Du, Wah Diddy - What's In a Name?

This story probably “tells” better than it reads, but for the sake of posterity; and any sociological implications it may contain; here goes; I was working for Anthem Corporation, an excavating company based just outside of Baltimore, as an Estimator in 1988, which is when this story occurs.

It was early Monday morning and we had the usual crowd of applicants for the positions we had advertised for in the Sunday papers. At that time, before the widespread use of computers, that’s how people found work, in the Want Ads. Consequently, Monday mornings brought all kinds of applicants for the work, the first step being to fill out a simple job application.

Now, this was no “literacy test” type of thing at all; it was simply a form asking for your name, address, and contact information, along with your last 2 employers and an emergency contact. Naturally, the first question was the applicant’s name. We never got past the first question before the “trouble” began.

Now, when I say “trouble”, I may be overstating the case a bit. “What we had here”, as the warden says in the film Cool Hand Luke, “was a failure to communicate.” To begin, we need to take a look at the time in which this story takes place.

In the late 1980’s and early 90’s there emerged a “Malcolm X” craze, in which millions of dollars of clothing stamped with the logo X were marketed to young African-Americans, some of whom; make that most of whom; had no idea of what Malcolm X stood for, or were under the impression that Malcolm died believing in the complete separation of the races. If you have read the book, or seen the film, then you know that this is completely false. At any rate, millions were made marketing hats, shirts and jackets emblazoned with the logo X. No quotation marks, no explanation, just the symbol of an angry young black male. This was the figure which now stood before me; an angry young black man; seeking work from “whitey”, “Mr. Charlie”, or what have you. And I’m a Jew from Brooklyn!

I said “Good morning”, and handed him the application, which he could not fill out. At that time it was customary for the Estimator to assist applicants who could not read or write. We were really only interested in your work history and your name. if you could do the job, you got the job. Period. But first I needed your name. So, we started on a narrative which I love to tell, because it underscores the type of polarization which destroys both sides of any division; even when that division is only held by one side of the argument.

“What’s your name?” I asked, beginning to fill out the application for him. He was a tall, thin African-American man; sinewy and muscular; just right for the position of “rodman” which requires the employee to move quickly with a measuring pole for the surveyors to take elevations. Those figures, in turn, tell the bulldozer operator, or excavator operator, to “cut”, or “fill” in each area of the job site in order to achieve an even plane. I told you this story “tells” better than it reads….

“Wa Du” came the answer, initiating a bizarre, but funny exchange. This is the part which makes Ed laugh;

“Wa Du?”  I asked, with an arched eyebrow like Chester Conklin.

“Yeah, that be what my people call me”, he said with apparent pride.

“Okay”, I said, “but what’s your name?”

“I done tole you, Wa Du”, he said with a bit of defiance in his voice.

“No”, I said, “You told me a nickname. To put you to work I need your legal name.”

“You mean my slave name?”

“Look man”, I said, noticing the X ball cap for the first time, “what does your mother call you?”

“She call me Du, like everyone else.”

Now I was in a real quandary, and getting a bit annoyed. “I need your full name. What’s your last name, Du or Wah? And if its Du, Wah, then is your middle name Diddy?”

“I goes by Wah Du. That’s the name I use” he replied.

“No”, I said, firmly, “I need the name on your birth certificate, the name your mother gave you when you were born. Do you have a Social Security Card?”

This he produced, quietly and without looking me in the eye. So, what was the name on the card? Donald James. And, I was suddenly struck, as I looked at the two “first” names on his Social Security Card, with the thought “Does it really matter?”

"An Idea Whose Time Has Come" by Todd S. Purdum (2014)

With the Civil Rights Act of 1964 currently under fire by Conservatives, this book comes at a crucial time in our country. With a skillful hand author Todd S. Purdum takes a good look back at just how hard it was to get the legislation passed in the first place; and thereby exposing the risks to be run should we let it be overturned.

Think of a life; in which your legal rights as we know them today; were suddenly altered. What if local laws trumped federal laws whenever you left the Interstates? The W.C. Fields line from “My Little Chickadee” comes to mind. As he is being led off to his own hanging, our wayward hero is heard to cry “I’m new in town, where can I purchase a Book of the Rules?” This may seem absurd on its face, but it’s not too far from the reality which would set in should the Civil Rights Act ever be repealed.

