Yale roommate vouches for Dean on Race

[candy331]

I found this article to very refreshing and enlightning. Even if you are not a Dean supporter please read this article.



< The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 1/15/04 >

Yale roommate vouches for Dean on race



Don Roman of Stone Mountain, who roomed with Howard Dean at Yale University, talks about "the person I know."


Don Roman taught Howard Dean some of his earliest lessons on race.

Now Roman, who lives in Stone Mountain, is on the campaign trail, telling people his old friend took those lessons to heart and is committed to fairness and racial understanding.

Roman, 55, who is black, roomed with Dean at Yale in the tumultuous days of 1967 and 1968. They talk at least once a week now that Dean is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, Roman said.

He said he feels obligated to share what he knows about the former Vermont governor -- especially when some of Dean's opponents are questioning his credentials on race. So Roman serves as a surrogate for Dean, campaigning in South Carolina for the Feb. 3 primary, for instance, while Dean concentrates on the more imminent Iowa and New Hampshire contests.


www.ajc.com/news/content/news

[beaconess]

1. Yes, yes we know - Dean asked for a black roommate in college

Too bad he didn't expend comparable effort to reach out to bring minorities into his cabinet.

[Eloriel]

9. And the truth about THAT

Leaders: Dean Tried to Appoint Minorities
http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-democrats-minorities,0,1698744.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

MONTPELIER, Vt. -- During more than a decade as Vermont governor, Howard Dean did not appoint any blacks or Hispanics to his Cabinet, but minority leaders say it was not for lack of trying in the nearly all-white state.

snip

Contending that recruiting minorities for high-level posts in state government is difficult in a state that is nearly 98 percent white, one black leader who met regularly with Dean praised his efforts as governor. He recalled turning down Dean's requests to serve in the administration.

"He asked if I had an interest or if I knew of anyone who had an interest," said Vaughn Carney, a lawyer and executive with a financial services company. "I myself was constrained by other commitments. I wasn't aware of anyone who would be qualified or would be available."

Carney accepted posts on three low-profile commissions. "Those who have assumed the mantle of leadership in Vermont's very small black community are fully aware of Dr. Dean's commitment to inclusion, to diversity, and to fairness," he said.

-- and much, much more --

[beaconess]

12. Yes, I know - he asked a black guy and he said no

and, exhausted and crushed by this gargantuan but ultimately futile effort to integrate his cabinet, Dean reluctantly gave in to defeat. After all, there's only so much a mere mortal can do.

[bearfartinthewoods]

18. i still wonder if he was paid as a "consultant" to write that.

what was he promised? what deal did he cut?

[AP]

19. I think he said he talks to Dean frequently. Campaign consultant?

Paid?

[MIMStigator]

2. if you have to go back to college to find a voucher

??

[beaconess]

3. Maybe Dean should have asked his old roommate to help him find

a qualified minority for his cabinet. :-)

[AP]

4. I read another interview in which the guy basically said most

people wouldn't talk about race, but Howard just wouldn't back down. He was basically praising Dean for having the courage to argue with him over race. Point being, they didn't agree, and Dean sounded like he did a lot of talking. No mention of listening. That boy sounds like the father of the man running for president today.

[beaconess]

5. Some folks don't need to trot out a black roommate to vouch for them

"A black classmate of the senator's had told me about African-American protest for representation on the homecoming court . . . Another high schoool chum, Edwards's eventual college rommate, Bill Garner, had brought up the subject as well. The few blacks at North Moore High had staged a sit-in on the campus lawn, Garner told me. And, he said, Johnny Edwards had walked up to the group and spoken with them. Then he sat down with them.

"Edwards had not volunteered that detail. Perhaps he didn't remember it. Perhaps he deemed it puny in scope. This was not, after all, a lunch counter or the front of a bus. Only a stupid homecoming-court sit-in. A little thing. That's all there was to do. So he did it - spur of the moment, sitting down for the little guy."

GQ Magazine, December 2002

[AP]

6. Reaching out, across race, class, gender and generations --

working together for a better tomorrow. Always has. Always will.

[_Jumper_]

7. Dean isn't a racist

When he was presented with a report about racial harassment in Vermont schools (an issue very close to me since I suffered from it) he acted swiftly and strongly. He even created a position to specifically deal with that problem. If he were a racist he easily could have ignored it.

I oppose Dean's nomination as much as anyone here but I do not believe that he is a racist.

[beaconess]

8. Who said he was?

n/t

[eileen from OH]

13. Well, what WERE you saying then?

If he wasn't racist, and it was not good enough that he made an effort to broaden his horizons, I mean, what's your point?

eileen from OH

[beaconess]

14. My point was that Dean's poor record on diversity (among other things)

demonstrates an insensitivity and/or ignorance about race and its complexities that make him woefully unsuited and unprepared to posture himself as an expert on race in America. However, I do not believe that Dean is a racist and in fact, have repeatedly asserted this. I am growing weary of constantly being accused of calling him a racist, an accusation that I find personally offensive.

You may not believe there is any difference between insensitivity and bigotry, but those of us who have been dealing with this issue in-depth understand the distinction.

"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people." Martin Luther King, From "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963

In my view, sadly, Dr. Dean is one of the good people who remained silent. That doesn't make him a racist or even a bad person. It does, however, make him less than deserving of the mantle civil rights maverick he is trying to assume.

[eileen from OH]

15. Okay, then what I want to know is this. . .

Just what does someone like Dr. Dean have to do before he is not considered insensitive? What does anyone, who is white, have to do or say to warrant a place in governance?

