From: Jasper
Date: 5/3/02
Time: 6:28:03 PM
Jean and Charlie,
This may seem contradictory but I agree with both of you and your reasons.
The only reason so many black men got into the field of automotive design in the mid 60s is because the heat was on to hire us in areas that were formerly reserved for white men. The people in charge of hiring the first wave of us at Chrysler thought they could eliminate us with an intelligence test. It didn't work. Since then, Ford has refined the selection process for high-paying jobs in some of its plants by giving the test to ALL of the black applicants and to SOME of the white ones. If other blacks complain of racial discrimination the company hauls out the tests (See, we didn't hire them because of their color; we didn't hire them because of their "low candle power"). It works every time.
In 1964 the auto companies weren't that sophisticated. Out of 500 applicants for a special class in clay modeling co-sponsored by Chrysler, the federal government and a local community college only 25 seats were available. Four of those seats were reserved for white men. They did not take the test because they had well placed friends in the business. The rest of us won the remaining seats competitively. Five of us were black. The corporate sponsor had no choice but to take this disproportionately large number of us because our place in the class was determined by how high we scored. All of the black guys who ended up in the class scored VERY high. The reason we got to take the test in the first place was BECAUSE the screening process initially turned back ALL FIVE of us at the door. The ones who got through the door were smart enough to play stupid.
There were zero females of any color in the class because women were not allowed to APPLY to take the test. When the women's movement put an end to that kind of nonsense, there were still "special" rules for black women because of the presumed inferiority of blacks and women. The only sure way for a black woman to get in was to apply for a job at a time when the companies "needed" more women and blacks for federal contracts. If she showed up then, she was counted as female AND black.
I am still amazed at how few white people catch on to how this selection process works against a fair and honest system for everyone. But that mindset hasn't changed.
This is what the prosecution was relying on in selecting the mostly female, mostly black jury. I don't know if you picked this up but Marcia consistently talked down to them. The defense didn't. The prosecution did think that they would be stupid. The smartest ones knew how to play that game. Yes Jean, that's how the defense ended up with the jury it wanted - a smart jury. The defense did not have to prove O.J.'s innocence. All they had to do was create reasonable doubt. The prosecution didn't have a case but it took a smart jury that was willing to look at all of the evidence to see it.
And yes Charlie, I agree that the prosecution had no intention of winning the case and wanted those black faces front and center to take the fall. But I also think they knew that they really didn't have a prayer of winning, anyhow, unless they got a really stupid jury of any color. A jury composed mostly of black women was an ideal choice. -- Jasper