We must not forget shortcomings

OK, folks, it’s time to pick up a hot topic, one no one is comfortable talking about.

Let’s talk about race.

Not racism, though that’s a worthy topic in itself.

Today, let’s just talk about race and how it factors into our Jay County community and our history.

Uncomfortable yet? I thought so.

When I grew up, divisions of racial lines in the county were nearly as much based upon social class as they were on race itself.

The county’s African-American community was never very large. Much of its history related to the railroads.

At its high point, it probably amounted to a few hundred people. Dunkirk had black-owned businesses. Portland had an African-Episcopal Methodist Church. Its historic site is now a parking lot beside Jay Community Center.

In both Portland and Dunkirk, it seems safe to say that the things that brought us together as a community outweighed any potential racial divisions. Most of the time.

Most of the time we were neighbors. But there always seemed to be an ugly undercurrent. Nasty jokes would circulate at drugstores and coffee shops. The N word would scar the landscape on a routine basis.

And the social class divisions only underlined all that.

Jay County’s African-American population could be custodians and housekeepers. They might even work next to white employees at a local factory. But they weren’t going to be accepted as doctors or lawyers or bankers or, for that matter, as newspaper reporters.

The county’s Jewish population had it a little easier. Albert Abromson, a Jew, served as mayor of Portland. The Weiler family flourished in retail. And Leo Glogas is probably the best-loved merchant in Dunkirk’s history.

Just the same, the age-old prejudices lived on. Want a better price? “Jew him down.” I find it hard to imagine the times Leo had to bite his tongue when encountering that crap.

It’s a sad and sordid history of who we are.

When Liber College proposed accepting an African-American student in the wake of the Civil War, a group split off to form the “Farmers Academy” in Portland so that white students wouldn’t have to attend classes with black students.

Again, it’s nothing to be proud of.

We are not alone in this.

What’s important is that we not forget it.

As a community, if we acknowledge those shortcomings, shake our heads about the prejudices of prior generations, and find a way to move on, that’s what matters.

And by “move on,” I don’t mean forget.

There’s nothing to be gained by forgetting. Do that and you won’t learn anything.

Recognize the inequities in our community’s past. Honor those whose lives were shortchanged. And use that history as a reminder that we can grow and evolve.

Race is a complication in American history. But that complication doesn’t need to move automatically into the realm of racism.

It’s possible to talk about race in our history without resurrecting the old bones of bigotry.

And that’s what I hope I’ve done today.