e·qual; adj.
-Having the same quantity, measure, or value as another.
-Mathematics. Being the same or identical to in value.
-Having the same privileges, status, or rights: equal before the law.
-Being the same for all members of a group: gave every player an equal chance to win.
-Having the requisite qualities, such as strength or ability, for a task or situation: "Elizabeth found herself quite equal to the scene" (Jane Austen).
-Adequate in extent, amount, or degree.
-Impartial; just; equitable.
T-ranquil; equable.
-Showing or having no variance in proportion, structure, or appearance.

That is how the fine folks at dictionary.com define equal. The one thing I keep coming back to as I continue my exploration of minority relations is that: Where do we define equal? What is the goal for equality?

I think it is a moving goal at best, since we live in a dynamic community. I think that people go out and create things. Other people see it. see what they have, and go "Hey, I want some of that.", then start racing towards it. Culturally, it seems since at least the mid-19th century, white people have been drawn to black culture. Even many of the things that were part of the slave culture, or came out of the slave culture, white people wanted for themselves. In one of the books I read (which is obscure to the point I cannot find a link) claimed that white men, after the Civil War, would set up dances to dance with black women. Black men would be in the bands that played at these dances, and would be none too happy for it. So, they would write songs, taking subtle jabs at the white men. These dances, the author claims, were the beginnings of white peoples love of jazz. Which moved to blues, and then to rock and roll.

Black people saw the freedom and wealth white people had, and started to gravitate towards that. They wanted the cars, the nice houses, the simple rights to go in the front door of a theater, or a restaurant. They wanted the safe communities and jobs that got them to that level, and they wanted education. Real, honest, education. They knew that was the key to it all, and they wanted it. I heard one man say "Do you know what is the greatest act of civil disobedience a black person can commit today? Become educated."

What does all that have to do with anything? That part of equal in a sociological setting is undefinable. People will move, as individuals or groups, towards what they feel is lacking in their own community. If education is lacking, they will move towards the schools. If structure becomes to rigid, they will move towards that which is unstructured.

Highlighted in the definition above are two solid things we should be moving towards. Legally and in the face of opportunity, race and sex should be irrelevant. If there is a chance at something, everyone qualified should be considered. Yeah, there will be biases. We all have them. But, ideally, those should be ignored in the face of opportunity.

Same for legally. A friend of mine, who is black, was great at catching shoplifters at the retail store I worked at. But, he would only follow the younger black people around the store. Whan he was asked, he said that he knew they would be the ones most likely to steal. We all told him the same thing: If you only look for black shoplifters, you will only catch black shoplifters. Same with the law. If you are only looking for blacks commiting crimes, you will only find black criminals. Ken Lay should have been crucified for what he did. But, he is not. Martha Stewart was jailed for doing far less.

We need to stop legally defining what people can and cannot do by race, gender, or sexual orientation. We need to make the commitment to educate everyone equally. We also need to work in all communities on setting these as priorites. Things are getting better all the time, let's not lose sight of that. But for all of us to be equal, we need to be working for a common goal.