Gov. Dean cannot change the way he was raised - none of us can. Does this disqualify him from ever running for office? Please, give me a scenerio that describes what someone who was brought up in a white world must do in order to not be either insensitive to race or pandering to it.

How is Dr. Dean been silent? What could he have said or done that would make a difference?

I really am not trying to bait you. Honest. And I don't know enough about your posts to know if you've been accused of calling him a racist.

I'd just like a little clarification.

eileen from OH

[beaconess]

16. I think it would have made a difference if Dean had made a reasonable

attempt to introduce diversity into his cabinet.

The fact that Vermont's minority population is small is not a valid excuse for failing to do this. The population may be small, but that doesn't mean that they are not entitled to a voice in his cabinet.

I know that it wouldn't have been easy to make this happen, but it wasn't that difficult. In my view, Dean was faced with two choices. He could either have made a little extra effort - taken affirmative action to reach out and include minorities in his cabinet or he could have done little or nothing, just going along with the status quo. Unfortunately, he took the easy road, thereby facilitating the perpetuation of a complete lack of diversity.

Diversity of this kind is important, not just so that there could be one black face in the cabinet, but for larger reasons. First, Dean's ability to govern would have been enhanced and enriched had he had the benefit of diverse views in his cabinet. Just as he recognized as a young man the value of interacting with people different from him and, thus, requested a black college roommate, he should have attempted to include people of different racial backgrounds in his inner circle as governor.

Moreover, having minorities in the highest reaches of his government would have been a powerful symbol that broadened the attitudes and perspectives of Vermonters, helping them better understand that minorities are qualified to do all manner of things. And it could have offered encouragement to young minorities, demonstrating that they, too can get there from here.

There are many things he could have actually done to achieve these goals. First, I just don't buy the excuse that there were no minorities qualified for the positions. That's a bullshit argument, based upon negative racial stereotypes and assumptions. I have no doubt that if he had tried, he could have found numerous highly qualified candidates. Dean has proven that he is a master at overcoming obstacles. This would have been a great goal to focus his estimable skills on achieving. And it wouldn't have required all that much effort - had he just put the word out among his friends and colleagues throughout and outside of the state, he would have been deluged with information about qualified minorities.

Second, even if he couldn't find anyone qualified for the top posts - a premise I don't buy - it is not good enough to just say, "Oh, well, I tried. Never mind. Let's just get back to business with an all-white cabinet." It troubles me that it never seemed to occur to him that the "fact" that there were no qualified minorities in Vermont might be an indication of a deeper, more serious problem. Did he ever wonder why? After all, there seemed to be no dearth of qualified whites. Was it that blacks were just inherently unqualified? I doubt that Dean would think that for a moment - I do not think that he is by any measure a racist or believes that blacks are inferior. So, he would have to figure that there was some other problem. Could it have been that opportunities for minorities in the state were limited? Why? Was there a way to remedy this situation? Could the state develop an affirmative action program to attract qualified minorities to the state in general and state government in particular? In a short matter of time, minorities will be represented at various levels of government and eventually develop the experience and qualifications to help them move into higher positions.

Those are the kinds of questions and concerns that should be raised by someone who claims to be forward-thinking on race. It deeply troubles me that none of this seemed to occur to Dean. Instead, his defense for not having minorities in his cabinet is a simplistic, knee-jerk, "there aren't that many blacks in Vermont." That demonstrates, to me, a lack of sensitivity and clear thinking about an issue that is very, very complicated and needs more than simple bromides such as "we have to talk about race." Talking about race involves more than talking at people. It requires asking tough questions of ourselves and others. Leading on race means more than taking the path of least resistance. It requires tough choices and difficult journeys.

I think it's terribly unfortunate that when he had the power to make a difference, Dean didn't ask why? and why not? and how? and then push to find the answers. And, when faced with two choices, instead of taking a different, albeit more difficult, path, Howard Dean opted to follow the easy road. The fact that he did does not make him a racist or a bad person. But it does show that he is ill-equipped to posture himself as a forward-thinking leader on race.

I hope this clarifies things.

[AP]

17. I have a friend who was recruited for a job in Burlington.

When she met with her potential colleagues individually, and Asian man told her that when he walks around downtown Burlington, he frequently heard racial slurs, which he had never experienced anywhere else he lived. My friend ended up not taking the job.

This warnign wasn't THE reason she didn't take the job, but, since it was one of the first 4 or 5 things she told me about her visit to Burlington, it obviously had some weight.

So, you see, even if you only have a population that is 1 ro 2%, if you're a governor worried about the quality of life of your citizens and if you want to attract the best and brightest people to your state, you might want to take race seriously.

I'm saying that Dean, as governor, didn't addresss things that would have remmied the problems I mentioned (residents of Burlington feeling comfortable yelling racial slurs and prospective employees not being dissuaded from taking in jobs in VT because of it). But I'm agreeing with beaconess that you make the situation worse when you argue that Dean's cabinet should reflect the demographics of the state and you can't hire 2/100ths of a person.

[beaconess]

20. It will be hard for him to talk tough about race to Southerners

without explaining why he did so little tough talking - and even less tough walking - on race to Vermonters.

[Eloriel]

10. Thanks, Jumper

I hope you'll also read the article I posted above -- just for your own information. It rounds out the story a little bit better.

[_Jumper_]

11. You're welcome

And thanks for posting that article.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

21. Some of my best Yale roommates are black!

Oh come on, everyone was thinking it! :bounce:

[beaconess]

22. You are very bad . . .

:spank:

[beaconess]

23. kick