Unknown: After a year of intense debate around racial justice and renewed demands for equity, how are Black Alaskans marking Black History Month?

And how much progress has been made here?

And I remember in the early 60s, I think it was like five or six, picketing cars food center because they wouldn't hire black people and getting egged and thrown things at us and racial slurs and I was scared to death, but I was proud to go march with my parents.

What do black Alaskans want to see for change going forward?

And how can we all help create a better future for everyone?

We'll honor the black pioneers of the past and discuss the leaders of tomorrow tonight on Alaska Insight.

Good evening, thanks for joining us for a discussion on Black History Month, honoring past pioneers and speaking with contemporary leaders about the progress toward equality that has been made and where efforts need to focus in the future.

Joining me is Anchorage attorney Rex Butler.

Rex is a former assistant attorney general for Alaska, and is a member of the Alaska Black Caucus.

Also Ashleigh Gaines is with us.

Ashleigh is the chair of the NAACP Youth Council.

Welcome both of you.

Thank you our pleasure to be here.

So great to have you both on with us.

Rex, I want to start with you, when you consider this month celebrating the progress and accomplishments of Black Americans and honoring those who have worked so hard to advance equal rights, how do you mark February personally?

Is there something that you and your family do that is unique in this month?

Well, you know, Lori, this month gives us an opportunity to look at where we're at, not just as individuals, but as Black folks in Alaska.

My first visit to Alaska was 1982.

I moved here in 1983, said I'd be here for about five years, that five years hasn't run out yet.

But, you know, Alaska is a very interesting place.

Because the truth of the matter is, I don't know how much progress we've actually made, in Alaska yet.

Alaska has become a very diverse community over the years.

But it just appears to me that in terms of inclusion, I don't know that we've made much progress.

And I would, I would just say that Alaska has managed I think the people who had power in Alaska for so many years, and status, have managed to hold on to it, and to pass it down to friends and family, to the exclusion if you will, of other minorities in the community period.

I am a lawyer, I work in the judicial system essentially.

And I know that former Chief Justice Dana Fabe and other members of the Alaska Supreme Court and the Alaska Court of Appeals made efforts to get more minorities involved in the court system in terms of judgeships and things of that nature.

But outside of that, I don't know that I've seen that kind of effort made anywhere else in Anchorage, in Alaska.

And I don't know how you fix it.

So you don't see the same level of the type of commitment that Dana Fabe had in the business community or the health industry, is is that some of the areas that you're thinking about specifically?

Maybe education or ... ?

Across the board, you know, I don't, you know, I don't see people who look like myself really in executive positions that can help to formulate change, make the change, and see that the wealth, the powe , all of that just seems to ju Well, thanks for starting us off there, Rex.

And I want to come t continue to be concentrated s it was when I first got her , and it continues to be that w y today.

back around to that.

But Ashleigh, let's turn to you now.

How about you?

After hearing what Rex had to say about where there are still large areas where progress needs to be made, what are you seeing that maybe gives you some reason to celebrate during Black History Month, but also the areas of concern for you?

You know, you know, as a first of all, celebrating Black history Month because it is my history and my culture.

But I definitely agree with Mr., Mr. Butler that there is a need for more diversity in our justice system, education system.

There's a lot of areas in Alaska, you know, it's kind of sad that you don't really see a lot of people of color and a lot of high positions in Alaska.

You know, I got my Black history education a lot growing up as a kid from my parents, because my parents came to Alaska in about 1974.

Been there since.

And they used to tell me about all the different Black folks that had influence on the Anchorage community and the things that they did, and it's really changed.

You know, you don't see as many as many Black folks in power or position, and there's a lack of.

And it seems like people, a lot of people came to the state, because they thought there would be more opportunity here, especially in those earlier days, when it was a new state or even before that in territorial times, that Black Americans came here looking for a chance to have more opportunity to, to get those positions where, where do you think that didn't become fruitful?

Or, or how, where are the pinch points?

Is it just as Rex said, people holding on to power and passing it along, as we see in other places?

