William Winter on Racial Reconciliation
Former
Mississippi Governor William Winter is a living legend, a paragon of civic virtue
and a personal hero of mine. His
lifetime of public service has been effective because he realized before most
that the future of Mississippi was dependent on quality public education for
all and racial reconciliation.
Our community is honored to have him as the keynote speaker for the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday breakfast at Mississippi State University. How fitting to hear from the namesake of the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation and a member of President Bill Clinton’s Advisory Board on Race.
Governor Winter also received a special Profile in Courage Award for Lifetime Achievement at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston in 2008. The honor recognized his leadership in championing racial equality and educational opportunity in Mississippi.
In the early 1990s, I had the privilege to travel with Governor Winter on a project that took us to many state capitals such as Albany, Austin and Tallahassee to visit with important officials. What struck me most as a young observer was the awe in which these leaders and intellectuals held Governor Winter. I remember thinking that I wish the people of Mississippi could see what an esteemed national reputation he has and what a great ambassador for our state he is.
Governor Winter writes all his own speeches, and his words tell the measure of the man far better than I could. In a speech at Tufts University in 1998, he said, “Because the racial make-up of this country is changing so drastically, all of us have to work harder than ever to overcome the fault line of race…How far we think we have come in race relations depends largely on where we stand. Most white people think we have come further than most black people think. But one thing we can agree on is the proposition that we must provide an opportunity to every person regardless of race or class to secure a competitive education which will lead to a more rewarding economic future.”
In a 1999 article, he wrote, “Maybe the hardest thing for us white folks to recognize is the fact that because we are white we enjoy a certain privilege based on our skin color. While most of us whites…have had to work hard to achieve whatever we have done, at least we didn’t have to face the ever-present uncertainty of acceptance based on our skin color, and we have been able to move easily in and through the informal networks that lead to social and financial success.”
Speaking at a Presbyterian church in 2000, Governor Winter told the congregation that “we can go out of our way to really get to know people of other races – that process enriches all of us; when people say or do things that are clearly racially biased whether from blacks or whites, we must speak out against them; we can be aware of our own racial blind spots and stereotypes; we can participate in community efforts to reduce racial prejudice; we can become informed about the concerns of people of other races; and we can make a personal commitment to the elimination of racism whenever and however it exists.”
Governor Winter easily could have been describing himself when he eulogized author Willie Morris. “Morris,” he recalled, “wrote of what I thought the South was really about – of civility and courtesy and kindness and tolerance – not of rage and hate and bitterness and bigotry. I found in his writings the special insight of one whose affection for his home state was not only undiminished but reinforced by his recognition of our weaknesses as well as our strengths and especially of our need to reach out to more, indeed to all, of our neighbors, and to erase the barriers that separated us from one another.”
Governor Winter has spent a lifetime in public service working to bring us together because he knows it’s the only way Mississippi can reach its full potential. In the words of Dr. King, we are grateful that Governor Winter answered the call of his generation to start transforming a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, into an oasis of freedom and justice.
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News and works at the Stennis Center for Public Service.
Our community is honored to have him as the keynote speaker for the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday breakfast at Mississippi State University. How fitting to hear from the namesake of the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation and a member of President Bill Clinton’s Advisory Board on Race.
Governor Winter also received a special Profile in Courage Award for Lifetime Achievement at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston in 2008. The honor recognized his leadership in championing racial equality and educational opportunity in Mississippi.
In the early 1990s, I had the privilege to travel with Governor Winter on a project that took us to many state capitals such as Albany, Austin and Tallahassee to visit with important officials. What struck me most as a young observer was the awe in which these leaders and intellectuals held Governor Winter. I remember thinking that I wish the people of Mississippi could see what an esteemed national reputation he has and what a great ambassador for our state he is.
Governor Winter writes all his own speeches, and his words tell the measure of the man far better than I could. In a speech at Tufts University in 1998, he said, “Because the racial make-up of this country is changing so drastically, all of us have to work harder than ever to overcome the fault line of race…How far we think we have come in race relations depends largely on where we stand. Most white people think we have come further than most black people think. But one thing we can agree on is the proposition that we must provide an opportunity to every person regardless of race or class to secure a competitive education which will lead to a more rewarding economic future.”
In a 1999 article, he wrote, “Maybe the hardest thing for us white folks to recognize is the fact that because we are white we enjoy a certain privilege based on our skin color. While most of us whites…have had to work hard to achieve whatever we have done, at least we didn’t have to face the ever-present uncertainty of acceptance based on our skin color, and we have been able to move easily in and through the informal networks that lead to social and financial success.”
Speaking at a Presbyterian church in 2000, Governor Winter told the congregation that “we can go out of our way to really get to know people of other races – that process enriches all of us; when people say or do things that are clearly racially biased whether from blacks or whites, we must speak out against them; we can be aware of our own racial blind spots and stereotypes; we can participate in community efforts to reduce racial prejudice; we can become informed about the concerns of people of other races; and we can make a personal commitment to the elimination of racism whenever and however it exists.”
Governor Winter easily could have been describing himself when he eulogized author Willie Morris. “Morris,” he recalled, “wrote of what I thought the South was really about – of civility and courtesy and kindness and tolerance – not of rage and hate and bitterness and bigotry. I found in his writings the special insight of one whose affection for his home state was not only undiminished but reinforced by his recognition of our weaknesses as well as our strengths and especially of our need to reach out to more, indeed to all, of our neighbors, and to erase the barriers that separated us from one another.”
Governor Winter has spent a lifetime in public service working to bring us together because he knows it’s the only way Mississippi can reach its full potential. In the words of Dr. King, we are grateful that Governor Winter answered the call of his generation to start transforming a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, into an oasis of freedom and justice.
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News and works at the Stennis Center for Public Service.