To the editor:
As a resident of Brown County, I follow the public Facebook pages of our local political parties. After reading a post on the Brown County Indiana Republicans Facebook page on April 24, 2021, I was left feeling deep shock and sadness. The post promoted a debunked article titled “The Black Dilemma.” This article, falsely attributed to The Baltimore Sun in 2015, claimed to be a “well written assessment of the situation in the USA.”
The “situation” as described in the posted article: “For almost 150 years the United States has been conducting an experiment. The subjects of the experiment: black people and working-class whites. The hypothesis to be tested: Can a people taken from the jungles of Africa and forced into slavery be fully integrated as citizens in a majority white population? The whites were descendants of Europeans who had created a majestic civilization. The former slaves had been tribal peoples with no written language and virtually no intellectual achievements. Acting on a policy that was not fair to either group, the government released newly freed black people into a white society that saw them as inferiors. America has struggled with racial discord ever since.”
The “conclusion”: “the experiment has failed. Not because of culture, or white privilege, or racism. The fundamental problem is that white people and black people are different. They differ intellectually and temperamentally. These differences result in permanent social incompatibility.”
A quick internet search for more information about the article brings the curious, as I was, to a 2015 Note to Readers published by The Baltimore Sun stating, “Neither The Sun nor reporter Ian Duncan is in any way affiliated with the piece. We did not write it, we did not publish it, and we have no other association with it.”
In truth, the article was published in 2014 by Anthony Bryan on the American Renaissance blog, a publication of the New Century Foundation.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, the leading nonprofit organization monitoring domestic groups in the United States for extremism, identifies the New Century Foundation as a hate group with white supremacist ideology promoting pseudo-scientific studies purportedly showing the inferiority of blacks to whites.
In this space of my letter, I initially sought to counter many of the points made in the article with more reliable science. However, after much researching, typing and deleting, I realized my intention was not to debate the article, but to question the implications of this ideology being promoted by the majority party in this county.
I can only assume the person behind the post, an authorized representative speaking for the local GOP, agrees with the content of the article, regardless of its origins. This is concerning due to the overwhelming GOP representation in our local governing bodies. Is this ideology an underlying influence in their policies and procedures? How is this rippling out into our community?
I know from the outpouring of support for the inspiring 2020 Solidarity Rally for Social Justice in Nashville there are many in this wonderful county who would find this material highly offensive and in no way representative of their worldview.
Currently, there are many thoughtful and promising efforts underway to ensure those who live, work, learn, adventure and otherwise visit here are given equal access to all Brown County has to offer.
The Town of Nashville has recently approved a citizens advisory committee tasked with researching and advising on the scope of a human rights commission.
Brown County Schools has an active Students for Equity group and a strong commitment to equity and inclusion.
The Brown County League of Women Voters plays an active role in defending democracy and valuing diversity, as evidenced by their newly established Diversity, Equity and Inclusion group.
Our artist community is a vibrant conglomeration of accomplished creators from all walks of life. There is increased and welcomed diversity in the goods and services available in the highly publicized tourist district of Nashville.
I implore the Brown County Republican Party to cast aside debunked racist claims and instead look to the future and how we can all strengthen Brown County.
Melissa Rittenhouse, Brown County
