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Katon Dawson and His GOP Mission

By J.P. Freire on 1.26.09 @ 2:54PM

Katon Dawson felt working for the GOP was necessary given what happened to him early on:

I've always been involved in politics. And I guess it goes all the way back to my school career and education. I, in the 1960s was a product of school segregation, where we took our schools and completely disbanded them, and made racial equality. Fifty-Fifty. And the kids had no choices. They closed Booker T. Washington, Blease, down here. A pretty good school. Closed it and sent the students to A. C. Flora, across town. And they did it over the summer because the laws had been changed by the politicians. And, the day that school opened, we were on CBS news with the busses turned upside down, and one of them lit on fire. By folks who didn't want to go to school there. Not folks who did.

The end of that story was, I was standing in a bathroom in public school... This scar over here [pointing to his forehead] was from a baseball bat. I will tell you it was a pretty harsh environment. Government reached into my life and grabbed me and shook me at the age of fifteen. I remember how blatant it was that government just thought that they knew better, that government just thought they knew better what to do in my school. And I can't say it was so much racial. I can say that people had a lot of stuff thrust on them because politicians thought they knew better.

Emphasis mine. Notwithstanding whether there might have been better ways to integrate schools than federal fiat (I've heard arguments to that end, but I'm not convinced), why is Katon Dawson on record saying this? That government reaching into his life during this time was something terrible. Is that something the GOP is going to want to defend if Dawson is elected?

UPDATE: David Weigel says, "To be fair to Dawson, he has been endorsed by two of the three black members of the RNC, and getting brained by a baseball bat is no fun."

When has "Some of my best friends are Black" ever resonated in a debate?

View all comments (16) | Leave a comment

Thom| 1.26.09 @ 6:02PM

My first week in High School was the first week of Federally mandated school de-segregation. We had fights all the first week inside the school and some things going on outside. Tensions remained high throughout the first year at least. While the Court said “separate but equal” was unconstitutional (because it was inherently unequal of outcome) what it forgot was that that the cross town bus loads and the neighborhoods they came from remained segregated and are pretty much still that way today. What is also forgotten is that the purpose of a school is to educate, not socialize. In the end we got “equal” schools because they pandered to the lowest common denominator and that drug down the entire school system in order to not appear to be delivering “equality” of education results. Failure of individuals was no longer allowed to avoid the specter of not delivering what the Court said was only possible with integrated schools. Typical symbolism over substance from the Federal Court system. Those that followed me through the Public School system suffered greatly reduced standards of academic achievement and a false sense of accomplishment that served a political purpose not an education purpose.

J. Peter Freire| 1.26.09 @ 6:08PM

That's probably more of an argument for better security at this time -- this was bound to happen. But whatever the case -- Really? This was Dawson's call to arms?

Thom| 1.26.09 @ 6:24PM

I never had to face a ball bat in the boy's rest room and today it would be a Tech9 or similar if you went in the wrong rest room at the wrong time. My only point was that the government forced two cultures together and things have gone down hill where it counts for society overall. The cultural differences remain and the legacy of destruction brought upon a Public School system that used to work for most people is still with us. It is just a singular example of grand government solutions not working and never being undone because symbolism is more important than result. Everyone has a different take on life so I guess maybe this is the point where he saw the grand plan fall flat on its face and no one wants to admit the obvious.

Filmer| 1.26.09 @ 11:15PM

Of course Brown v. Board was unconstitutionally decided. EVERY conservative should know this. And federally mandated school desegregation was unconstitutional. Most things federally mandated are. EVERY conservative should know this, as well.

So what is your point Mr. Freire? Aren't conservative supposed to respect constitutional limits?

We need more people willing to say that. We already have an abundance of those who won't.

Pkane| 1.27.09 @ 12:01AM

We might as well go back and argue that succession is constitutional, or that the Freedman's Bureau was unconstitutional.

Sure, you can make a logical, legally sound case for these positions - but, um, well... don't we have enough complex legal, economic and social arguments to convey to a public with a 2 second attention span then to open up a national debate on segregation for flips-sake?!?!?

Whatever Dawson's merits as a thinker, organizer or loyal party guy there's too much at stake right now to take chances on anyone who doesn't have have a rock solid grasp the PR minefield for conservative views in today's climate.

