GOP chairman speaks at Colgate regarding racism
Kayla Santoro, '11 Co-Editor in Chief | Jeffrey Costello, '12 Editorial Editor
Issue date: 9/18/09 Section: News
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Steele's speech, titled "Unity and Diversity: Common Ground in the 21st Century," detailed his experiences and challenges as the first black Lt. Governor of Maryland and today as the first GOP chairman.
"Racial lines between black and white America have changed," he told a crowd of about 800 students, faculty, staff, and community members. "They have taken on new textures and hues. Racism today is more subtle and polite."
To compare past racism to the current day, Steele referred to a time when schools and water fountains were segregated. Although this may not be the case today, Steele said he has recently faced racial challenges. In one such occurrence, Steele recalled was during his campaign for Lt. Governor in 2002 when the Baltimore Sun said he "brings nothing to the table but the color of his skin."
Steele was the keynote speaker of Colgate's first Diversity Week, a week that was described by Keenan Grenell, the vice president and dean of diversity, as an opportunity to "recognize diversity initiatives on campus and create additional dialogue aimed at building a more inclusive community at Colgate and beyond." Diversity Week rose in part out of tensions on the campus last November, when racist graffiti was found in a bathroom stall in Alumni Hall.
As chairman of a political party that comprises a strong white majority membership, Steele is often the focus of racist innuendos. But he said "as a Republican, I pay the price." He said he chose to be a Republican when he was 17 years old. He added he has hopes of turning the GOP into "a party that is willing to be better than it has been."
Responding to a student's question about former President Jimmy Carter's accusation that many anti-Obama protesters are simply showing their racism, Steele said he could "appreciate President Carter's comments," he believes "race holds no place in debate." He said bringing race into political debates "muddies the water," and instead of creating a political point, it creates a sideshow. And, he added, if every debate can be reduced to racism, the more overt examples of racism that should cause public outsry are overlooked.
Steele did respond to a question about the town-hall mentality by noting that bringing guns to a town hall meeting when Obama was in attendance is "just plain dumb."
Steele told students that their generation has the ability to embrace diversity in ways other generations couldn't or wouldn't. "Today, your fight to the right at the table of brotherhood is to make sure there is room enough for everyone who wants a seat," he said, adding that the challenge of the younger generation is to appreciate each other for their different backgrounds, ethnicities, and religions to make sitting at that table worthwhile.
Near the end of his speech, Steele quoted Jesse Jackson: "America is like not like a blanket: one piece of unbroken cloth, the same color, the same texture, the same size. America is more like a quilt: many patches, many pieces, many colors, many sizes, all woven and held together by a common thread."