Evil that once drove angry whites to overturn school buses is stirred again

I am a 67-year-old white, male, middle-class, native-born, lifetime resident of South Carolina. I can vividly recall the anger that gripped the South in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s over racial integration in New Orleans, Little Rock, Birmingham and especially Lamar, South Carolina. In all these places, angry whites, mostly male, formed gauntlets to harass black children trying to enter the schools with mean, vile epithets and profanities.

March 4, 1970 - White Mob Attacks School Buses | Chicago Tribune

Many Of Lamar's Whites Seem Proud Of Attack On Children

In Lamar on March 2, 1970, a group of 150-200 white men began rocking school buses that were bringing young black children to school. Police used tear gas to force the mob back and get the children off the bus. The mob charged again and turned over two, fortunately empty, buses and proceeded to break out the windows.

National, regional and local demagogues were nearly always present, firing up the crowds with their messages of hate and vindictiveness toward not only the innocent children but a government they asserted was trampling on their rights as citizens. Pictures and film from this period capture in the faces of the mob members not only anger but fear of losing things they felt were rightfully theirs and not to be shared with “others.” Those my age and older remember the day-to-day language that was used to express the anger and fear seen in the pictures.

With the passing of time, I developed a solid belief that white America and especially white Southerners should be congratulated on the way they, for the most part, grew from those turbulent times. Our progress in social and cultural issues along with the technological changes has been, I feel, little short of phenomenal.

My belief has been crushed by the rise of Donald Trump. As a highly skilled communicator and manipulator, he has touched an extremely raw nerve, stoked fear and anger and in general been able to appeal to and ignite the evil and wicked passions that drove those 200 men in Lamar 46 years ago to attempt to turn over a school bus filled with innocent children.

With the events of 50 years ago as our guide, how can we allow this charlatan and demagogue to rise to any position of power?

This story was originally published August 1, 2016 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Evil that once drove angry whites to overturn school buses is stirred again."