Why Racism Will NEVER go Away
With everything going on in the news today I felt the need to write this. I would like to go into the root causes of racism in our great country. To understand how we got here as a country we have to look at our past history with racism, going back to when we were just colonies. Back to a time before the United States of America even existed. Back to a time before George Washington was even a glimmer in his fathers eye.
Slavery in the New World.
As we all know blacks were not the only slaves on these lands. Slavery was a true melting pot of cultures. Primarily it was black and white slaves. (this is the time that most white people refer to when they say whites were slaves too). Yes both black and white slaves were treated poorly, but there was one major catch. They could work their way out of slavery, wouldn't be much of a life but they would be free and able to live as they pleased. As time went on the poor Black and whites started to demand certain things. The issue wasn't racism back then it was classism. The rich couldn't have this. So they came up with a novel idea. They would separate the poor. Blacks could no longer be free. A whole set of laws was enacted that was directly against Blacks. This served 2 purposes. 1) It stopped the uprising of the poor. 2) It laid the groundwork of racism as we know it today. After this happened Whites were no longer considered slaves. They were now indentured servants. Once they paid off there debt, they were free to go. (by law) With blacks they became property. Never to be freed unless their master decided to let them go. Now poor whites had someone they could look down on. Their life could racked with pain and suffering but at least they were free and could "work their way" into riches. In other words, At least I'm not black. So starts the slavery we are all familiar with.
Birth of a Nation
The United States of America was conceived in lies and hypocrisy. Trump was correct in one statement he made during his Charlottesville remarks. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were both slave owners. Jefferson is well known for his "love" of his slaves. Yet we (as a nation) consider these 2 men to be our founding fathers. Jefferson along with 4 others wrote what is still to this day the document that started this country. It is considered by many to be a masterpiece. For many Americans it will still send a shiver of pride down their spine. I know it does for me, but shame and disgust follow that shiver of pride. The document I speak of is The Declaration of Independence. 5 people in total wrote this document. Thomas Jefferson (primary writer) Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman. Of these 5 people 3 of them owned slaves. The 2 who did not, John Adams and Roger Sherman. Of the 56 people to sign the Declaration of Independence, 41 owned slaves Now just to refresh your memory here is an excerpt (arguably the most famous part) from the Declaration of Independence:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
73.2% of the signers, of this great document owned another person. I'm not saying that they treated them poorly. I'm saying that they OWNED another person. They put their names onto a document that in no uncertain terms said ALL Men are created equal. That we all have the right to liberty. I don't know about you but where I come from this is called hypocrisy in the nicest terms. This shows unequivocally that they did not think anyone but White Men where created equal. This is the document that started our country. Now answer me this. How can such great men show such indifference to the point that many would not even question the concept of owning another person? Could the answer be that they didn't see blacks as people? Would a farmer consider giving his tractor the same rights as a person he has? Would you consider giving your car the same rights as you? My guess is no you would not, because they are just tools. We do the same now with animals. So as you see racism and a blatant disregard of human life if baked right into the very foundation of country. To try to remove it would be akin to trying to remove the eggs from a cake that has already been baked.
Antebellum Slavery in America
Slave masters had harsh ways of breaking slaves. It was always preferred to have a slave that was born into slavery than one fresh off the boat. The ones fresh off the boat had to much pride and caused issues. They were harder to break. On tactic they used was they stripped them of their identity. We all know the scene from Roots where Kunta is being beat because he wont say his name is Toby, well it went further than that. Slaves were not allowed to speak in their native tongues. Slave owners tried their best to not have slaves from same village together. They forced Christianity on them to make them forget about their own gods and religion. They used lines from the bible such as:
"Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free." Ephesians 6 5-8
Of course they would leave out the next verse about how the master was to treat the slave. They would actively prevent slaves from learning to read. Even going as far to publicly kill any blacks that were found able to read, even a little. They would separate families. Some slave owners would rape the wife of a slave and make the husband watch. Take the wife of one slave and give her to another slave. You also had punishments such as Darby's dose (look it up yourself, to disgusting to mention here), castration, and many others. All this was to break the slave. Show them who was their master. Answer me this, How many woman could still look at their husbands with love and affection after they were not only raped but their husband was forced to watch. Men how many of you would still feel like a man if you were forced to watch your wife be raped, repeatedly, knowing if you fought back they would kill you, her, and your child. This is the type of things that these 41 men knew were going on and possibly participated in them selves. I have a hard time believing that all those slave women slept with Jefferson willingly.
