I attended my nephew's birthday party on Sunday. The little man was turning three years old. Several kids and parents from around the neighborhood came over, along with his grandparents from the other side of the state, and his mom's co-workers, who had met and played with him from time to time.
His dad manned the grill, grilling chicken legs and thighs, hot dogs, and corn on the cob (yes, you can grill that), while his mom was running around like a chicken with her head cut off trying to get all the supplies for the party. Everyone enjoyed themselves and had a great time.
The day before, I happened to mention my nephew to a girl at a basketball tournament I was working. In the middle of the conversation, she asked me what complexion did he have.
I shrugged. "Hell, I don't know....beige?"
The lady I was talking to was white. She had dated black guys in the past, and was curious as to what a mixed child may look like. My nephew's mom was white, my brother is black. At the party, there were just as many white kids as black ones, including a mix of kids in the neighborhood. This is the North Carolina my nephew grows up in, and the only one he knows.
I'm glad he grew up knowing this North Carolina, and not the one that elected as a senator one of the most bigoted men in the latter half of the 20th century. Jesse Helms represented the worst of my state, and left a black mark (how ironic) in North Carolina history. While most politicians in the Deep South were denouncing their racist pasts and making amends to the black communities they oppressed, Helms never repented. In fact, his racist antics intensified as the country moved forward.
Whether it was exploiting affirmative action opposition to intensify racial hatred, filibustering Martin Luther King Day to get a boost in an election, or warning Eastern North Carolinians about the "bloc" (read: black) vote, Jesse Helms gave the state of North Carolina one embarrassment after another, tainting the reputation of a state to make it seem like a bunch of racist hicks with a hunger for
strange fruit and confederate emblems, instead of being one of the most diverse states in the nation.
Last week, Helms delivered possibly a final slap in the face to North Carolinians when he refused to apologize for his stance on segregation and claiming even to this day that
forced integration was a bad thing for the country.
He claims segregation would have simply died if left to it's own fate, which would have avoided the violence and riots during the period of the Civil Rights Movement. While it's nice for Helms to finally acknowledge a wish of well being for people involved in that movement (sarcasm intended), his new-found concern about violence is nothing more than a false-face for the preservation of times that he knew were passing him by and the denial of rights that made second-class citizens out of a large segment of North Carolina.
Ultimately, Helms's legacy won't be his lengthy career in North Carolina politics or of being the conservative firebrand in the U.S. Senate. While people talk in admiration of legendary public servants like Jim Hunt and Terry Sanford, Jesse Helms will be a virtual afterthought. It's doubtful that he will ever be considered one of the best public servants of his time (unless it's a member of Stormfront.com); only an old bigot who tried to divide the country while everyone else tried to unify it.
Even in his last days he remains unrepentant, and is more than willing to take those beliefs to his grave. When he gets into the afterlife, let's hope someone is waiting and is willing to hold him accountable for his actions to a degree where he does become repentant.
My nephew can grow up where he can appreciate the harmony and good will all North Carolinians have for each other. He doesn't have to grow up in Jesse Helms's North Carolina, and I think there are a lot of people that are grateful that it's a thing of the past.
