News happens when significant details about something or someone come to light.
Whether the subject is current, ancient or somewhere in between doesn’t matter. Fresh details command interest. They appeal to our curiosity, educate us and give us insight.
Sometimes they’re hard to take.
All of that was at work during the Star-Telegram’s recent “Color of Hate” series in which staff writer Tim Madigan and photographers Rodger Mallison and Jeffery Washington presented an unprecedented examination of the Jim Crow era in Fort Worth.
Each installment in the seven-part series was laden with details about segregation’s impact on life in the black community from the 1920s to the ’60s.
The details flowed freely from the recollections of black residents who had lived during those years.
Reaction flowed freely from readers as well.
Some 138 have called in or e-mailed their opinions. Of those, 77 readers found great value in the series as a measure of the present; 55 viewed it as a menace to peace, saw no connection with the present and questioned our motives; six readers just wanted to mention angles that weren’t covered. Four readers canceled their subscriptions.
Those who called had a lot to say, and they did so in long, passionate conversations.
Here’s a sampling of readers’ comments.
From those who protested the series:
“You are doing nothing but driving a wedge between the races. Lest you forget, the race riots in this nation have occurred in the supposedly integrated states.”
“Just as the wounds of the past begin to heal, you find the need to rip [them] open again.”
“I want an article that says that the white people of today would never do such things and feel bad that they ever happened.”
“I was a child in the ’60s, and I didn’t know any of this stuff then, and I don’t care to know about it now, and I don’t want my children to know.”
“Of course segregation was wrong; it limited educational and job opportunities, but that is history, and it does not justify inflammatory articles.”
“It’s painful for me to read this stuff, and it offends me. It’s shameful and disgusting.”
“I’d like to see all racism end — women against men, gays against straights, Hispanics against blacks. We just pick on white people.”
“Are you with the KKK, considering you put this trash in the paper?”
From those who applauded the series:
“I’m so proud to read this. It shows there’s concern about what went on and why things are the way they are and why certain attitudes persist.”
“It is important to not only remember but to acknowledge this dismal period in American history. This must be done to not only learn from our mistakes but to ensure that we don’t repeat them.”
“I’ve really liked your articles. There was a lot of stuff going on that you didn’t know about. I remember my mom telling me some stuff, but I never knew for sure. This is one of the best things you’ve ever done.”
“I hope that educators use these articles to support their texts, because there is so much to be learned from these stories.”
“I’m nearly 80. I’m enjoying the series. I want to know what was going on. Young people would never know without reporting like this, and it should not be forgotten.”
“I didn’t know any of this. I’m reading every word. I seldom read all of anything, but I’m reading every single bit of this.”
“You are doing a great job in bringing the facts to us, and we thank you so much. It is fascinating reading, although I feel so guilty to have grown up during that era and not doing something to help eradicate it.”
Both sides provided validation of the series as a work of substance.
They stamped it with reaction. Dissonant, yes. But an important detail for the record.