Abraham Lincoln
"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
I open with this because it shows how America doubled down on its non-commitment to equality. This is a small excerpt from the Gettysburg address. Delivered by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 about 1yr after the emancipation proclamation. Once again this document is widely considered to be a great document. and like the Declaration of Independence, on its surface it is. That is until you look closer. It is widely known that Lincoln did not free the slaves. In his own words he would have left blacks in slavery if it meant not going to war.
"If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that." Abraham Lincoln, Letter to Horace Greenly
Also in his own words, he did not think blacks and whites where equal.
“I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races," Lincoln Douglass debate 1858
But yet, in his own words he says All men are created equal. Even in the famous freedom document, the Emancipation Proclamation, he makes it clear that he is only freeing the slaves in the states that seceded from the union as a punishment.
"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom." Emancipation Proclamation
So once again All men created equal does not mean ALL men, he means All white men. Now to be fair and unbiased, Lincoln on several occasions made his disdain for slavery known. But it stopped there. He did not think blacks were equal to Whites. If he had is way he would have sent all the blacks back to Africa to live in an American colony. Had he not been assassinated this very well could have happened.
Post Civil War
After Congress (not Lincoln) freed the slaves with the passage of the 13th amendment, the real fun began. During this time the south had it hard. Like real hard. After losing the war, spending a crap ton of money on the war, and losing all their free labor they were hurting. They had to find a way to pick all the cotton and crops and do everything else slaves did. Also there was now a huge fear among the former slave masters. The fear of retribution. Hell wouldn't you be afraid if you were them. So they enacted what is now known as Jim Crow. See the 13th amendment is written in such a way that it leaves one hell of a loophole for former slave owners to exploit. And by looking back at our history I cant help but to think this was intentional.
"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." Section 1 of the 13th amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
You see that section that says except as a punishment for a crime. Sounds reasonable, at first. Well suddenly things like a black man looking at a white woman were crimes. Oh this black man spoke to a white man 15yrs in prison. Oh this black man didn't speak to a white man, 15yrs in prison. Oh mister black man your walking down a whites only street, 20yrs hard labor. Many former slaves were freed only to find themselves slaves all over again but this time it was much worse. Before the master had to buy you.He had reason to take care of you. After all you were a tool. Now he could just rent you from the state. There was no incentive to feed you. He would work you to get every cent he could out of you. And it was legal. After all you committed a crime. Those damn Yankees up north couldn't say a thing, Hell they were doing the same thing. Our prison population exploded after the 13th amendment. Laws went into action all over the south. the tiniest infraction landed you on a chain gang building rail roads, collages (Harvard is one of them) or you were rented out to your former master right back in the fields.
Now the former slaves that were lucky enough to avoid being arrested went and started their own communities. Things were looking up. Granted they still were not equal, but they were not slaves. They had the skills form their time as slaves and they put them to good use. Many of their communities thrived. This angered many whites because their communities were not thriving. Also many poor whites could not accept that they were on par with blacks. It absolutely infuriated them while they were struggling this "nigger" community was doing so well. Well you can guess what happened. Rosewood, Greenwood, Chicago, Washington D.C., Knoxville, East Saint Louis, etc.... The list is long. And guess what, no retribution for those involved. The police many times would actually arrest blacks during these riots saying they were the ones who caused it. So for over 100yrs (1865-1968) we were forced to live in our communities, had no say so in politics that effected our very lives, lived in constant fear of being arrested or lynched for something as simple as looking at a white woman, Cant attend the same school or diner as white people, Cant buy homes in certain neighborhoods, and no support from the feds except lip service.