Or do you see other areas of constraint?

Um, you know, I think it's come down , try to think of the word, it's on the tip of my tongue, but systematic racism is a big thing.

That's been I believe, that's been happening and progressing in the years.

And sad to say, and, and not just Black people, but women of color, Hispanic, Latino women, Asian women, men as well.

And you we don't see that?

We, you know, we consider the United States to be a melting pot but we don't see that.

I mean, as far as a state, we are very diverse.

But when it comes to high positions, things like a governor or senators, there is a lack of, and it, it could be, you know, they could, I guess the key word would be opportunity, providing the opportunity to more young folks of color.

I always try to, try to, and Mr. Rex is a great person for that, he tried to tell our leaders, our leaders of color that they should take the time to mentor our young folks, and prepare them for young folks of color and prepare them to take on those leadership positions, so that we may have a diverse, a more, have a diverse, you know, more people in those positions.

Mm hmm.

Well, thank you, Ashleigh.

Rex, I want to turn back to you.

There's been, as you well know, a lot of tension and protests over the past year.

And I want to get thoughts from both of you about that.

But first, where do you, against this backdrop of your previous comments about seeing some of the constraints that still exists today, where do you see progress and hope?

Where are the bright spots for you?

Well, you've asked me a question I'm going to have to think about and I say that because, you know, Ashleigh hit on a very important point.

Sometime in the past, it seems like we saw more Black entrepreneurial shift, assertiveness and things of that nature here in Anchorage, and certainly through the Alaska Black Caucus, which I think its current leadership, Celeste Growden, is is attempting to rekindle.

So that's a bright spot and attempting to, you know, get more and more Black folks together focused, working together to build Alaska.

But let me let me tell you one of my, one of my criticisms here.

Years ago, I used to be called during Black History Month to come to schools and, and speak and mentor students.

That hasn't happened in the last 10 years or more, really.

And we've never said no.

But nevertheless, the calls stopped coming.

And not just for me, but for other Blacks.

We've had this discussion and nobody in the school district, in fact, I think once Ms. Cuomo left, I think that was the end of it.

Okay, Black leaders in the community, Black people who have, you know, done something with their lives, I'm not gonna say the group, that we've been stars by any stretch of the imagination, but they've done something in their lives, who do have something to say and are willing to say it for free, don't get calls.

And so what happens is that that mentorship, that should be happening, now it now some of it does happen, like at Clark Middle School, where Miss Williams is principal.

She's got some good things going on over there.

And some good programs going over there.

But outside of that, I just don't see where the school system at any point is reaching out to, you know, Black, Black folks in the community, bringing them into the school just to talk for a half hour an hour to students.

Obviously, we've got a pandemic going right now.

So that certainly makes makes it very difficult.

But prior to the pandemic, prior to 2019, 2020, it just seems like those kinds of things stopped.

And I don't know the reason why.

But in terms of bright spots, well.

Let me continue to think about that.

All right.

Yes.

And you've raised a really important point about that outreach, and being able to mentor young people and going and seeing themselves reflected in professional people.

That's so important.

Ashleigh, I want to turn to you.

Are there things that you see that do seem like bright spots, what what helps you keep going and helps give you optimism for the future, especially as it relates to the young people that you work with?

What what are you seeing on the horizon?

Well one, you know, as you know, you're seeing young folks who are, you know, are interested in wanting to do the work and continue to, you know, push to take on the issues that our parents faced in those years ago, and that we're still facing today.

You know, people think, you know, slavery was 400 years ago, but it really wasn't that long ago.

And, you know, the will to keep pushing on and fighting the good fight is what keeps me going.

And, you know, when you see other young people who are like-minded and motivated to continue to fight for social justice issues, education, health, equal opportunity, economic justice, environmental justice, things of that sort, it, it just like feeds your your hunger to keep fighting the good fight.

And just want to leave a little piece, what Mr. Rex said when he was talking about, you know, the school the mentorship in schools and education, you know, it's, you know, Black history, you know, when you when you're taught it in Anchorage School District, you're not really taught it because, you know, they only teach you, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks.

