I don’t know how many of you saw the obituary story that ran the other day on C.B. Hauser. He was a remarkable man, one whose life journey was both a mirror and a metaphor of how far we’ve come and how far we have to go.
In researching that story, one of our editors came across a photograph of the story in the Mount Airy News on Hauser’s arrest in 1947 for failing to yield his seat while on a bus. I’ve attached the photo here. It’s a little tough to read, but it’s an incredible glimpse into our past. Hauser is referred to as an “educated negro,” and it’s not clear whether that adjective is used to assert that he a) ought to know better or b) ought to be given more privileges than “uneducated” Negros.
As a journalist, when I look at these stories from the past, I often ask myself “What would I have done.” Injustice is injustice, but journalistic detachment often competes with journalistic compassion for the underdog. I do think that this article was an important piece of journalism, because writing about it—even in the stilted manner in which it was done—showed the ridiculousness of the Jim Crow laws. To report is to acknowledge, and acknowledgement is along the path to respect.
Separately, a quick plug for a pair of fellow bloggers. Our StyleFile blog, which is all about fashion and such, is back on the Web after a shoe closet full of technical problems. Its hosts are Stephanie Stallings and Jeri Young. I told them they should rename it the OTTERCLOG. But they declined. Check it out.
Your host is Ken Otterbourg, the managing editor at the Winston-Salem Journal. It's a forum to discuss the media, from 
one way to deal with journalistic compassion is to be on deprakote and paxil. taking a photo on main street north myrtle beach of a man shot in front of hardwick’s restaurant, i was interrupted by a cop yelling at me, “NO!” my spot news entry was denied an award. the temptation to comply was cut short. i did the right thing. the money shot did not run. a pic without the body ran. you still have to take it. compassion gets you into trouble on the street. taking sides really is a hazard. i’ll never forget the time in banner elk an executive session, i like the term secret session, was held in the backroom of the liquor store. that’s the kind of thing you report when not held back by the threat of remorse. a judge falling asleep on the bench in boone...print? oh yes i did. compassion gets one into a lot of trouble. read my column next week in the north myrtle beach times http://www.nmbtimes.com
the atlantic beach, sc election is being contested until the current mayor gets more votes. i’m so glad to be back in n.c. compassion...i grew up in laurinburg where the funeral home had “spaghetti,” a corpse never interred. on the way to the horror double feature we would stop by. he was murdered in mccoll, sc. finally a politician raised a stink, and spaghetti was buried. now that’s compassion.
I wonder what any of us would have done. I would like to think that in the year 2007 most of us are educated enough to know better in terms of hating someone simply because of the color of their skin. Obviously we still have a long way to go. But I imagine many of us who believe we are not racist today, perhaps a large percentage of us, would have been raised far differently and/or would have been educated much differently in 1947 about other races, and we would have despised this man. He is a hero, now. I believe we will see many more.
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