Now I know the I said the feds offered no help other than lip service. Oh lord how I wish that was true. If they had only offered lip service things would not be as bad as they are now. The federal government teamed up with state and local officials to actively destroy black communities. First by turning a blind eye to many of the atrocities that were happening, then by offering a false helping hand. Programs that on the surface looked to help black families were indeed created to destabilize and even destroy black families.
Civil Rights
The official start date of the Civil Rights Movement was in 1954. But anyone who thinks thats true is an idiot. Thats just the date the government started saying publicly that there may be a problem here. Blacks had been fighting for equal rights since the day they bought to this land. After we were "freed" we were expected to fight in the wars. WWI & WWII. We fought bravely we saved many lives. We helped to win the war. Just look at the 369th infantry in WWI. The number goes up even higher in WWII. Not to mention our contribution to the revolutionary war, War of 1812, Spanish American, Civil war. We fought valiantly in every war since the inception of this country. Always to come back to discrimination. White solders came back to parades, Black solders came back to "your not allowed to use the front door."
Now we get to the "Greats" of our race. Malcolm, Martin, Medger, Rosa, etc... If school is to believed there were very little to no upstanding black citizens in this country before 1954. People like Fredrick and Harriett were flukes. if the government was scared of Martin, they shit bricks with Malcolm. They did everything in their power to discredit him and the nation of Islam, and Muslims as a whole. I'm not going to go into detail about our leaders during this time because I cant say anything that has not already been said millions of times. But I will say this. The government stepped in and killed/ arrested many of our leaders. Side note in 1999 a court in a civil case actually found that MLK Jr. was assassinated because of a conspiracy within the government. These type attacks would continue well into the 70s.
All during this time of the civil rights movement the government actively targeted the black family by issuing a false helping hand. They initiated programs for housing, (Sounds good on the surface) but in these housing projects no men were allowed. No where was this more evident than Pruitt-Igoe. They would allow these women and their kids to move in but no men over the age 18 allowed. They broke up families, forcing women to choose between getting a roof over their head and an income via the state for them and their families or uncertainty. Now this was not a isolated case. This happened all over the country. Families started to move into this housing project in 1954. Remove the father from the house and you emasculate any young men now living in that house. They no longer have someone to guide them that knows what they are feeling and what they are going through. It only has to happen to 1 maybe 2 generations. Remember this is happening during Jim Crow, so the odds of a black man finding and maintaining a good job are slim.
Our schools were intentionally overpopulated, and under staffed. Many times not given the basic supplies needed to run a school, or not given enough. The jobs your average black man could get didn't pay much if they even paid you what they said they pay you at all. With the killings of our leaders, the breaking up of our families, the introduction of entitlement programs designed to make you dependent, and our men put into prison, we are left with almost nothing. The 60s saw our people beaten and bloodied in more ways then physical. Once again all by design.
Just for fun I want you to try something. Watch a newscast from the 50s/60s where they are talking about a civil rights protest. Listen to the way news broadcasters describe the protesters. Listen to adjectives that are used., then listen to a news cast today about a BLM protest. Do you notice any similarities?
Post Racial America
Welcome to post racial America. We had the voting act of 1965, the civil rights act of 1968. We have HBCUs. We have affirmative action. Blacks can live where they want, go to school where they want, ride in the front of the bus, you can even drink from the same water fountain as a white man. Yummy, doesn't that white mans water taste better than the nasty o'l water you were drinking from? You can buy from any store or restaurant you choose. Remember that white ice is colder than black ice. Whites know how to make ice better than blacks. If you haven't figured it out yet I'm being facetious.
