance and respect amongst all races, I now know that it doesn't have to be this way. Birmingham politics, with a new Langford spin, will likely continue a long tradition of blaming Whitey, playing racially-motivated Robin Hood taxation games, and falling farther and farther behind the rest of the South. Birmingham will increasingly grow less and less relevant, more crime ridden, more poverty-stricken, and its people will scratch their heads and wonder why.

Birmingham residents, you have only yourselves to blame.