I Have Lived Long Enough to Know that People are People
I am a diamond. At least, that is what my high school history teacher, Mrs. Clara Luper, called me and all her students. We were HER diamonds, and our gender, race, or ethnicity was of no importance. I am Mrs. Luper’s diamond, and just like a natural gemstone, I was formed under intense pressure for many years, shaped by the grains of earthly struggles and family trauma into something resilient and beautiful—a daughter of God Almighty.
Clara Luper was a diamond, too, of the very best quality. However, the worldly pressures that shaped her Black American brilliance and sparkle were grounded in Oklahoma City’s poverty and segregation policies of the era. After being denied service at the Katz Deli lunch counter several times in 1958, she organized the NAACP Youth Council to host a sit-in protest, which garnered national media attention. After that, she became a pioneering civil rights leader who organized dozens of nonviolent efforts to desegregate public establishments. Mrs. Luper was a one-of-a-kind gem, teacher, and friend.
When asked by the press if she, a black woman, could represent white people, she responded: “Of course, I can represent white people, black people, red people, yellow people, brown people, and polka dot people. You see, I have lived long enough to know that people are people.”[1]
Clara Luper, who died in 2011, understood identity politics, though not by that name, likely would have aligned with Coleman Hughes when he stated in his book The End of Race Politics that “Colorblindness is the wisest principle by which to govern our fragile experiment in multiethnic democracy.”[2]
We Already Know that Poverty Does Not Discriminate
“While humans will always retain a tendency to draw distinctions between “us” and “them,” the criteria for who is included in the in-group, and how members of the out-group are treated, are deeply dependent on context.”[3] Hughes’s thesis is that while race is the most common way society categorizes people to make sense of the world, it is inaccurate. Skin color does not convey the more essential aspects about someone, such as where they were born or raised, their values and beliefs, or their everyday experiences. Instead, race has become the primary mechanism to associate color with disenfranchisement. The problem here is that poverty does not discriminate and impacts people of all races and ethnicities, ages, and genders.
Instead, Coleman argues that the better and more accurate way to categorize people groups is by socioeconomic status. Given that the U.S. operates within a capitalistic economy that focuses so much on wealth, it makes sense that we would typify people similarly. I concur with the author. Once you can accurately cluster people together, you will better understand their resources and needs.
A Counter Thought: What If Politics Weren’t Fueled by Race?
Many people believe that the U.S. will never be colorblind in its policies, not because they think race should be the primary factor in political decisions but because ignoring race in the development of policies means ignoring the systems of inequality and the ongoing impact of racial injustices that have persisted for generations. Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice believes, “This country’s never going to be colorblind. We had the initial original sin of slavery. It’s still with us.”[4] Robin DiAngelo, whose work significantly informed Hughes’ research, was quoted saying, “Colorblindness is a form of denial, an avoidance of the uncomfortable realities of race and racism.”[5]
Opposition to Hughes’ idea of promoting colorblind policies is a clear rub to some who feel he is aiming to reverse course on all the progress on equality gained through and since the civil rights era.[6] While removing race from politics might seem like a positive step forward, there could be unintended consequences that miss the lived experiences of minority groups. Politics that ignore race may inadvertently perpetuate the very systems of inequality they are trying to address, deepening racial divisions and leaving systemic issues unaddressed. Acknowledging race and addressing racial disparities remain essential to creating a fair and equitable society.
While I find the approach described by Coleman Hughes compelling, Clara Luper would likely agree with certain aspects of his ideology but not all of it. She would appreciate his call for individual responsibility and the pursuit of equality, yet she would challenge his colorblind politics, because it overlooks the historical and ongoing impacts of segregation and discrimination in American culture. Luper’s philosophy centered on empowerment and addressing systemic inequality, so she might view Hughes’ thesis as insufficient in confronting the root causes of racial injustice. Instead of seeing their views as mutually exclusive, perhaps there is room to find common ground in a “yes, and…” approach, where both perspectives can contribute to a fuller understanding of racial progress—acknowledging both the need for individual agency and the necessity of addressing structural inequality.
