Fighting racism, since 1863

Redefining stereotypes in West Virginia is a noble goal, and the YWCA of Charleston is proud to join in the effort.

It’s fitting, too—145 years ago, when President Lincoln declared the new state of West Virginia, he did so partly because the people here refused to accept racism as an institution. Somewhere along the way, the world has lost sight of this state’s ground-breaking stance against slavery. The YWCA, as part of its core mission of eliminating racism wherever it is found, is a natural partner in the ABetterWestVirginia project of redefining stereotypes in the Mountain State.

We applaud the project’s coordinator, Jason Keeling, and join with bloggers around the state to send a message: just as West Virginians were among the righteous few who understood the moral repugnancy of slavery, we also reject the definition of our proud people as being, at best, socially backward and, at worst, racist at heart. For more than 100 years, the YWCA has been fighting this perception and renews its commitment to that ideal today, on the eve of West Virginia Day.

West Virginia’s undeserved status as the butt of the nation’s jokes is once again big news. When Sen. Barack Obama lost to Sen Hilary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary here in May, national media outlets had a field day. Their explanation? West Virginians are racist bigots who would never vote for a black man.

But the national media hasn’t bothered to look beyond their 10-second soundbites. If so, they would see that the YWCA’s national mission, which is proudly embraced by the YWCAs around the country and in West Virginia, is to eliminate racism and empower women. The West Virginia Hate Crimes Task Force, of which the YWCA of Charleston is a member, meets on a quarterly basis. The YWCA of Charleston is one of the co-sponsors of an open community forum on racism and intolerance. This event, which is scheduled for August 5 from 6-8 p.m. at the Marriott, will be lead by former skinhead T.J. Lydon. We encourage all who are concerned about this issue to join us and our other co-sponsors at this important community event.

It’s not just our humble beginnings in 1863 that speaks to West Virginia’s embrace of ethnic and cultural diversity. West Virginia played a key role in the 1960 presidential race, when John. F. Kennedy, a Roman Catholic, campaigned in the coalfields of West Virginia. The nation assumed rural Protestants would never vote for a Catholic man. They were wrong. Kennedy’s message transcended man-made socio-cultural barriers, and voters in West Virginia selected him over Democratic rival Hubert Humphrey. Until his life was cut tragically short, Kennedy remained grateful to the people of West Virginia for their forward-thinking role in electing the nation’s first Catholic president.

As our nation again marches toward another historic election, the YWCA of Charleston continues its efforts to eliminate cultural bias through community education and advocacy. Please be clear. The YWCA of Charleston isn’t endorsing any candidate. Instead, we are trusting our community and our culture to redefine the unfortunate stereotypes that have caused so much pain and choose a candidate based on their individual merits and qualifications. With so many issues facing our great state today, we must send the same message that we’ve been sending since our historic formation in 1863: that we are a principled people undeterred by racial bigotry and the undeserved labels heaped upon our state.