SICA mess shows race remains divisive issue
March 6, 2005
BY CAROL SLEZAK SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
She is only one person. She cannot possibly speak for an entire school district, let alone an entire community. But how many people does she speak for? That's what I'm wondering. And, unfortunately, I think she speaks for a lot of us.
I never paid much attention to the South Inter-Conference Association before last week, when a racially charged phone recording from the home phone of a Lincoln-Way school-board member was left with the Sun-Times. Given that Lincoln-Way Central and East are two of 11 schools that are planning to leave SICA to form their own athletic conference, and given that the proposed alignment appears to segregate schools according to race and economics, the phone message was a big deal.
Transcript says it all
In case you missed the message when it was printed Tuesday in the Sun-Times, here it is:
"Today you can't -- you can't -- do that anymore because, you know, we're so sick of it. You know, all the Caucasian people. How much more?
"I look at all the housing that came down from the city and how they set up these beautiful town houses in Richton [Park] and in all Sauk Village. You know, they cost about $150,000 to build, and these people move in and have to pay a lousy $50 to live in them, per month, and don't even pay and ruin 'em, burn 'em out.
"And it's just a process that how many years is this going to take, to the point where give them all a free education so we can get them all off welfare and get them into jobs because it's getting to the point where I'm tired of the welfare, tired of the mentality that 'poor blackie' because let's give them a job so they can be supporting themselves and, be, make them work. You know, forget this 'I want to be a bum' type of thing.
'A forever problem'
"I think it's a forever problem in this country. You know, it's never going to go away in this area here. It's part of ... I watched the neighborhoods all change. The schools that used to be good, like Rich Central, Rich East and Rich South, are all failing schools. Why are they failing? Because of what's in 'em.
"One of the teachers right down the street said he couldn't wait to get the heck out from 30 years ago when he started teaching, when it was just the normal kid. I mean, it's a zoo.''
Board member resigns
The speaker apparently had called a Sun-Times reporter and did not hang up after reaching voice mail. Instead, she continued a conversation she was having. Caller ID indicated the call came from the home of board member Maureen Jagmin, who denied making the call but resigned from the board under pressure Thursday.
Now what? Can we simply put the speakers' words behind us? Can we attribute them to a single misguided soul and move forward? After all, the Lincoln-Way board has apologized to the Rich schools.
And the schools that want to split from SICA say their intentions are good. They simply want their sons and daughters to have the best education possible, including extracurricular activities such as sports. They think the new alignment makes sense for them.
New segregation?
Although the schools that want to split from SICA happen to be overwhelmingly white, they say it's not their intent to segregate. They merely want their students to be able to play sports against schools that are most similar to them. Isn't that their prerogative?
Legally, maybe not. Attorney General Lisa Madigan reportedly has her eye on the situation. But legalities aside, is such a plan morally defensible? If you thought the plan was OK before you heard about the message that was left with the Sun-Times, can you still justify feeling that way?
When I hear the term "poor blackie'' or hear a mostly black school described as a "zoo,'' I hear ignorance and a good dose of hatred, as well. Increased segregation only can lead to more of this kind of thinking. How can this plan be a good thing?
Regressing, not progressing
A half-century after the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education outlawed racial segregation in public schools, it feels like we're going backward. Our communities remain separate, and racial prejudices and stereotypes remain strong.
The woman who made that phone call said a lot of hurtful things. But at least we know how she really feels. Typically, racism is more subtle. Realignment, for instance.
If there is a lesson to be learned from the SICA 11, I'm afraid it's a negative one. Those of us who like to think of sports as the great equalizer are fooling ourselves.
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