LEONARD GRAY

Our past can help our future Taking a vital interest in our future is the responsibility of every good citizen. However, taking a vital interest in what has gone before takes someone who doesn’t want to see the past’s mistakes repeated. It also expresses a respect for our forebears and those elders in our community who still have much to contribute to our future. After all, if we don’t understand what brought us to where we are now, how can we understand our direction in the future? Far too many people are obsessed with the here and now, and not particularly concerned with what is to come. That’s a frightening thought, as it suggests a lack of caring about what will happen down the road. One small example lay in the last St. James Parish School Board meeting, where a local minister expressed his concern that relocating students from one neighborhood to another may upset the racial applecart. This minister appeared quite sincere in his desire to avoid any conflicts, but the lessons of the recent St. James High School troubles, which cumulated in a student boycott, seriously divided the community, and the wounds have not fully healed. To effectively govern, one must understand the governed and appreciate the attitudes and concerns which may generate an unwanted situation. Only by proper and intelligent communication, together with an understanding of the past, can head off problems in the future. St. James Parish, though, is not the only parish which has undergone the fires of racial unrest. A shooting in the mid-1970s at Destrehan High School once brought everything from a Klan rally to years of bitterness on both sides. On the positive side, the River Parishes came through racial desegreation of our public schools better than many communities, helped by intelligent, concerned and informed leaders on every side. The greatest help came from a population who has learned through the years that racial discrimination is intolerance at its worst. The River Parishes historically has been a melting pot of cultures, each learning and adapting with each other. What it all comes down to is that we all need one another. Each culture has its positive contributions to make to the community. However, we need to understand our history and what has gone before to steer a course through the minefields of the future. We are neighbors, classmates, co-workers and friends. One side cannot afford to shut itself off from another, as we are here to help one another. The racial discrimination of the past stemmed from fear, as we tend to fear what we do not understand. We need understanding. LEONARD GRAY is assistant managing editor of L’Observateur.