Desegregation hurt the black community more than anything else since slavery. Kennedy didn't pass that bill because he truly cared. It was a money grab. Despite all their efforts, we just kept succeeding. They finally figured out what was happening. They were forcing us all to live together. The wealthy and the poor. We were not allowed to shop at the white mans shop so we setup our own shops. Black doctors were not allowed to treat white patients so we treated our own. The rich among us made up the lack of education by training all the kids in some type of skill and basic skills like reading and math. White store owners saw all the money we now had and they were salivating. They wanted it, but what to do about these pesky laws that prohibit us?
So they opened the housing market, they opened up retail. The money stopped flowing into our own communities and started flowing out. Our elite said enough of it here White houses are better than black houses. and the scooted. this caused an economic failure that we still haven't recovered from today. Then came the drugs, and even worse the war on drugs. Or should I say the war on blacks. We were already down. we suffered badly from the loss of our businesses, our leaders, Now in comes the government cracking down on crack. How did the do it by throwing every single person that had it (dealer or not) into prison for decades. What did we do? We cheered. We watched as the police came into our neighborhoods and drug our sons out to put them in prison. Nevermind that crack was just a version of cocaine and white people who were busted with similar amounts of cocaine where let off with slaps on the wrist. The police became ultra violent. They even passed a law saying it was allowed to shoot a suspect running away without a weapon. Guess who the cops had in mind when they pressed for that law to be passed.
So to recap from the mid sixties through the 90s, we saw the black community fall apart. we saw our young black men carted off to jail and killed by the police. we saw our final relevant black leaders killed or slandered (Huey Newton, Bobbie Seal) We are now at several generations of black families with no father figure. All of our elites moved from our communities, and we are ravaged by drugs that were introduced by the government, and we have turned on ourselves. Once again we are down but we are not out.
The New Millennium
So here we are, we finally made it (according to white people) The 90s and early 00s saw very little racism. Blacks are making a come up. Little Jimmy is playing rap music. The police are not killing our young men anymore. Once again according to white people. You see here is where I have to tell a little personal story. I told this story a white friend of mine who I know is not racist, but he is a die hard Trump supporter. When I was younger I was walking with my cousin after church. This was in West Philadelphia. (I know you just went Born and raised in your head) It was off the corner of 52nd and Conestoga. See I'm what you would call high yellow. I consider myself black but I could pass for white. My cousin was light skin, but you knew he was black. We were coming out of the corner store and he bumped into a cop. No big deal we thought. We were young, about 10yrs old. My cousin said sorry and kept moving. That cop grabbed him by the collar and put him on the ground. Accused him of assaulting an officer. Told him he would let him go if he gave him an apology worthy of a man in his position. Then went on about how kids like him need to learn to respect their betters. This went on for 10min before his partner told him to knock it off. This was my first experience with racism. I didnt even know really what was going on. I later found out that this was a regular thing for the police in that area. My friend told me that was one cop. it doesn't show an issue. When I ask about the countless other accusations he makes something up. One other story, This is years later. The summer of my 11th grade year. I got a job selling knives for Cutco. I had the bright idea to go door to door and enlist the help of my best friend. But we were not going to go door to door in our neighborhood. Those people could not afford a $1200 set of knives. We went door to door in a middle class white neighborhood. About 5-6 houses in a police officer pulls up and stops my friend. Says nothing to me. (Remember, I can pass as white) Now I am the one carrying the knives, I am the knocking on the doors. He was there primarily for moral support. The officer had him sitting on the curb with cuffs on, ready to arrest him for breaking the no soliciting ordnance in that neighborhood. (We were both unaware of this) I try to speak to the officer but he shuts me down and tells me to go on home. He acknowledges that I was with him by telling me that I should choose my friends better. He really wanted to get him on something but luckily my friend knew his rights and he kept his mouth shut. All he ever said is I want my mother, I am under 18. Me on the other hand actually started yelling at the cop telling him that he didnt do anything and how it was me who was selling the knives. He was just with me. He literally congratulated me on my entrepreneurial spirit and left me with a warning that I could not go house to house in this neighborhood. Also that I shouldn't try to cover for other peoples mistakes. Long story short my friend was not arrested that night. Thanks to several people refusing to say it him that was knocking on the door. That was the day I truly learned about white privilege and how easy I would have it as a light skinned black man compared to a dark skinned black man. Those are my personal stories. I can guarantee that 8/10 black men you speak to will have some type of story to tell like this.
