Steele discusses race and powe

Some of his critics say that if he were white instead of black, he would be a racist. Some of his proponents say that he is simply a man who supports equal rights for everyone. Yesterday, about 250 University students had the opportunity to make up their own minds about Shelby Steele, an English professor at San Jose State University and author of the controversial book The Content of Our Character: A New Vision of Race in America. Steele spoke to a standing room only crowd for over an hour in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall, discussing many of the more controversial views mentioned in his book. One of his theories, which many have labeled neo-conservative, includes Steele's claim that many minorities focus too much attention on labeling people as racists, rather than concentrating on bettering themselves. Whites, he said, do not try to understand these cries of racism and only end up feeling guilty, which does not help either side. Steele, who has appeared on "Nightline" and has been profiled in Time magazine, covered everything in his speech from the civil rights movement to affirmative action. He began his speech, which was sponsored by the Black Wharton Undergraduate Association, by asserting that he is a staunch supporter of democracy. "I am certainly a firm believer in the principles that the Union was founded on," Steele said. "The idea that all individuals have the same rights is marvelous. Unfortunately, our founding fathers made these wonderful ideas about democracy apply only to white male property owners." Steele added that the idea of granting rights to individual groups instead of to the individual was the "original sin" of this country. During the civil rights movement, Steele said, blacks gained "moral power" and brought about a change in the system. But after successfully breaking the tie between race and power, he said, blacks linked the two entities together once again through "black power" movements. "The moment when we got free, without even thinking about it, we remarried race and power," Steele said. "We re-established the theory we had just knocked down." He added that this "power of victimization" became a trend which lasted from the 1970s until the present, when various groups took "the difference [they] possessed from white males, linked it with victimization and suddenly gained power." Steele said this sort of grouping leads only to separatism, which is no answer for the racial dilemma. These groups then use "moral extortionism" to evoke guilt in whites, who in turn give minorities concessions to alleviate this guilt, he added. Steele said that these concessions, which include affirmative action, do not solve the real problem. "Affirmative action is a trick bag," he said. "You think you get something, but you don't. Racial preference at age 18 is cheap. We need a social revolution from kindergarten up." Steele ended his speech by insisting that minorities need to educate themselves and become more competitive. He added that oppression is no longer the enemy. "America's not oppressing us," he said. "It's just letting us languish. The real problem blacks have today is not oppression, but taking advantage of freedom." During the discussion which followed Steele's speech, several students disagreed with his theories, saying that the only power available for blacks was through unity. "We shouldn't have to conform to the majority," College senior Britt Anderson said. Other students, however, agreed with Steele. "I think he had a lot of good things to say," College senior Seth Deavila said last night. "I think he was right about the notion of drawing status from being a victim [constrains] you."