Ronald Wilson Reagan, (February 6, 1911 - June 5, 2004) The recent passing of America’s 40th President, Ronald Wilson Reagan, invokes a wide range of feelings throughout the black community. Since I was born a 70’s child, my personal recollection of Reagan's time in office is a bit murky at best. When the news flashed that Ronald Reagan had died, the first thing that popped into my mind was March 30, 1981. Because it was on this day that my 5th grade teacher alerted the class to the fact that our president had been shot. As I boarded the school bus that would take me and a lot of the other black students away from the predominately white elementary school located in the posh and affluent River Oaks community, back to the working class, predominately black, Southside of Houston neighborhoods, I excitedly greeted our (black) bus driver with the news.
My teacher said that Ronald Reagan has been shot!!
It all seemed surreal to me, like something out of a book or movie. Questions were still swirling about..How bad was he hurt? Who shot him? Was it the Russians?? What would happen to America? Who’s the president now?? As soon as I informed our bus driver of the news, she gave a quick sneer and retort,
I wish he woulda killed that cracker.
I was actually taken aback by the obvious hatred that was prevalent in her voice and tone. Our president was a racist cracker?? Really? I didn’t know that. It seems that a large segment of the black community held feelings of animosity and loathing against Ronald Reagan and his entire administration and policy. Reagan’s ‘back to basics’ philosophies and policies were being criticized throughout the black community for turning back years of advancements gained through the civil rights movement.
Although both my parents were working class blacks, they had not shared any contempt for Reagan with me or my sister. As far as I could tell from my dad, ALL presidents didn’t know what the hell was going on, not just Reagan.
Carter needed to get out of office! These gas prices and gas lines are RIDICULOUS! And then he sent those ol raggedy az helicopters trying to free those hostages and he made himself and the rest of America look like d’mn fools!
When it came to Reagan, my dad, being an ex-Navy enlisted man, was enthused by Reagan’s penchant for military might:
One thing I like about Reagan, he’s ready to load up those GUNS jack! He ain’t playing!
Since then I’ve been able to make my own observations of an influential man that our nation is mourning. A lot of people only see Reagan as the ‘great communicator’ expounding the conservative Republican agenda. As a Christian, there were a lot of things that Reagan stood up for that I (in retrospect) am in total agreement with. From allowing prayer in schools, and tightening the restrictions on abortion to decreasing the tax burden on the American citizens, Ronald Reagan ushered in a revival of ‘traditional’ family values into politics.
On the other side of the coin, as a black American I know that a lot of the policies that were instituted during the Reagan administration, have been crippling to the black community. Along with all of Reagan’s achievements, his administration will also be known as the era that saw the introduction of crack and AIDS into the American community. Of course, this doesn’t mean that Reagan himself created these things, it’s just that strong arguments can be made that the political/social climate induced by Reagan’s policies were catalyst to both these diseases arriving and spreading throughout the community.
The real kicker comes in when we realize that it was the Reagan administration that sent a special envoy headed by Donald Rumsfield (pictured shaking hands with Saddam) to Iraq to meet with dictator Saddam in 1983. Since America was deeply concerned about Iran winning the Iraq-Iran war, open discussions were opened up between the U.S. and Iraq for the first time since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It was during these times that Reagan's directives allowed American firms to sell military supplies and weapons to Iraq, to aid Saddam in the war against the ‘evil’ Iranian regime. This aid was rendered even though America was repeatedly made aware of Iraq’s use of chemical warfare aka ‘weapons of mass destruction’ on Iranians as well as Kurdish Iraqi’s.Of course there are some people who will roll their eyes and decry the fact that I’m pointing out negative things about one of our nation’s ‘greatest presidents’, but that is not my intent. I think Ronald Reagan did a lot toward reviving the American spirit. From leading the charge toward ending the Cold War, to being caught up in the embarrassing Iran-Contra Scandal, Reagan definitely left a resounding mark on America. I find it more than ironic, that as we are commemorating his life, American soldiers are giving their lives toward the rebuilding of Iraq from it’s ‘evil’ dictator Saddam Hussein. Reagan’s vice president’s son is now our Commander in Chief, Saddam Hussein has been captured and detained by US forces and Donald Rumsfield is now the Secretary of Defense. My how times change in 20 years.
On a more personal side, Reagan’s bout with Alzheimer’s disease is a journey that millions of Americans must trek everyday. Since my grandfather passed away during the later stages of Alzheimer’s and I have other family members stricken with the disease as well, my heart definitely goes out to the Reagan family during their time of bereavement. Anyone that has experienced a loved one suffering from this illness knows the heavy toll that it takes on the entire family. Hopefully Reagan can be an impetus to spur along more research and development toward the treatment of Alzheimer’s.
Obviously I don’t agree with all of Reagan’s policies and perspectives, but I fully respect his rights to live his life the best way he knew how. Of course, my grade school bus driver probably finds it very fitting, that Reagan’s body will be laid to rest in Simi Valley, California.
