MICHEL MARTIN, host:
Finally, a few words about Womens History Month. It started as International Womens Day, which is today. Well be observing it with conversations that showcase interesting and hopefully unexpected takes on the role woman have played in the life of this country, just as we did with Black History Month, which just ended, and as we plan to do with Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, which comes in May, and Hispanic Heritage and Native American Heritage Months, which come later in the year.
Now, some people wonder why we have these so-called heritage months, and some take it even further to get on retro-racist about it. Black History Month seems to spark an especially egregious outpouring of stupidity. Cotton balls were sprinkled outside an academic building at one Midwestern campus last month. And, of course, you heard about the Compton Cookout on this program, which was on off-campus party held by a fraternity associated with the University of California at San Diego, where the white revelers were encouraged to act out as many racist stereotypes as they could fit in in the course of getting their drink on.
Okay, we get the point. You dont like black folks or assertive women or whoever. You think theyre getting too big for their britches or are, as one student at UC San Diego put it, ungrateful. And he added the N-word for extra spice. Can I just tell you? Its the opposite. It is the speaker of those words who is ungrateful and ignorant.
Too many people who no doubt think of themselves as well-informed are somehow unaware of or indifferent to the contributions of women and people of color to the progress and development of this country, which is why these heritage months exist to begin with. But even more egregious, it seems, is that too many people are willfully unaware, intentionally ignorant, or just refuse to acknowledge the truth. Im reminded of this just about every time we post our blog or open the mail.
One of the reasons Im glad we have a blog is that the rest of the world can now be made aware of the kinds of things reporters - especially reporters of color - have known all along, which is just how many people out there cannot wrap their heads around the idea that people other than propertied white man have contributed anything significant to this country. The Pulitzer Prize-winner Leonard Pitts wrote a column about an exchange he had with a reader who just denied that a Medal of Honor winner who was black had deserved it. Couldn't have happened, this reader insisted, because blacks werent officially assigned to combat positions until years later, which is precisely the point. Just as women are in harms way now, even if they arent assigned such roles, it makes uncommon bravery that much more noteworthy. But this reader didnt want to hear all that. He just preferred to act as if these events never happened. There are all manner of historical deniers out there, of course.
Now, most people dont spent too much time on them or prefer to assign them to the lunatic fringe. And the people who spend a lot of time challenging those views, well, dont we look a little askance at them, too? Dont we kind of smirk and say, well, nobody believes that nonsense that women shouldnt lead, that blacks arent smart, that Latinos and Asians and native people are whatever? But evidently, some people do believe those things. New research shows that parents who've refused to talk about race are really just making a taboo.
Now, Im not naive enough to believe that if you present everybody with the same information theyll come to same conclusions. Thats not the point. But those of us who believe that reality should have some meaning have to speak up. If we dont provide the information, we cannot reasonably argue that people should know it. And if the truth doesnt set you free, well, I dont know what will.
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MARTIN: And thats our program for today. Im Michel Martin, and youve been listening to TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Lets talk more tomorrow.
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