Race-relations steps

In recent years there have been many grim reminders that racism is very much alive in America. But at the same time other currents are flowing in more hopeful and life-giving directions.

Recently journalists have been soul-searching and evaluating their past conduct with respect to race. In 2018 the National Geographic and the Montgomery Advertiser apologized for their many decades of biased and insensitive coverage of events involving Blacks. In September the Los Angeles Times issued a notable editorial in which it apologized for its racially biased coverage over the years.

The most striking statements have just come from the Kansas City Star, which in a series of stories detailed how it and the Kansas City Times, its longtime sister newspaper, systematically portrayed Blacks in biased, hurtful ways that reinforced segregation. The Star has apologized, pledged to make changes, and vowed to hire a more diverse staff.

Tulsans have long lived with the memory of one of the worst racial atrocities in U.S. history. For over 95 years it was called the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. That was a misleading name. It has now been renamed the Tulsa Race Massacre. In 1921 white citizens burned down the entire Black section of town, murdered 300 or so Blacks, and threw the bodies into mass graves. For many decades this incident was seldom discussed. Tulsans are now openly talking about this horrific event. Mayor G.T. Bynum, a Republican, and many others have been leading the effort to uncover the truth and heal wounds. Their digging to uncover human remains has yielded modest success, and more digging is scheduled. Hopefully, the wonders of DNA analysis can give us some answers.

We mortals are learning that it’s never too late for us to discover and acknowledge the truth and to apologize. The Bible has always told us this. Even though we Americans have taken a step back in race relations in recent years, perhaps we have taken a step and a half forward.

SANDY WYLIE

Bella Vista