Judge stresses value of black history
by Brian Shults, se news editor

    Former civil rights lawyer, Judge L. Clifford Davis, spoke last week on SE Campus about past African-American triumphs over segregation, present obstacles and civic duty as part of African-American Heritage Month.

   “Everybody needs to get a fair chance in this country. The people of today have a duty to see that the system works for everybody,” Davis said.

   While a lawyer for the NAACP, Davis participated in several civil rights cases regarding inequality in local schools, unfair housing costs and segregation. He is now a criminal courts judge in Fort Worth.

   Davis’ most notable case involved the Mansfield school district.

   Prior to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, which desegregated schools stating separate is inherently unequal, African-American children could not receive education beyond the eighth grade in Mansfield.

   If their parents could provide transportation, they were allowed to continue schooling at a segregated school in Fort Worth. But the school board of Mansfield would not provide local schooling or buses to Fort Worth, Davis said.

   On behalf of the children’s parents, Davis took legal action against the school board. He petitioned for bus service and adequate facilities at the segregated local schools. His requests included a flagpole, fences around the playground so young children would not run into the street and clean water pumped into the school.

   “But they refused to grant any of these simple requests. We appealed, and during our appeal, the Supreme Court ordered the integration of public schools under Brown v. Board of Education. Needless to say, we were pleased because under segregation, it was always separate and always unequal,” he said.

   Davis, 77, was born into a segregated America. Despite these hindrances, he graduated Howard University Law School.

   Since moving to Tarrant County, he has received the Silver Gavel Award, been named to the National Bar Association Hall of Fame, been designated a Living Legend in Fort Worth and was the first African-American to win a contested judgeship in Fort Worth.

   To illustrate the difficulties prejudice posed for him, he spoke about his youth.

   “At the time I was born, segregation was totally acceptable and completely enforced. The majority of people think it was only in the South, but it was everywhere. It was just most virulently practiced in the South, and in some respects is still alive today,” he said.

   Discrepancies in housing and insurance costs, as well as racial profiling are ways prejudice still afflicts our society, Davis said.

   Gov. Rick Perry has ordered an investigation regarding unfair hikes in various insurance premiums because of ethnicity.

   Racial profiling, where police specifically target non-whites to be pulled over, was especially a concern of Davis’.

   “Profiling is something black folks have been accustomed to for quite some time. The penalty of driving-while-black is real. It is not fiction,” he said.

   In the past when Davis took extended driving trips, he intentionally wore a suit. If he was pulled over, the police would think he was a preacher and not treat him as harshly, Davis said.

   The dilemma of racial profiling is now not only an African American or a Hispanic plight but has recently been directed toward individuals of Middle Eastern descent, Davis said.

   “The practice of profiling is still racist and still wrong, regardless of ethnicity,” he said.

   He also discussed job opportunities and the impediments for minorities to secure loans.

   Inconsistencies in loans between Caucasian and minorities for housing and business are rampant. The inability to secure a loan for business bleeds over into the job market by stifling entrepreneurship. The inadequacy is most prevalent in the South, Davis said.

   “As a result, we have lost African American talent in the southern states because many educated blacks feel they have to go somewhere else or they will be discriminated against,” he said.

   Discrimination has made affirmative action necessary, Davis said.

   “Affirmative action is not about receiving preferential treatment. It is about avoiding a penalty because of your ethnic background and entering the job market on a level playing field,” he said.

   Education, historical perspective about America and minorities and a focus on the future may be factors in alleviating prejudice and discrimination, Davis said.

   “America needs to help the next generation. We can help our children by telling them the truth. There is nothing you can do to control what happened in the past. You can only control what you do,” he said.

   History, Davis said, helps shape the future.

   Among significant aspects of history is African American heritage, Davis said.

   “The history books just did not record the accomplishments of black people,” he said.

   African-Americans are responsible for the street light, the first open heart surgery and the successful separation of conjoined twins.

   Davis believes that until recently Americans have been apprehensive about exploring African-American heritage.

   “One reason we do not understand much of black history is people do not want to remember it. Some black people see it as so dreadful they do not want to talk about it, and some whites do not want to think about their ancestors perpetuating those atrocities,” he said.

   However, Davis said, society needs to study black history.

   “Not only should blacks have a better understanding of their history, but everyone needs to have a better understanding of black history and their own history, because it ain’t over yet. Racism still exists. We need to learn history so we will not repeat it,” he said.