About AFSCME

Memphis, a Microcosm

So, in Memphis, black people successfully asserted their manhood and dignity and won a point of justice -- but at a terrible cost. If that is the end of the matter, what will really have been proved is that in Memphis, in America, justice costs too dear -- and, perhaps, that liberty is less likely than death. There can be little doubt that Mayor Loeb and the city fathers of Memphis were faithfully reflecting the temper of whites in their city. By many indications they were reflecting, as well, the mood of the nation.

Amid all of the racism still obvious in Memphis there were faint, hopeful signs of change. For one thing, as we have seen, some white clergymen at last were moved by the situation. For another, the Chamber of Commerce scheduled, one day after the settlement, a serious meeting of local businessmen with Negro and white ministers to talk about a large-scale program of employment and on-the-job training. Observers said that growing pressure from the business community was an important factor in moving the mayor and city council to settle the strike. In calling for the original boycott, Negro ministers had told their followers that "Loeb won't listen to you, but he will listen to the downtown merchants." In itself, the merchants' response to economic pressure may mean only the sort of tokenism which pragmatic businessmen in many southern cities have advocated, particularly on the issue of school desegregation, as the minimum change necessary to avoid economic loss. It remains to be seen, of course, whether the existing unity and determination of Negroes in Memphis will continue, and whether political, industrial, and civic leaders have really learned anything about responding to protest or from the murder of one of America's greatest men.

The same is true of the nation. An article in the New York Times (April 14, 1968) reported that a new strategy for handling riots has been worked out by Attorney General Ramsey Clark and others, including Deputy Secretary of Defense Cyrus Vance. The method was tested in some cities during Negro outbreaks following the assassination. Both as a matter of tactical necessity ("the other side has guns") and for humane reasons, the new strategy calls for massing large numbers of law officers and troops, using tear gas extensively, but refraining from firing upon people -- even looters and arsonists. Proponents of the plan argue that this technique in fact minimizes property damage as well as deaths, although they frankly say that human life must be valued above property. It is perhaps significant that none of the disorders where the method was used developed into full-scale riots, thus saving property as well as lives.

At almost the same time, however, the mayor of Chicago insisted that arsonists are, in effect, murderers. He ordered Chicago law officers to "shoot to kill" anyone caught in the act of arson. He also ordered them to "shoot to maim or cripple" anyone looting. (New York's Mayor Lindsay pointed out that many who were shot as "looters" in the 1967 riots were, in fact, innocent.)

It remains to be seen, therefore, in America as in Memphis, whether the ruling majority will insist on brutal measures of repression, easier in the short run, in response to minorities which protest grievances. It should be clear by now that Negroes and other minorities cannot allow present conditions to continue and, in the absence of redress of legitimate grievances, will use ever-stronger forms of protest. It should also be clear that a few, especially among the young, have despaired and, in frustration and anger, may resort to violence -- against property, if not against people.

A former mayor is fond of saying that Memphis is "always doing the right thing for the wrong reason" -- meaning that the city takes right action only when necessary to prevent a loss to its good image or economy.

It is to be hoped that Memphis has learned from its travail to respond to legitimate protest in a timely manner, to respond with dignity to citizens acting with dignity. The alternative is clear: unavoidable escalation of protest, bringing white violence against black protestors (the common southern pattern), and danger of the newer pattern of Negro violence against property, with indignity and tragedy for all.

The fundamental issues of quality education, housing, and jobs -- and the dignity of which they are part -- are not settled in Memphis or elsewhere in the nation. Memphis is America in microcosm. The sickness which led to the death of Dr. King can lead to the death of the United States. The only atonement for this murder, the only hope of national survival, is fast, full action to remedy the wrongs of racism.

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