You know, I think I got my first taste, real taste of Black history, as far as education and education, the teaching of it.

When I took a summer school class at Bartlett High School that was taught by who is now principal, she's a black principal, Dr. Lakhita Hodge and she's a principal at Hanshew Middle School now, she was then a teacher at Bartlett, but there was a big lack of the adequate teaching of Black history.

Not only in our schools but also in the higher education system.

But I see that there is a depth, that we have a great future with our young folks who want to continue to push these issues and fight for them.

All right, thank you.

I want to turn back to Rex now.

Let's talk about the continuing fight that goes on the struggles of the Civil Rights Era in the 60s, the marches and demand for equality, have certainly been mirrored over, especially this last year during the Black Lives Matter protests.

And and as you well know, protests have flared up through the decades around in justices in Los Angeles in the 90s, and around killings of unarmed Black men by police in recent years.

The attention around these injustices sort of subsides and flares up again.

Does it feel different now?

Do you see different momentum around the calls for equality and equal justice?

Does it, does it seem different?

Or is this just what you've seen throughout your life, and it's a continuation of that?

Well, I think that the the battle remains.

And you know, I look at the Black Lives Matter movement, for example, you know, many, many peaceful protest.

And there were some protests that weren't peaceful, and then come to find out that some of those protests were infiltrated by people who wanted to defame Black Lives Matter.

And so you have a large segment of the country that is anti Black Lives Matter, and they like to point to the few instances where there were terrible protests, where people got hurt, and property got damaged.

But they won't look at the overall picture, Which was mainly peaceful protests and marches.

Peaceful protest.

And in addition to that, you know, they come up with these conspiracies to defame the movement.

And then, of course, a lot of people buy into these conspiracies, just like they bought into the conspiracy that the election was stolen and things of that nature.

Because if you if you feed people something that they want to hear, they run with it.

So the, the battle for equality, for inclusion, to move people forward to to bring about this beautiful mental collection of diverse minds and bodies, to help make us all stronger, to strengthen our nation, you know, it goes to the backburner, and we end up with year after year, same battle, same conditions, same outcome, a lack of inclusion.

And so I don't know how to fix it.

You know, I just know, let me just say this, and I hope that your audience hears this.

If you go by an elementary school, and you watch the kids play, those kids don't see color.

They see another human being that they're having fun with, they're playing with, they're enjoying their company, somewhere along the line, these same kids learn color, they learn to believe that one color is better than another color.

You see?

So it's learned, it's taught.

And so at some point, you got to find a way to unteach it to just get, to stop teaching it.

You know what I've told some people?

A lot of old folks have got to die off, so that young folks can have a pure mind, like a sponge, and absorb the fact that all people are equal.

Diversity is strength.

Let's do it.

Well, we talked earlier about some of the people that came here for opportunity, and I want to talk about one of them right now.

As as we were discussing earlier, there's a long history of Black people coming to Alaska for a wide range of opportunities working hard to make a name for themselves.

Blanche McSmith is one of them.

She was Alaska's first Black state legislator.

We spoke with Assistant Professor Ian Hartman from the University of Alaska Anchorage about her role in state politics.

Blanche McSmith was born in Texas and she made her way up to Alaska in the years after World War II.

She was very willing to confront the Anchorage power structure, she and a number of her friends were targeted at a restaurant in town and told that they would not be served.

They got together and organize the picket and a boycott.

And that's one of the earliest mentions of a civil rights mobilization in Anchorage.

She was somebody who was extraordinarily headstrong.

She was somebody who was unafraid to, to make a note of racism and injustice where she saw it and she would write about it fearlessly for a couple of the Black newspapers in town, The Alaska Spotlight and the Alaska Midnight Sun Reporter.

She was the first African American to serve in the state Legislature.

What a lot of people may not know is that there was a level of Black representation in the state Legislature in in what was the first session.