I haven't followed the RNC chair race too closely, but is Dawson the same guy with the Magic Obama nonsense?

Geez, the media, and the comics - who sadly present the news to most of our youth - cause enough damage on their own. We need a chairman who is at least connected enough to avoid tossing softballs to the John Stewart's of the world.

If the Republican Party doesn't figure out a way to connect to the next generation (who are, believe it or not, surprising open to conservative principles) we will lose this country.

Filmer| 1.27.09 @ 8:33AM

SECESSION IS CONSTITUTIONAL. Lord knows we need more people willing to make that argument. A Lincolnite conservatism is an oxymoron.

"PR minefield for conservative views in today's climate."

Part of the reason it is a PR minefield is because we allow it to be. We play by their PC rules. How does that change until someone takes the first step to buck those rigged rules?

The "Magic Negro" guy was Saltsman, not Dawson.

J.A. Davis| 1.27.09 @ 10:36AM

Very good to see this post by Mr. Freire. Republicans have a great deal of work to do if they hope to come back from the wilderness, and turning to Katon Dawson won't help them come back anytime soon.

Pacificaharry| 1.27.09 @ 12:07PM

Its as if the Republican leadership hasn't a clue what they are up against!? While I dont know Mr. Dawson, I can assure you, his election will be a disaster (If I can already predict the headlines, the RNC sure should be able to). The so called leaders of this party apparenty have a tin ear to the public at large, and forget why we now have a new Dem near super majority. We somehow think that good policy alone trumps everything - yet if you cant get your message out with a credible messenger through the MSM noise, we are toast. Electing Mr. Dawson, with this baggage, will set back our cause for the next 2 election cycles. If we cant figure out that we need someone who is media savvy, articulate, and represents our brand well, I will have to watch Pelosi and Reid. I believe the best person to help change our brand would be Mr. Steele - he would give pause to a lot of people who would never take a second look at our party, and is very media savvy and articulate. He almost became a U.S. Senator in a highly Dem. state because he could articulate what it is the republicans stand for. Then again, maybe the social conservatives prefer to be in the minority so they can complain the worlds against them and they are the only sacred ones left?

Pkane| 1.27.09 @ 10:10PM

Well said Pacificaharry.

As conservatives we must stay true to our convictions; however, we also must also guard against the seductive hubris of the Obama Fallacy:

"Our security emanates from the justness of our cause."

If only that were true.

Sabin| 1.30.09 @ 3:57PM

Filmer- You can't see the forest for the trees. The state was denying equal protection under the law by dumping all their resources to educate white children at the expense of the black ones. This was not a question of states' rights, but a question of induvidual rights as enumerated in the first ten bill of rights obligating Congress, or the federal government to maintian what are considered our inalienable rights. The 14th amendment obligates states to follow the bill of rights as well without due process. Meaning neither states or the fed government can take away the rights of their citizens on a whim

The court ruled that segregated schools were inherently unequal. They were de facto unequal, and I don't think anyone was honestly arguing that they weren't that they were inherently unequal meant that no source of institutional change could prevent black communities from unequal protection or support if segregation were to remain. And we're all fooling ourselves if we don't think the school segregation controversy was about racism. Despite individual ivory tower arguments about states rights, segregation was about state sanctioned racism, where a portion of the citizenry illegally deprived life liberty and property to another portion of the citizenry through unconstitutional means based on a false criteria of race.

That was why the court ruled the way it did, because individual liberty must trump state perrigative every time. That is embedded in our constitution

Interloper| 1.30.09 @ 8:58PM

As some of these comments show, there is support for Katon Dawson's segregationist views. The question is: How big a backlash against Michael Steele will there be?

kmd| 1.31.09 @ 6:48PM

Sabin, why are you trying to enlighten these crazies? They'll never get it and who wants them to? If they finally understood how racist they sound they might start winning elections again. Every time my republican friends try to convince their party isn't full of racists something like this comes along. Interloper makes a good point: how long are these racists going to stand for a black man leading their party? It's amazing that anything that isn't being racist is "being PC." I'm calling a spade a spade and will say anyone who thinks segregation was a good idea is racist. Period.