to remain in North America, there wasrnstill an element of separatism in theirrnthinking. Booker T. Washington, thernundisputed leader of the black communityrnat the time, declared that the racesrncould be “as separate as the hngers” in arnsystem that accorded blacks equal treatmentrnin their legal relations in the privaterneconomy.rnOther blacks and white progressivesrntried to supplant separatist tendency inrnthe black community. W.E.B. Duboisrnand the NAACP provided virulentrncriticism of Washington’s emphasis onrneconomic freedom rather than socialrnequality. After Washington’s death inrn1915, Dubois and his cohorts set theirrnsights on Marcus Garvey and his UniversalrnNegro Improvement Association’srn(UNIA) calls for black autonomy andrneconomic self-reliance.rnToday, despite the post-Brown pushrnfor forced integration vis-a-vis judicialrnactivism and broad legislation, blackrnnationalism is just as strong as it was inrnthe days of Booker T. Washington andrnthe Garvey movement. The total failurernof integration to improve the quality ofrnlife for the majority of black Americans isrnno doubt responsible for the resurgencernof nationalism within the black community.rnThe acceptance of Louis Farrakhan byrnthe black community during the MillionrnMan March underscores black nationalisticrnaspirations today. The Nation ofrnIslam itself, of course, was founded byrnElijah Muhammad to build a separaternblack nation paid for by white reparationsrnfor slavery. Though Farrakhanrnavoids blatant calls for total black separation,rnhe nonetheless declares that blacksrncannot “integrate into white supremacyrnand hold our dignity as human beings.”rnAnd since Farrakhan sees white supremacyrnas “the idea that undergirds the setuprnof the Western world,” he is in realityrnsaying that blacks cannot integrate intornAmerican society, which is a branch ofrnWestern civilization.rnThe popularity of Islam among blacksrn(not necessarily the Nation of Islam) isrnemblematic of this rejection of Westernrnculture. Many blacks see Christianity asrna “slave religion” and seek a substitute.rnBy the year 2000, Islam will become thernsecond largest religion in the UnitedrnStates due to black converts and immigrants.rnBlack Christian nationalism,rnwith a black Madonna and Christ, is alsornan alternative for many blacks to mainstreamrnChristianity. A main tenet ofrnblack Christian nationalism is to teachrn”the necessity for separatism,” alongrnwith the path to eternal salvation.rnOther calls for some degree of racialrnseparation are just as loud as that of thernseparatist religious element. Interracialrnadoption, for example, is most ardentlyrnopposed by black social workers. ThernNational Association of Black SocialrnWorkers unabashedly declares thatrn”black children belong to black parents.”rnThey rightly fear that interracialrnadoptees will lose contact with theirrnheritage and not develop culturally andrnpsychologically as they would in a blackrnfamily.rnThe strongest front on the integrationrnbacklash is, fittingly, school desegregation.rnAcross the nation, black parents arerndemanding a return to neighborhoodrnschools no matter what their racialrncomposition. In Cleveland, the localrnNAACP has met strong opposition fromrnwithin the black community to its at-rnDinosaurrnby Richard MoorernOld enemy, my father,rnnow decades dead, my inspiration rather:rnwent your own way and to your stubborn bentrnsacrificed all your longings to belong,rnimagining the whole God-cursed establishmentrnjust might be wrong.rntempts to force cross-district busing. “Irndid not give the civil rights attorneys permissionrnto holocaust my children and getrnpaid for it,” says black parent and busingrnopponent Genevieve Mitchell. Blacksrnlike Mitchell are rejecting the notionrnthat black children need the company ofrnwhite children to learn. Recent studiesrnshow that black academic performancernis the last reason why anyone should favorrnpolicies of integration.rnThis change of attitude in the blackrncommunity, according to Aaron Gray,rnthe black President of Denver’s SchoolrnBoard, is because “pre-1954 was separaternand unequal. The difference is todayrnthat you can step into an African-Americanrnschool and you can see the samernamount of resources that are provided torna majority Anglo school.” Even SupremernCourt Justice Clarence Thomas has defendedrnblack schools: “Because of theirrndistinctive histories and traditions, blackrnschools can function as the center andrnsymbol of black communities, and providernexamples of independent black leadership,rnsuccess, and achievement.”rnGray and Thomas’s words contest thernWarren Court’s assertions in Brown andrnthe 40 years of judicially sponsored socialrnengineering that followed the Court’srn1954 decision. They signify black abandonmentrnof the opiate of integrationrnthat has caused so much damage tornAmerican society.rnThe 100th anniversary of Plessy v. Fergusonrnis a proper time to recognize thernexistence of healthy black nationalisticrntendencies. Though Plessy was at most arnfootnote in history for many years, it hasrnnow unfortunately become a symbol ofrnthe need of complete integration. JusticernHarlan’s calls for a color-blindrnConstitution have animated universalistsrnto instigate an all-out push for a Utopianrnsociety.rnSuch good intentions drive the likes ofrnthe Institute for Justice, as they and theirrnkindred organizations litigate to end thernuse of race as a criterion in state adoptionrndecisions. Good intentions drive civilrnrights lawyers as they attempt to forcernmore busing and court supervision of localrnschools. Fortunately for blacks, theserngood intentions to undo perceived pastrnwrongs are meeting with stiff resistancernfrom within their own community.rnOnly when black tendencies for variousrndegrees of separation along with thernsame tendencies found in white Americarnare accepted and respected can we freernourselves from the fetters of the modernrn46/CHRONICLESrnrnrn