Chapter 9

• Jurisdiction: United States

Chapter 9 Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

Race

Lack of racial diversity in the prosecutors' offices, as well as discrimination in the criminal justice system, have been problems that I have always believed needed to be addressed. While I lived in Columbia, South Carolina, I observed overt racism up close. The following are but three examples.

First, in the year 2000, the Confederate flag flew over the capitol building just below the American flag. We could see the flag clearly from the balcony of our condo, which was just a few blocks away.

In April 2000, Joe Riley, Charleston's mayor, led the "Get in Step" march of 600 people from Charleston to Columbia for a rally, during which he condemned the Confederate flag as a symbol of racism. Bumper stickers that read "TAKE IT DOWN" were distributed. The NAACP held a boycott of South Carolina and protested.

In January 2000, 46,000 marched to the capitol building protesting the flag. It was a dignified and peaceful gathering with a smattering of White people in the crowd of Black people. At the time of this protest, my wife, Nancy, and I, along with some friends, attended a Martin Luther King Unity Fest, a religious service, at the Kroger Center in Columbia. The congregation was a mix of races but those in attendance were predominantly Black. The service with quartets and quintets got people on their feet, clapping and swaying. A White Episcopal bishop delivered a homily to responsive claps and cheers, especially when he got into it saying, "When the flag comes down—and it will come down!" I am sure the bishop never had such a glorious response to a homily. Reverend Jesse Jackson then delivered a revival sermon about Martin Luther King, love, and reconciliation. A three-hour event well worth attending.

A compromise on the flag was eventually reached. Nancy and I were on the capitol grounds when the flag came down on Saturday, July 1, 2000. This was hailed at the time as an advancement—it wasn't much of one. The flag was merely moved to a thirty-five-foot pole right in front of the capitol building and behind a statue of a Confederate soldier, and there it continued to fly. As it was hoisted on that pole, Nancy and I were there holding up our yellow signs that read "Shame." Eventually, the flag was removed from the capitol grounds in 2015, and it now is on display in a museum.

A second example is another ignominious Confederate flag display. South Carolina is known for its mustard-based barbeque. The mustard-based barbeque king of Columbia—the owner of the string of Marice's Barbeque joints—took down the American flags that flew over his establishments and hoisted Confederate flags over them. He had a history of refusing to serve Blacks.

A third example of conspicuous racism was the fact that it took South Carolina until 1998 to amend the state's constitution to remove language prohibiting miscegenation. It is telling that a good percentage of the votes were cast in opposition to the amendment of an unconstitutional provision in the state constitution.

None of this is to suggest that there are not decent, equal rights White people in South Carolina. We got to know many. My experience in South Carolina with Black people was something I will long treasure. With the White-Black populations in Columbia being about equal (White—48.1 percent and Black—40.6 percent), the interaction between Whites and Blacks was both more frequent than in Seattle and, in my experience, always congenial.

As a longtime Seattle resident, I have witnessed racial bias in this supposed liberal community. The difference between Columbia, South Carolina, and Seattle, Washington, is that in Columbia racism is overt, and in Seattle racism is covert.

My interest in racial equality and racial justice is also personal. My wife, Nancy, is an enrolled member of...