Master Narrative of Progress

e master narrative paints the Civil Rights Movement as a done deal. Presumably the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 resulted in an immediate end to systematic oppression by outlawing discrimination on the basis of race, religion, origin. I mean, it’s not like White Supremacists and segregationists would just ignore the law, right? Obviously we know that things turned out differently. Although the laws passed on the momentum of the civil rights movement prohibited outright racial discrimination, it did not automatically improve the conditions of African Americans, especially with weak enforcement from the federal government. This is especially true in Memphis, where economic inequality between races has remained exceptionally high, even while it has been decreasing in cities of similar size. Although statistics show that significant progress has been made in the area of education, a new report from the National Civil Rights Museum and the University of Memphis has shown that "On this 50th anniversary of Dr. King's cruel assassination, and more than fifty years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, African-Americans still lag far behind whites in Shelby County ... Poverty for African-Americans in Shelby County is three times that of whites, and median income for African-Americans has remained about half that of whites through the decades." Even with greater access to education, black Memphians face barriers that keep thousands in poverty. The report singles out racist enforcement of drug laws as one barrier, as criminal records from drug convictions can be a serious barrier to employment. Although studies have shown that white and black communities use recreational drugs at similar rates, drug enforcement and convictions disproportionately affect black communities. However, contradicting this master narrative is still controversial. When Angela Rye criticized the lack of progress in Memphis since the 1968 Sanitation workers strike, she was met with criticism from Mayor Strickland and other Memphis officials: "'We certainly wish she had not phrased her sentiments in that way and it was unprofessional and quite frankly, classless,' said Ursula Madden, communications director". This paternalistic response to the simple truths of Memphis' situation, couched in the language of the politics of respectability, makes it seem like Memphis' leadership is more concerned with its image than the conditions of its black citizens. They would rather cling to the master narrative and refuse to recognize their problems than admit their lack of progress.

https://amp.commercialappeal.com/amp/378513002

http://wreg.com/2018/02/26/mayor-strickland-responds-to-cnn-pundits-criticisms-at-i-am-memphis-event/amp/