That was ua a assistant professor Ian Hartman talking about Blanche McSmith, Alaska's first Black state legislator, and a very determined woman when it came to pushing back against racist behavior.

Ashleigh, stories like this are so important for young people to hear so they know what is possible.

When you think about the difficulties today and compare them to what women like Blanche McSmith had to do to be taken seriously and achieve goals.

What does that mean to you and the work that you're doing?

Well, one as as a young Black woman, it means a lot to me.

And, you know, first, you know, you must pay respect to those who came before us.

So you can continue to move forward, if you don't know where you, where you came from, and know your history, then you don't know where you're going.

And so, um, I will say, I actually have studied a lot about Blanche McSmith, we actually happen to have a NAACP local branch actually happens to have a scholarship in her name.

And we do encourage all high school students to do that -- put that, put that little plug in there.

But um, you know, I'm seeing, I mean, the progress that women, not just Black women, but women have made.

I would say that it's the year of the woman right now, as far as in politics and everything.

And, you know, it just shows me that there is nothing that can't be achieved, and nothing is impossible, as a woman and as a Black woman.

And if she had the courage to fight in those years, and you know, the things that happened, especially during the Civil Rights Movement, when people were being hosed, having animals, dog sicced them, you know, are paying the ultimate price -- which is why we have the NAACP -- being murdered.

This woman stood up and said, 'I will not have it.'

And so I believe, just learning that those things and hearing of her history, you know, you know, that gives you hope, and promise, and a promise to want to keep moving forward for the future as a young woman.

Absolutely.

Those are inspiring things.

Let's, let's look at another leader.

One of Alaska's earlier black leaders, William--Willard Bowman.

In 1963, Bowman became the first director of Alaska's Commission on Human Rights.

And in 1970, he became one of the first black men elected to the state Legislature.

An Anchorage elementary school is named for him.

His Son, Gregory Bowman, recently shared some memories of his father.

My father was in the Navy and in Pearl Harbor, when it was attack, it was on the USS Honolulu.

He was from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and she was from Boston, and they got married and moved up to Alaska, because, you know, I think he was in part of the fleet that fought me Aleutians, and he saw that it was a territory and you had a better shot and a better life.

There were subtle things, you know, like you had to have, I don't know, more money and better credit to get a loan, you know, and then that kind of thing bled through.

And I remember, in the early 60s, I think it was like five or six, picketing Carr's food center because they wouldn't hire Black people and getting egged and throwing things at us and racial slurs.

And I was scared to death, but I was proud to go march with my parents, because I knew they would try to keep me safe.

It was my first job when I got to be 16, was bagging groceries at the very place we picketed.

Gregory Bowman is the son of Willard Bowman, one of the first African American men elected to the Alaska State Legislature.

Rex in just about 30 seconds, can you tell us what you hope to see in the future for your grandchildren that maybe you didn't experience herself?

Well, let me just say being old and I am.

I had the pleasure of meeting and interacting with Blanche McSmith.

What would I like to see?

I'd like to see more Blanche McSmiths out there with that kind of courage, that drive that kind of energy to help make things different.

She just, you know, what she did for Anchorage, is immeasurable, so we need more people like her who are willing to step out there on the front line.

Take the, take the bitter with the sweet, fight for other people.

Yes.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

I'm sorry that we'll have to leave it there.

Thanks so much to Rex and Ashleigh.

What does racial equity require from all of us?

That's a question at the center of a discussion series currently underway through the Alaska Humanities Forum.

And as so many of our families are increasingly composed of a rich blend of ethnicities, it's a question that deserves a lot of consideration, discussion and action for the health happiness, safety and prosperity of our collective futures.

That's it for this edition of Alaska Insight.

Be sure to tune in daily to your local public radio station for Alaska Morning News and Alaska News Nightly every week night.

Be part of important conversations happening on Talk of Alaska every Tuesday morning, and visit our website alaskapublic.org for breaking news and reports from across the state.

We'll be back next Friday.

Thanks for joining us this evening.

I'm Lori Townsend.

Good night.