96. Jahresbericht des Bundes-Realgymnasiums Steyr 1978/79

peopl e. Today 's probl ems , no less drastic, seem more ,dif.fuse. They make for du!! TV. They unify onl y smaller interest groups. In the 50s un:d t he early 60s, Martin Luth er King was the symbol of mass Negro w-1'ification. But a lready before hi s death , th ere were clear sigi1s that the Promi sed Land he saw was not as close as it had once seemed. Legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Ri ghts Act o,f 1965 , and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 had given hope to Jots of Negroes and lots of whites. But when tim e went on and enormous probl ems still remained - a nd then King was shot - what had been hop e for many turned to anger in some. And Black Power a nid a ll rhe things it seermed to mean began to look lik e th e Negro's onl y recourse . The Martin Luther King 111ethod·s no langer seemed to work. Th e government - the white gov ernment - had raised th e hopes of many, many peop1e and not fulfill ed those hopes . The l aws were beau tiful but toothless . K111 g's Nobel Peace Priz;e wa,s flattering bu t alien, abstract, and far away. Th e civil rights mov ement had been deprived of its momen- tu m; in exchange, Neg ro es were given laws that d~d not work we il and sy 111bolic respect they could not pay the rent with. Th e races are becomi ng polarized in A111erica - especially in the citi es. More and more Negroes every -day grow convinced th a t they can only progress by being vio lent or by threatenin g to become so. Th e nonviolent one-s, with little firm ev idence to po-int to a,nymore in support of their position, f111.d themselves steadily lo sin g gro und. White -a ttitud e:s a re ha~dening, too. Th e North ern 1-iberal who was co ntent to speak and vote for integration in th e South - even to march a nd demonstrate for it - often fin:ds it a very diff,erent matter when it is /,,is children's school an,d /,,is n eighborhood that are being integrated . The inte rior o·f p'.ractically e·very major Northern city in th e US is becomin g a black u rban ii sland in a white suburban sea. As Negroes, whith their generally lo,wer incomes a nd educati011 , 611 the cities, whites move out. The ci~ies' tax receipts go down. City services worsen: stree ts -get dirtier, schoo ls more mn-down, police more harri ed. The city becomes a hideou s place to li ve in . Th e black center expands, meetin g eve r-harder white resistance . The big, mode rate American middle i,s dis appear-ing. Alrea:dy, frighteningly many whites a.n!d blacks are convinced tha t racial war is imminent and unavoidable. Same are arming themselves in preparation. Th e separatist thinkin g o,f some Negroes and whites could continue and prevail, eventu,ally polari zin g the entire country - with the grim consequences that would bring. Or Negroes and whit es may realize where their hate, fear, lazi.ness, contempt, a,1d pity are taking them ; with work, they could change t he colli,sion course they are 011 today . 15'