At church meetings, at social gatherings and in informal conversations across the country, more and more blacks, many for the first time, have become openly critical of apologists for certain members of their race.
They contend that the actions of national figures like Mike Tyson, Marion S. Barry Jr. and Dr. Leonard Jeffries Jr. are disgraceful and cannot be excused and that, as role models, their behavior can bring shame to the race.
But there are those who still maintain that these individuals are victims of the white establishment and should be defended no matter what.
The emotionally charged debate has prompted blacks, from celebrities to day laborers, to re-examine what it means to be black in America today. Many say they are finding that the old unanimity no longer stands; the historic sense of a communal psychology is slowly dissipating.
"The question that would typify our dilemma is: What happened to the values, attitudes and exemplary personal examples by which we, as African-Americans, defined the civil rights movement and its offspring, the feminist movement?" said Arthur Ashe, the tennis star and author of "A Hard Road to Glory: A History of the African-American Athlete" (Amistad-Warner, 1988).
"During the civil rights struggles," he continued, "we definitely laid claim to the high moral ground, and now, by condoning what some of our leaders do and not acting in a manner we would have been proud of in the 60's, we are being seen as no better than anybody else."
The internal conflict among blacks is no more evident than in blacks' responses to three highly publicized cases. In the Tyson rape trial, for example, some saw the conviction as just Yet there were those, including several leading black ministers, who said the odds were stacked against Mr. Tyson right from the start: the jury was predominantly white.
To many black Washingtonians, last year's conviction of Mayor Barry on charges of cocaine possession was a miscarriage of justice. The prosecutors acknowledged that the Barry case was the first time the Federal Government had used sexual enticement to lure a target into criminal behavior. But other blacks said Mr. Barry used charges of racism to defend his brazen personal behavior and political failures.
The recent removal of Dr. Jeffries as head of the black studies department at City College in New York is still another example of black ambivalence. Some blacks contend that racism was a motivating factor in the decision to oust him, but there are also those who say the professor was tempting fate with his incendiary remarks, including those directed at Jews and white historians. Keeping in Mind a Racist Society
"This is a racist society, and it will be for a long time to come," said Roger Wilkins, a former Assistant Attorney General who is a history professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. "That people make racist attacks on certain black people does not absolve those who have been attacked of behaving decently and keeping their human commitments."
Most of the two dozen blacks interviewed say they do not want to give blacks an excuse to be lawless. Nevertheless, they may find themselves in the uncomfortable position of defending other blacks who have been accused of actions they may not condone because of a strong and persistent conviction that there is a double standard for blacks and whites, whether in judging political, criminal or personal behavior.
In an article, "The Rape of Mike Tyson," published in the March issue of Paper magazine, the film maker Spike Lee and the rap star Queen Latifah convey the angst some blacks feel. Both said that although Mr. Tyson's victim was black, one had only to weigh the verdict against those in other headline-grabbing rape cases involving white men to see that the scales of justice were out of balance.
"In the Kennedy case, it was his word against hers, and he was found not guilty," said Queen Latifah, referring to the rape trial of William Kennedy Smith. While Mr. Lee said he did not want to pass judgment on Mr. Tyson, he believed that the system was "trying to demoralize him" because "he was making too much money."
During the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings last October, Judge Clarence Thomas was able to turn the tide of public support, especially among blacks, by calling the investigation into Prof. Anita F. Hill's accusation of sexual harassment "a high-tech lynching" of "an uppity black." Many blacks around the country immediately agreed, saying the hearings smacked of an orchestrated setup in which a black woman was being used to destroy a black man.
"Every black official ought to assume that someone is after them because of racism, so they ought to behave the way anyone would if someone was out to get them," said Mary Frances Berry, a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. "Racism is a fact of our lives. You can't be an African-American and not have to deal with racism." The Silence Of Solidarity