Reaching for Martin Luther King's dream
My newspaper column
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character," the Rev. Martin Luther King told a huge crowd in Washington back in 1963.
I heard and read that quote from his famous "I Have a Dream" speech several times last Monday, as the news media covered the national holiday celebrating his birth.
As we look forward to February and Black History Month, I'll repeat what others said in this paper and other places last week: We still have a ways to go to fulfill King's dream.
I admit that I'm still stunned that, in the seventh year of the 21st century, I routinely receive letters complaining that we publish too many photographs of African Americans, a claim that I suspect will make our black readers smile in disbelief.
For the record, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 36 percent of the people living in Guilford County are not white. In Greensboro, the percentage of minorities is even higher.
We have not surveyed the skin colors of the local people in our photographs, but I dare say the number falls short of reflecting the demographic breakdown in the city or county. Regardless, I've not yet gotten a handle on how many is "too many."
Every once in a while, I write about our initiatives to diversify our predominantly white news staff or about our summer journalism workshop aimed at attracting minorities to the newspaper business. Some readers take issue, saying that we are giving preferential treatment to minorities.
In fact, we must do a better job of diversifying our staff. Twelve percent of our news staff is minority. It doesn't come close to the demographics of the county.
Last month’s op-ed column by Dennis Quaintance, CEO of Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels, sums up his reasoning and ours. "Being proactive with diversity and inclusion holds huge competitive advantages, and it is still the 'right thing to do.'"
Guilford County has a wide span of cultures, nationalities, ages and races. This diversity contributes to the health, vitality and specialness of this community. A newspaper's responsibility is to make sure these groups -- all groups -- are accurately and appropriately represented in its pages over the course of time.
Having a diverse staff plays a crucial part in our fulfilling that responsibility. Our community -- and our readers -- aren't all the same age, gender or race; our staff shouldn’t be, either.
If you need a visual picture of that diversity, turn to the Life section where we begin a series today on the county's mix of cultures. In the series, staff writer Tina Firesheets writes about some of the dozens of immigrant groups in Guilford County. As I read today's story, I discovered a great deal about my neighbors I didn't know. I suspect many readers will have the same experience.
But it's not just photographs and staff diversity that raise questions in some minds. Readers will often suggest we not publish news stories about contentious race-related events. In the past year, I've been told that stories about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission meetings, the Greensboro Sit-Ins, the firing of the Guilford County manager, and the Wilmington race riot in 1898 were better left untold. The visibility exacerbates racial tensions, they said.
I don't think it does, but even if I did, that wouldn't matter. We write about these issues because we believe they are newsworthy. Write about them or not, they won't go away, of course. People just would be less aware of the world around them.
Informing the community about the issues of the day -- including issues that make people feel uncomfortable -- is part of what newspapers do.
In February, we plan to write about the local events and significance of Black History Month. Right now, we're asking readers for photographs chronicling black history in our community.
I suspect that we will get letters wondering why there is no "white history month," a question that is more rhetorical than real. If they will inspire discussions about King's "dream," I hope that we do.
Comments (11)
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I don't think you publish enough pictures. John Hammer has more pictures in his weekly paper of local events than you do (my perception). Black or White, people like seeing themselves.
I am drawn to read articles that use photographs first.
Posted on January 21, 2007 12:53 PM
You could be right, Don.
On the column topic, almost as affirmation, I got this e-mail this morning:
"Mr. Robinson:
"I couldn't help but smile as I read how proud you are of how well The News & Record represents Greensboro and Guilford County. If you're so sure of yourself, why don't you put it to a test? I propose that you find a way to include a brief satisfaction survey with the paper. Nothing special, just "would you opt to read another local paper if you had the chance?" I think you'll be surprised to see what 64% of the local population really thinks.
"I'd say more, but I'm sure you're working on an importatnt story about Bennett College, AT&T, the Communist Workers Party or James Hinson.
"Screw You."
Posted on January 21, 2007 1:22 PM
What you might have added:
"Although we have not surveyed the skin colors of the local people in our photographs, I am aware that some newspapers do. One large chain even holds hold an annual contest to count the number of times that each paper in the chain quotes a minority source or features a minority in a photograph. You may have read about that practice and thought that we do it too. We don't."
Posted on January 22, 2007 5:25 PM
I think the problem is that you believe something immutable such as a person's skin color will effect their perspective, while something much more active and conscious, i.e., what a person believes in- their political leanings- will not.
This makes absolutely no sense. How about some diversity of thought if that's what you're going after? Otherwise, it shouldn't matter what skin color somebody is if you aren't interested in perspectives, but only good writing.
"Having a diverse staff plays a crucial part in our fulfilling that responsibility. Our community -- and our readers -- aren't all the same age, gender or race; our staff shouldn’t be, either."
How about diverse politically? A person's politics because they are part of a person's value system is much more likely to effect their perspective than their skin color. Yet, that doesn't seem to be the kind of diversity you are interested in.
Think about it, John. A newsperson isn't supposed to inject their own beliefs into a story, but yet one of your justifications for "diversity" is some belief that for example, a black reporter might inject their "blackness" into a story. How is that justified and not injecting some bias into a story based on one's own life and values? If you are looking for neutral news, then color shouldn't make any difference.
By the same token, why do you think a black person would bring a black perspective to news, but a liberal person (which is again an actual BELIEF system) won't inject liberalism into the news? I mean, you can be a black person and have a conservative view that is completely different from a black person who has a liberal view, in which case, the belief system- not the color, is more likely to affect your writing. Is that good or bad?
Do you want neutral news or want some kind of subjective perspective? And if the latter is true, why not insist on diversity of political thought among your staff as that is more likely to affect how they write than passive traits like age, sex and race?
