News-Record.com

The caller was calm, matter-of-fact and crystal clear in his voice mail pronouncement:
"We have got to stop blacks from stealing money."

He was referring to recent fiscal problems at N.C. A&T.

And he was stating his opinion as an incontrovertible fact, with the same tone he might use in stating that the sky is blue or that the sun rises in the east: Black people are more predisposed to steal than white people.

Even more interesting was that he left his name and number and was happy to talk further.

He was not some anonymous ranter, which we get occasionally. He was a real person with a real name who was willing to be accountable for his views.

So I called him.

When he answered the phone I identified myself and he thanked me for taking the time to follow up. He was pleasant and courteous.

I cut to the chase.

"So, I gathered from your message that you believe black people are likelier to steal than white people?"

"Oh yes, my goodness, without a doubt," he said. "Look at our police department."

Just in case he didn't know, I told him, I'm a black person.

"Oh, I know," he said. "I know all about you. I read you all the time."

Now that we'd gotten that out of the way, I invoked such major scandals as Enron and Tyco, which involved white people stealing and mismanaging money. Really big money.

You're right, he said. White people steal, too. But not as much as black people. They have a natural disposition to steal.

"When you put two of them together you've got problems."

He did not back off his premise but he allowed that there were some good black people. Lots of them. He also praised A&T's role and legacy in the community.

But that fact remained: Black people steal.

As for the police department, he said, "We need to get a white chief that not intimidated by the Greensboro blacks."

He went on to share a little bit about himself. He was a semi-retired businessman and he had spent most of his life in Greensboro.

Throughout our conversation he remained friendly and pleasant.

After about 10 minutes on the phone, in which time neither of us budged from our points of view we hung up and thanked one another for spending the time.

Then I checked my calendar ... for the date and the year. And the century.