In 1973, I was a member of the N.C. Army National Guard enrolled in the Army War College at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Our assignments included writing an essay on a subject of our choice. I selected “The Changing Attitude of Blacks toward the National Guard.” Why? Because, following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968, I was called into State service with the National Guard several times as riots erupted across North Carolina. In our capital city, the Adjutant General was given a demand from black citizens to “get the lily white National Guard out of Raleigh.” Lily white? Not quite. The North Carolina Army National Guard had one black member – a sharp, young soldier who returned to North Carolina from his work in Washington, D.C., to take his place with his unit.

Until that time, the National Guard had made no real effort to recruit members of the black population. That changed. Recruiters worked hard but futilely to increase the number of black Guardsmen. But the blacks failed to cooperate. They did not enlist. But progress was made. Seeking the reason, I chose that subject for my Army War College essay.

Recently, for the first time, I read the Abstract published by the Army War College to explain the content of my 1973 essay. “A growing impatience of blacks for equal opportunity and a growing awareness of whites of the inequities of our social system have permitted a social revolution in a comparatively few years. The white man’s inability to fully man the National Guard brought him face to face with a baffling refusal of blacks to accept warm invitations to come into the Guard. A changing white attitude is bringing about a change in the attitude of blacks.”

What a change has occurred in the 38 years since I wrote that essay. A practically bloodless revolution has taken place in the United States. Only those who lived in the almost totally segregated world that existed prior to World War II can appreciate the vast changes that have be made. And it is good!

Some years ago, during a series of black/white talk sessions, conducted in Zebulon in an effort to improve understanding between races, a black girl of high school age said that she never had experienced discrimination because of her race. She was challenged by white members of the group, but she stuck to her statement.

To me, her remarks were astonishing, because I recalled when a member of my church exclaimed that “the first time a black person enters the front door of this church will be the last time I attend it.” His attitude was modified through the years, but he never was comfortable among blacks.

Our having a president whose father was a black African is a small indication of the changes that have taken place during my lifetime. The changes are seen in every facet of life – work, religious, political, you name it. Neighborhoods, schools, and churches are integrated, and nobody pays any special attention.

Today segregation is based more on economic status than on the color of our skins. Residents of affluent neighborhoods don’t want their children tainted by association with poor folks. People with money ask for “community schools” so their offspring don’t have to rub shoulders with kids whose parents cannot afford Nike shoes for school wear.

It was enjoyable in 1973 to write about the changes in black/white attitudes and to note the changes that built a new America. It is tougher today to see us regressing, to watch our elected leaders say what they believe constituents want to hear and then proceed to promote their own agenda. It is discouraging to realize that history has taught few lessons to most of us.

Let’s make more changes. Let work for change that improves the lot of everyone and not just the fortunate few. Then one day we may be able to say that discrimination and segregation – racial, cultural, and economic – is a thing of the past.

It is worth a try!