King's birthday remembered while racial gap remains open
By Matthew K. Fair
Issue date: 1/26/05 Section: News
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The program featured a keynote address by Randal Pinkett, president and CEO of BCT Partners, a technology and policy consulting firm based out of Newark. Pinkett's remarks focused on the contemporary nature of King's vision: "The illusion of full inclusions," Pinkett said, "and the power of personal choice."
"One cannot help but be astounded by the progress we have made in such a short period of time," Pinkett said, "Right? But is what we see full inclusion, or is what we see an illusion?"
While Pinkett was quick to recognize the significant strides toward equality the African-American community has made since Lyndon Johnson pushed his Civil Rights Act through Congress in 1964, he put more emphasis on the work that is yet to be done.
"I know what I see," Pinkett said. "I see high-ranking minority officials in the government - Condoleeza Rice, Alberto Gonzalez. I see minorities generating and maintaining wealth," he said, citing rapper Jay-Z, who recently became part-owner of the New Jersey Nets. "I see people of color breaking the glass ceiling as CEOs of major corporations. We have made progress, but we can't forget that our work isn't done."
"In fact," Pinkett said, "our progress has been abysmally slow. In some areas we are further from full inclusion today than we were in the 1960s."
Pinkett cited statistics regarding the integration of the public school system. While Brown v. Board of Education ended institutionalized segregation in American schools, he noted that in 2000, 72 percent of African-American students attended predominantly minority schools.
He noted that New Jersey ranks sixth in the states with the lowest percentage of white students attending predominantly minority schools. "Northern states are even more segregated than southern states," Pinkett said.