This week, U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul and TV reporter/commentator John Stossel made news by advocating against two significant aspects of civil rights law. The first of those aspects is the public accommodations section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. They agree with the act where it prohibits discrimination in public places, however, they disagree with the application of that prohibition to private businesses. They believe that private businesses should have the right to not do business with anyone they don't want to do business with, and that to force them to do so violates their 1st Amendment right. Paul has since backtracked on this to a degree, but from his earlier writings and speeches, one might consider his backtracking more of a political maneuver than an expression of belief. The other aspect with which they disagree is the Fair Housing Act (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968), which guarantees all people the right to buy or rent a home wherever they choose. They believe an individual should be able to refuse to sell or rent their home to someone based on race. Their positions disturb me on both philosophical and personal grounds.
Philosophically, I believe that the right of the individual to pursue happiness (one of the "unalienable rights" listed in our Declaration of Independence) and to express his/her 1st Amendment rights by shopping in the place of his/her choice or renting/purchasing the home of his/her choice supersedes the private property rights of individuals or businesses. If there is a free market, the government should keep it free and protect an individual's first amendment right to participate in that market, regardless of race.
Personally, I wasn't born yet when my parents were evicted from their apartment in Baltimore after the landlord found out they were Jewish. I can't imagine how my father must have felt, since he had not been home that long from serving in N. Africa and France in WWII, fighting against a nation that not only declared war against the United States, but also had slaughtered our family in Poland because they were Jewish. I was around, however, in the early '60s when we moved to Danville, VA, and were not allowed to move to "restricted" neighborhoods or be the guests of friends at their private swimming clubs. I also saw how legal discrimination was handed down from generation to generation as hatred. I didn't know what to think the first time I saw elementary school children chasing other kids in their class, throwing stones at them, and calling them "dirty Jews." I still don't know what to think. Of course, what we put up with was nothing compared to the struggle waged by Blacks in the town proud to call itself "the last capital of the confederacy." I still remember the black and white entrances and water fountains in the movie theaters, and the daily reports of the previous days' demonstrations.
As they defend a business's right to discriminate, Mr. Paul and Mr. Stossel are very quick to point out that they can't abide discrimination themselves. Their protestations are as hollow as someone saying, "Nothing personal," right after they punch you in the face.
Philosophically, I think they are wrong. Personally, I feel threatened.
For those of you too young to remember the days of legal discrimination and institutionalized hatred that existed prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, I leave you with the lyrics to my song, Danville, which recalls my days in that town from 1960-1963. I hope your children and grandchildren don't grow up with memories like these, regardless of Mr. Stossel's and Dr. Paul's intentions.
Danville
In the final summer of Eisenhower
as descendants of slaves marched for the power
to sit next to me in a restaurant
and expect to be asked, "What do you want"
My daddy joined a growing club across the nation
White men who owned a colored radio station
He said it would make money and put food in our mouths
So we packed our bags and headed south
To Danville (look away)
Danville (look away)
Such a cold and bitter town
Danville (look away)
Danville (look away)
Should have burned it down
Our arrival was greeted by the local news
Who warned of the onslaught of carpet-bagging Jews
Here’s the number to call to cancel your ad
Here’s their home address, please don’t do anything bad
Just a short drive from the Yanceyville hanging tree
Such a strange cruel place for my brother and me
We’d never known children who’d been raised to hate
We’d never seen eyes so resigned to their fate
Till Danville (look away)
Danville (look away)
Such a cold and bitter town
Danville (look away)
Danville (look away)
Should have burned it down
Cruising down Main Street on a day so fine
Tranquility shattered by a chill down my spine
Hundreds of black voices filling the air
Singing for freedom on the courthouse stair
It was their right, the Constitution poses
But the lawmen came with fire hoses
Reminding the niggras of the hand they’d been dealt
Washing them before a judge with a gun on his belt
In Danville (look away)
Danville (look away)
Such a cold and bitter town
Danville (look away)
Danville (look away)
Should have burned it down
In just three long years enough money and more
was made so we could move back to Baltimore
But I’ve never forgotten that hate-filled place
or remembered a day there with a smile on my face
After 38 years I gave in to the pull
and returned to the Confederacy’s last capital
The museum, so proud of their shameful history
Still flies the stainless banner of bigotry
In Danville (look away)
Danville (look away)
Such a cold and bitter town
Danville (look away)
Danville (look away)
Should have burned it down
Danville (look away)
Danville (look away)
Such a cold and bitter town
Danville (look away)
Danville (look away)
Should have burned it down