From White Anti-Racism to Modern Day “Slave Owner”: Maria Gitin’s New Book and Donald Sterling’s Racism
In this interview Eric speaks with Maria Gitin about her new book This Bright Light of Ours: Stories from the Voting Rights Fight . Then Eric will comment and take call-ins on LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s outing as a racist.
In her book This Bright Light of Ours: Stories from the Voting Rights Fight Maria Gitin gives a first-hand report of the ’60s Southern voting rights movement, and the untold or neglected history of the civil rights movement struggle, in not so well known parts of the south.
Needless to say, the civil right gains are results of hard working committed groups and individuals who risked their lives in very real ways to bring about social justice. Yet still, the idea and notion that racism is over in the U.S. or that we are living in a post-racist era has been time and time again shown to be completely naive and wrong. The current controversy concerning closet racist or not so closet racist, and capitalist powerhouse Donald sterling, has once again brought the issue of racism to the forefront of the mainstream media. On one hand, some people seems surprised, while others-mainly people of color, on a daily basis are well aware of the insidious nature of subtle, covert, and blatant racism.
Sterling’s racial attitude and behavior is reminiscent of the attitudes and behaviors of the plantation south, which has never really gone away, but has instead cloaked itself in cleaver ways, and is part of a larger counter-revolutionary effort to undo or undermine the civil rights gained from years of sacrifice and struggle.
Aired on April 29 , 2014