“My biggest challenge, I think, was within myself – to believe that I could continue in spite of conditions. My biggest challenge was that I could continue without knowing where our next dollar was coming from. And the main challenge and the main satisfaction was knowing that someday we’d be able to do what my father, who was a veteran in World War I, was not able to do, and that was to enjoy the privileges of first-class citizenship.”[7] – Clara Luper.
[1] “Clara Luper.” Wikipedia, January 24, 2025. Accessed February 15, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Clara_Luper&oldid=1271626426.
[2] Hughes, Coleman. The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America. New York: Thesis, 2024. P. XVII.
[3] Mounk, Yascha. The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time. New York: Penguin Press, 2023. P.13.
[4] Onley, Dawn. “Condoleezza Rice Shoots down Claims That America Is More Racist under Trump.” TheGrio. Last modified June 21, 2019. Accessed February 16, 2025. https://thegrio.com/2019/06/21/condoleezza-rice-shoots-down-claims-america-more-racist-trump/.
[5] DiAngelo, Robin J. White Fragility: Why It’s so Hard for White People to Talk about Racism. Boston: Beacon Press, 2018.
[6] Hughes, Coleman. “- YouTube.” Video. The View. Accessed February 16, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xwEq38aL9M.
[7] “Luper, Clara.” Accessed February 16, 2025. https://www.rose.edu/content/academics/academic-divisions/liberal-arts-sciences/social-sciences/history/oral-history/luper-clara/.
About the Author
Jennifer Eckert
Operations and fundraising director, people connector, believer in second chances, fights poverty, supports justice reform, lives a life integrated with Matthew 25.5 responses to “I Have Lived Long Enough to Know that People are People”
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Jennifer,
Wow. you were taught by a Civil Rights leader in highschool? My high school biology teacher did state time for selling kids drugs he made with the school equipment. I guess we didn’t have a similar high school experience.
I love the story your created and the way you tied it to Hughes. I agree that Hughes seems to take very broad strokes as he describes where to go as a society and looking at the history of our culture. I wonder how your ministry in prisons might have also shaped your perspective on racial issues?
Having Clara Luper as a teacher was one of the rare anomalies in those years. The rest of my high school experience was much like yours.
The systemic racism associated with mass incarceration is real, and it impacts families for generations. There are whole communities with no men/fathers around because of this issue. Having proximity to those in prison has revealed a tremendous amount of injustice in our system. Not that people don’t make mistakes (most admit to their crimes), but the unequal and over-sentencing is one problem. The limited access to rehabilitative programs is the other problem. I have come to believe that America has an anger issue, and we take it out in spades on those who find themselves making poor choices. It’s less about them and more about us – our values and culture. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Jennifer,
You mentioned Condoleezza Rice. I saw her speak in 2018 in Houston. I read a biography of hers before going. Very impressive life she has lived.
I am processing your comments about that Clara “Clara Luper, while she would have agreed with his ideology, would have struggled with the aspect that colorblind politics doesn’t acknowledge the history of segregation and discrimination that continues to shape American culture. She would have seen Hughes’ thesis as an attempt to maintain the status quo without addressing the root causes of racial inequality.”
I felt that Hughes argument is that we have lost sight of the mission of the Civil Rights Movement, which I believe definitely recognized the nation’s history and causes of inequality. Since I only did an inspectional reading of the book. I may have missed some other important concepts.
Thanks, Jeff. In hindsight, I could have modified that statement to be much clearer. I believe Clara Luper would have landed somewhere in the middle if she had lived a few years longer to incorporate the lessons we are learning today. I think Hughes is saying there is more to people than race and that the measure of race (even in our census) is a flawed methodology. A better measure is socioeconomics.
I don’t think this is misaligned with the Civil Rights movement; however, when I think of the Black Panthers and Green Berets, the difference is in what message was argued.
Hi Jennifer, I echo everyone’s sentiments—it truly was a gift that Clara Luper was your teacher, and without a doubt, you are a diamond! I really appreciated your reflections in this post. As I read through the comments, one response you made to Adam particularly stood out to me: ‘America has an anger issue, and we take it out in spades on those who find themselves making poor choices.’ This rings so true in today’s climate, and that anger extends far beyond just those within the correctional system. Given your experience in our complex climate, how do you distinguish between ‘righteous anger’ and ‘vengeful anger’? I believe this distinction is crucial to understanding what’s unfolding today, and it’s something I’m still working through.