You see the 90s racial tension was at a boiling point for black America. White America was just unaware. It was the 90s and early 00s that laws such as stop and frisk were widely implemented. (already being done but now legal) For those of you unaware of what stop and frisk is, especially those of you who are white and well off, I want you to imagine this. You are walking down the street, minding your own business. Maybe listening to your music, jogging, whatever, the point is your not doing anything out of the ordinary. Now out of no where a police officer comes to you and demands to see your ID and to frisk you. Puts you up against a wall or his car then proceeds to pat you down like you're a criminal. No reason given or needed. Now also imagine this happening several time a week or even a day. Sounds like a breach of your 4th amendment rights doesn't it. For those of you not familiar with the 4th amendment:
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." Amendment IV, U.S. Constitution.
Now laws like "stop and frisk" were implemented in primarily urban (black) neighborhoods. They said it was to curb crime. but when you look at the stats something else comes to light. The following is an excerpt from the FBI crime statistics for 2015. I will be focusing on just black, white and the totals here. If you would like like to see the entire table the link will be attached below.
Total people charged:
White - 5,753,212
Black - 2,197,140
Total - 8,248,709
Murder
White - 3,908
Black - 4,347
Total - 8,508
Rape
White - 11,809
Black - 4,907
Total - 17,340
Violent Crime
White - 232,180
Black - 140,543
Total - 386,467
Weapons
White - 63,967
Black - 44,284
Total - 110,822
Drug Abuse
White - 803,809
Black - 307,140
Total - 1,136,950
https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2015/crime-in-the-u.s.-2015/tables/table-43
This table is actually pretty long but is fairly consistent in one aspect, Whites commit more crimes than blacks. Yes there were a few sections that blacks did more, like Murder, Robbery and Gambling. But that was it. Out of 30 categories of crime blacks out did whites in 3 areas. I share this table to show how broken our system is. More than double the people charged were white. Yet the majority of people in prison are black. The black population in the U.S. is roughly 13.2% (according to the U.S. Census) yet the black population tops 40% in prisons. Why this? We are not committing 40% of the crime. Actually according to this chart, blacks commit 26.6% of the crime in the United States. The whole stop and frisk policy was initiated to find weapons and drugs. They were implemented in black and brown neighborhoods. But according to these stats if they were actually interested in weapons and drugs they would have been focusing on white neighborhoods.
How can we fix it
Short answer, We cant. Its not that there is no solution, its that the solution is not easy nor is it quick. In actuality it may make things worse before they get better. It would require cooperation on a scale between blacks that we have never seen. The same thing that drove the creation of this country, drove the slave trade and the mass incarcerations. The thing that drives this country today. MONEY!!!!!! Money is power. If we were to re-segregate ourselves financially from the rest of America we could truly change things in the span of 1 generation. If we could get all of our communities working together, helping each other, schooling each other. Community farms, put black money into black hands. We do not buy anything that is not black owned. We also make sure that even if it is black owned that it goes back into our communities. No more Wal-Mart or Target. No more fast food unless it is owned by blacks. No more Xbox, Playstation. No more sports unless the team is black owned. No more banks unless they are black owned. No more beauty supply stores or nail salons. No more public school. No more collages unless it is an HBCU. No more TV or movies unless they star a black actor in a lead roll that does not have coonery. We lift each other up. But like I said, its unfortunate, but I don't see that happening. Maybe on a small scale but noting that would make any real impact.
Other than that we can tear down monuments and ban racist flags and items and over time. 6-7 generations we will see a difference but I doubt me or my kids will be here for it. Maybe my great-great grandkids.