The schizophrenia in black leadership II: Nashville is not the Civil Rights landmark it claims to be

Earlier this decade, I brought up a story idea to The Tennessean city editor for Black History Month that was more than the fawning crap usually printed out of political correctness by America's newspapers.

The issue would be the failure of black leadership in Nashville, a dire circumstance considering 25 percent of Music City's population is African-American and the public schools have failed No Child Left Behind standards for five years.

Of course, the editor would have none of it. Because the chamber of commerce types that controlled the city -- which included decisionmakers at the newspaper -- didn't want a vigorous, independent black leadership. They wanted the window dressing approach, of putting some blacks in prominent positions for show, not influence.

Remember, Nashville supposedly was the cradle of the Civil Rights movement. But most of "The Children" as profiled by the late great David Halberstam returned to their cities to get elected or elect other blacks, such as John Lewis in Atlanta.

What was left in Nashville were the accomodationists, those who made sure there was a separate black public college and hospital. After that, they were barred from sharing the real power and most of the resources -- by liberal Democrats in control here.

It is a shocking contradiction of lofty words by sinister action. But the liberally bent news media here will never reveal it, because that would mean calling out some figures in Nashville who are their heroes. They don't deserve to be.

And that's a story for Black History Month in Nashville that no one in the media will ever tell.