Really, do you honestly believe that people inject their sex, race, and age into stories, but not their political beliefs? That they can turn off their core values to write a story, but not passive traits? If you have a male Democrat and a female Democrat writing the same story, do you think you are more likely to get a male perspective, a female perspective, or a Democrat perspective out of both? Similarly, if you have a female Democrat and a female Republican, do you think you will get the same story because both are females- or a different story because of political differences? I would suggest the latter is far more likely, thereby nullifying the argument that sex related influences outweigh political influences. The same applies to race.
You can't have it both ways and still make any sense or be consistent.
Posted on January 22, 2007 7:08 PM
Look, Samuel, a newspaper can't run stories by STUPID people just because so many of its readers are STUPID, know what I mean?
Posted on January 23, 2007 9:02 AM
When I was editor of my college newspaper, Central Michigan Life, a group of African American students staged a protest against the paper for coverage of a murder case in which 9 college football team members were indicted for murder by a grand jury that deliberated for a year. They beat a guy to death outside of a bar and all but one of them received jail time...
The protesters were mostly friends of the ac cussed, who were all black in a town that's 95 percent white.
Because some of the players had graduated, the process of arresting and arraigning them after the indictment came down took weeks. The story just played on and on beyond our control.
They claimed we never ran positive news about minorities. I went into our archives and dug out 100 such positive stories, many of which ran on Page A1. They were surprised, but that's not was surprised me. After I wrote a column about it, I got all sorts of e-mails and calls from readers (ranging from students to janitors to even a few administrators) saying we over covered minorities to the point of pandering.
As an editor, you can't win on this subject. Just keep doing a great job.
-Chad Livengood
Jackson Citizen Patriot
Posted on January 23, 2007 3:20 PM
Sam, we continue to have this discussion. A couple thoughts:
* A person's politics and a person's race are not equivalent.
* We do seek diversity of thought, and I think we get it.
* How do you know that we don't have diversity of political interests? I believe we do.
* I do not believe people "inject" age, race and sex into stories. I believe those immutable characteristics bring different perspectives to their coverage and their outlook on life. Politics is learned; the others come with birth.
* I don't believe that political view doesn't affect coverage. I believe that we make all the attempts we can to be detached from it.
Posted on January 23, 2007 8:53 PM
"* A person's politics and a person's race are not equivalent. " Right, but how is either relevant to a newspaper?
"* We do seek diversity of thought, and I think we get it." So I assume you are referring to the opinion pages and not the news pages. If I am wrong, have you polled your news people on their political leanings to ensure that you are getting diversity of thought? Didn't think so.
"* How do you know that we don't have diversity of political interests? I believe we do." Well, then in the interest of openness, why don't you reveal the political interests at your paper? You don't have to reveal names, but nothing prevents you from releasing numbers unless you have something to hide.
"* I do not believe people "inject" age, race and sex into stories. I believe those immutable characteristics bring different perspectives to their coverage and their outlook on life. Politics is learned; the others come with birth." Just how do those immutable translate into a different perspective and why would they translate into a different perspective but a person's system of values which is an ACTIVE process as opposed to an INACTIVE trait such as race not translate into a different perspective. I.E., how is it that you believe a person who is black will have a "black" perspective solely because they are black, but a Democrat won't have a Democratic perspective? Don't black people have different views based on their own values, and doesn't that show that it is the values more than the race that dictate perspective? Are you claiming all black people are alike? If not, isn't the difference then something other than race?
"* I don't believe that political view doesn't affect coverage. I believe that we make all the attempts we can to be detached from it." But what about those cases when it doesn't? Doesn't ensuring ideological diversity provide balance when/if there is a slip?
The problem the media has is the same as colleges have- they want all diversity except for conservatives. Does your quest for diversity extend to religion? If so, how do you explain that when religion is clearly a value system? Is there a reason to hire someone on that basis when the goal would seemingly be to bring their perspective- a values system- to the paper? It sounds like you are saying that people can't turn off any of their racial, ethnic, religious or gender traits and that's a good thing, but for some odd reason, they have no problem putting their politics on the shelf. That makes no logical or common sense.
Just look at all the white guys who have completely different perspectives from other white guys, with the key difference being politics. It isn't their "whiteness" that speaks out, but their politics. Why is this different for non-whites, women and religious groups?
I'm being serious here, John. It really does not make logical sense in any way that can be explained or documented. I think this is an interesting topic for discussion because it does require a lot of thought and logical and scientific analysis.
Posted on January 23, 2007 10:36 PM
Thanks, Sam. I will have to answer this in segments. It may be that the bulk of our disagreement lies in the first bullet. From everything that I understand, your race has everything to do with how you view the world. (It would be nice for an African American to weigh in.) I don't believe that your political leanings do.
Posted on January 25, 2007 1:21 PM
"your race has everything to do with how you view the world. (It would be nice for an African American to weigh in.) I don't believe that your political leanings do." John, I appreciate your answer, but have you re-read this statement? You really don't believe a person's politics has anything to do with how they view the world? That is the essence in the difference between ideologies. It is what elections are founded on. It is what motivates people to take action. It is the fabric of history.
I would be very surprised if you could find anyone who agrees with that statement, especially in a news room.
Posted on January 26, 2007 8:03 PM
Sam, I said a person's race has everything to do with how they view the world. My meaning of the second part of that comment was not that a person's politics had nothing to do with it, but that it wasn't the dominant prism through which they look. (And, to be clear, I was using the universal "you" not you personally.)
I know that some people view everything through their political leanings. I read the letters to the editor. But I don't believe that most people do.
Posted on January 27, 2007 10:40 AM