At the time that the Act was made into law, there were sections of our country; not just in the South; where people of color, read that as non-white or “different”, could not obtain a hotel room for the night, or even sit in a restaurant to eat. The hotel maids that touched the sheets of the white patrons were black. The cooks in the restaurants were black. It was an absurd embarrassment. At the time we were engaged in a Cold War with the Soviets, and having a hard time claiming the moral high ground against a backdrop of racial discrimination.

The author draws upon the best writings, and writers, of the Civil Rights chroniclers and then adds to their perspectives of life “in the forefront” by taking a hard look at the people who were actually involved behind the scenes in the legislative process. (The bibliography of this book could serve as a syllabus for a complete course on the history of the Civil Rights Movement.)

After the Freedom Riders; after Selma; there was still no legal basis for an end to Jim Crow in the South until it was codified into law. This book is the story of that end of the Civil Rights struggle. With a colorful cast of characters; every bit as varied, and sometimes flawed; as their counterparts in the front lines were, this book will have you recalling all of the political figures you remember from the news growing up in the 1960’s.

There are President’s Kennedy and Johnson; both struggling against the winds of change to secure the rights of all Americans to vote. There are the Senators; ranging from Humphrey to Dirksen and Thurmond; with one of the longest filibusters in our history as the Senate belatedly comes together to pass a bi-partisan Civil Rights bill. There are enough characters in here to fill a novel; with the difference being that these people actually lived and changed lives in the bargain.

The real difference between this book and the many others concerning the Civil Rights Era is that this book concentrates on what was happening in Washington, D.C. at the time of the protests. While the protests may have been the catalyst for change; without new laws to back up those changes, there is no telling what the fate of the movement would have been. And the story of the wrangling, and the deal making that went into getting the bill passed is every bit as exciting; and at times infuriating; as the actual struggle on the ground was.

Mr. Purdum has taken all of the available information of the Civil Rights Struggle and  written a newer, more concise history of the Civil Rights Act; one which will be appreciated by readers who were not alive at the time these events occurred.

There are very important lessons to be learned from this book; the most important of which is just how hard it was to get this law passed in the first place. And that lesson calls to mind a very important question; why would anyone want to do away with the Civil Rights Act? Bear in mind that the next time this battle is waged it will be more about economics than color.

Martin Luther King and Malcolm X

Today is Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. It will be celebrated tomorrow with school closings and a bank holiday. I have always wondered how Martin Luther King would have felt about that. Originally I had planned on running the iconic "I Have A Dream" speech to commemorate the day.

But then I started listening to some of his other speeches, some of which I remember from when they were given. I finally chose the one above to illustrate the point that, in spite of Martin Luther King's rhetoric, he was not that far from the beliefs of Malcolm X, who is often perceived to be the antithesis to Mr. King concerning the methods necessary to bring about a change in Civil Rights. They were closer than you might think, or have been taught.

Martin Luther King has gone down in history as the non-violent leader of the Civil Rights Era, while Malcolm X has secured his place in history, based only upon his early beliefs in the violent overthrow of "whitey". This is a simplistic and uninformed view of both men.

While Mr. King is known for his non-violence, he is often short changed when it comes to acknowledging the demands he made from his own people, just as Malcolm X did. Both men wanted equal treatment of the races. Both wanted to be respected as human beings. The difference was in their individual styles, and approaches, to the issue.

Martin Luther King wanted to be given equal rights, as if it was within the Provence of the State to do so. Malcolm X took these rights as God given, and was not about to beg for them.

But things change, and as Martin Luther King grew more frustrated with the slow pace of the movement, Malcolm X was growing spiritually. Returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca, Malcolm saw that he, along with thousands of other so-called Black Muslims, had been sold a false bill of goods by their leader Elijah Mohammed, the titular head of the Black Muslim movement. When Malcolm came back from Mecca he broke with that movement and began a church of his own, based upon his experiences in Mecca, which had given him intellectual growth. He began to understand that black separatism was not the answer.

Meanwhile, in a subtle reversal of roles, Martin Luther King had become angrier, and more politically active concerning the War in Vietnam, which he felt was being fought with a disproportionate number of young black men being drafted. In other words, he was becoming more polarized.

Malcolm, on the other hand, had been to Mecca, and for the first time he had seen Muslims of all colors. This experience softened his stance on the separation of the races, making him believe, for the first time, that only an unfettered dialogue on race could bridge the divide.

So, in essence, over a period of about 10 years, both sides began to see, and understand, the other side of the argument concerning racial disparity in America.

I hope that you will take the time today to listen to both of these video clips from You Tube. Listen carefully, beyond the catch phrases, and you will see that both of these extraordinary men basically stood for the same things; Dignity, Justice and Equality for all people.