Backstory: Dr. King's prescription

By Michael Green

During World War II, the need for secrecy prompted people to say, "A slip of the lip can sink a ship." It also can sink a career.

Channel 13 weatherman Rob Blair gave the forecast for what he called "Martin Luther Coon King Jr. Day." Later in that newscast, he apologized for saying "Martin Luther Kong." That night, he apologized for "an accidental slip of the tongue." The next day he was without a job. Blair's agent said he was fired without cause and his contract should be honored.

Local African-American leaders criticized Blair for his comments. Several applauded Channel 13 for firing him and cited his comments as an example of racism, at the station and in society. That's correct--and incorrect. It's also part of a long history in Las Vegas--and of notable locals opening their mouths and inserting a foot.

Nor was Blair's gaffe original. A decade ago, a Metro Police officer referred to "Martin Luther Coon Day." Understandably, he faced plenty of criticism. But he also stood up. He went on a radio talk show for three hours and dealt with callers. He apologized for his wrongdoing.

Interestingly, on another radio show discussing the subject, a local black activist reamed his defense that it was just a mistake, saying anyone who made such a mistake was a racist. Then another guest, a white journalist who covered the incident and agreed the policeman must be racist, made the same mistake. The host laughed it off.

Even if Blair is the least racist person who ever lived, Freudians could have a field day over his comment. Making matters worse, his original apology wasn't for what he said. If he thought he said Martin Luther Kong, fine, but someone at the station should have caught it--and in the unlikely event it was intended as a cover story or diversion, in that case, shame on everyone.

Whether Channel 13 therefore suffers from a racist culture is another matter entirely. Suggesting that the station as a whole may have problems and require diversity training is pushing it. Yet, just as African-American leaders have every right and reason for doubt--hundreds of years of history count for a lot--I also may be sensitive about this.

Let's take a recent example. A few years ago, CCSN administrator Mike Meyer told another that "niggers are never on time." It cost him his job and it should have.

The incident should have raised more questions about why he felt he could make that comment. But those who accused CCSN of a racist culture tarred others with the same brush--for example, CCSN history professors who condemn slavery and racism in their classes (that makes me a leftist, according to right-wingers). Was that fair to CCSN as an institution?

That would be like blaming CCSN faculty, students and classified staff for the administrative corruption that won so much attention for us, or calling the entire royal family anti-Semitic because Prince Harry doesn't know the difference between Hitler and a ham sandwich. Sweeping generalizations often undercut the useful point being made and ultimately do more harm than good for the cause they are intended to serve.

To say that isn't racist or overly general. But in the context of civil rights, it could be considered condescending. That battle, in Las Vegas and elsewhere, has been fought too hard and came at too high a price for anyone, especially a white, to be patronizing.

The media have been crucial to that battle in various ways. In 1956, Channel 13, which recently employed Blair, began broadcasting from the new Fremont Hotel. One of the station's first announcers was Bob Bailey, a black entertainer who had been an emcee at the Moulin Rouge. At first, he had to use the Fremont's service entrance until the hotel's owner finally let him come through the casino and eat.

That was a step in the right direction, but it took more, bigger steps, not to mention a growing black community organizing, cajoling, boycotting and threatening. The presence and involvement of sympathetic whites helped--not only politicians like Gov. Grant Sawyer and Mayor Oran Gragson, but members of the media like Hank Greenspun, who endorsed civil rights in his Sun columns and helped broker deals behind the scenes. And Greenspun owned Channel 8, one of the local TV stations airing nightly news reports that showed peaceful civil rights protesters in the South facing firehoses and snarling dogs.

In 1960, footage of black students holding peaceful sit-ins at a North Carolina lunch counter helped inspire local NAACP president James McMillan to force Strip and downtown casino owners to allow black customers to gamble, eat, stay and go to shows at their establishments. The NAACP's success was due to many people and events, but one of them may well have been the attention Las Vegas would receive if it failed to move forward.

Perhaps Blair's error may help us all move forward. Learning from the experience, no matter how awful the experience, undoubtedly is what Dr. King would have wanted.

Michael Green is a history professor at the Community College of Southern Nevada.