Ward Connerly - Confused and Unconscious Negro
By Bro. Mosi Hoj
The Information Man

I have been paying attention to Ward Connerly ever since he started his campaign for proposition 209 in the state of California. On Sunday evening, while listening to Mr. Connerly on 60 Minutes, I became disturbed at the impact of his presence on the American scene. Many of my readers know that I publish "Today in Black History" facts daily (The Munirah Chronicle). It is obvious to me that Mr. Connerly is not a student of Black history. I normally use the term African American, but Mr. Connerly stated that he is not African and has no plans to go to Africa, and is simply an American -- reiterating that all men are created equal (referring to the words of America's founding fathers when they wrote the Declaration of Independence).

I also believe that all men are created equal, but the history of free people of African descent in this country, is that state and federal jurisdictions have treated us much less than equal (except for Mr. Connerly). Ward does not see himself as African American, but he IS an American of African Descent, no matter who he tries to surround himself with, in his personal and public life.

I listened to the chronology of his life after he went to college. Like Ward Connerly, I went to an all-white college and joined an all-white fraternity. Also like Connerly, after graduation, I went into a work world devoid of black faces, mostly white folks. But unlike Ward Connerly, I grew up in segregated Virginia, not central California. I worked in white corporations that did not treat blacks as equal Americans. They made it perfectly clear that blacks would do okay, as long as they played the game the way white people wanted it played. One other thing became apparent to me -- if there are small numbers of black people in contention for jobs and/or career path opportunities, white people are less intimidated by the presence of blacks. However, if there are large numbers of black workers, it is predictable that the power structure moves to restrict the number of opportunities that are given to persons of African descent.

As I listened to Mr. Connerly expound on his honest belief that all Americans are treated equal, I wondered if he knew how many times the federal government has had to pass "civil rights" legislation since the fourteenth amendment of the U.S. Constitution has been ratified. Does he realize that we "equal" Americans have to be concerned about the up-coming vote on the Voter's Right Act in 2007, to ensure that the opportunity to vote for all people in this country is not compromised. The fact of the matter is, that Mr. Connerly is a "confused and unconscious Negro." He does not share anything in common with mainstream black America, except the color of his skin.

Like his ancestor, the "house Negro", he believes that everything is all right and can't understand why the "field Negroes" are complaining about their plight. But don't underestimate today's "house Negro" or Ward Connerly. Mr. Connerly is making it his business to campaign around the country in an effort to eliminate Affirmative Action in at least five states. The reason he was successful in California, was that African Americans and others did not take him serious, and did not get out the vote in support of proposition 209's defeat. Now that opponents of Affirmative Action have seen the success in California,> they are moving in many states to accomplish the same results, and have adopted Ward Connerly as their "poster boy."

All African Americans and other persons of color in the remaining 49 states within the United States, need to take the Ward Connerlys of the world seriously enough to campaign in their jurisdictions to preserve Affirmative Action. We cannot be apathetic about the ability of skilled conservative politicians to capitalize on the actions of Ward Connerly.

Remember, the female atheist that was successful in removing prayer from public schools, accomplished that feat with only $ 10,000 in support funds, because most people DID NOT take her seriously. Once she got prayer out of the schools, larger movements and many more dollars have not been able to reverse those results. Similarily, once Affirmative Action programs are purged in a given jurisdiction, they may be impossible to reinstitute.

The African American Hall of Shame can now add Ward Connerly to the roles, right behind Clarence Thomas.

Copyright 1998, Information Man, Inc.