In 2023, in the United States of America, there is no doubt that it is more difficult for a person of color to obtain a good job, a good education, a car loan, a reasonable house mortgage, live in a nice neighborhood, live a long, enjoyable life, get smiles from strangers, receive excellent medical care, stay out of court, not go to prison, be a coach, be a college president, be a corporate executive, stay away from illicit drugs, have the same parents throughout life, be an elected official, not be stopped by the police, not be killed by the police, have your baby survive infancy, get a high paying job, receive community awards for citizenship, have friendly neighbors, not be afraid of vigilantes, not have your church bombed, not receive racial slurs or condemnation. Life, for persons of color, is an obstacle field that privileged whites do not have to face. There is no doubt in my mind that racism is endemic in the United States of America, deeply embedded into the social fabric of this country, and fiercely defended by white supremacists.
Slavery was begun in the colonies by the British in the 1500’s. They went on raids in the southern colonies, capturing Native Americans, and placed them as slave labor wherever labor help was needed in the colonies. Some 60,000 of the Indian population were placed, against their will, into indentured servitude. This British plan did not work very well; most of the captured Indians promptly fled back into the wild country they knew. The first Africans placed into slavery in the American Colonies were brought over by the Spaniards in 1526. The growth of sugar plantations in the Caribbean and the growth of labor intensive agriculture in the southern colonies, chiefly tobacco and indigo, greatly increased the demand for slave labor. Then cotton became king, increasing the demand further, and the slave trade blossomed. It became a profitable business, in spite of the loss of life, under miserable conditions, on the trip over from Africa. A total of some 600,000 Africans, that survived that boat trip, were brought to the American colonies and sold into slavery. The slave trade was not abolished until 1806, under Thomas Jefferson. This did not stop slavery as an institution, however; it flourished. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was the first to legalize slavery in 1641, and other colonies followed. By the time of the 1860 census, the total African American slave population was over four million.
Slavery is not mentioned in the newly formed United States Constitution, adopted in 1789. Obtuse language is used to refer to the slave population, yet the onus of slavery was on everyone’s mind. Everything the new congress did related to slavery in some fashion. This constitution probably would have not been passed by two thirds majority of the colonies, had not the northern colonies caved in, and allowed the southern colonies to count the slave population as three fifths, adding to their population account and their influence in the House of Representatives. Slavery, however, was constantly and hotly debated in congress, leading to angry confrontations. When Lincoln won the presidency in 1860, on a platform of abolishing the expansion of slavery, the American Civil War was born, in 1861. Some 750,000 American citizens lost their lives on those battlefields, fought over whether slavery should be allowed to exist or not. When Lincoln was assassinated, whatever advantages had been gained by that great loss of life, in order to eliminate slavery, were immediately lost. Andrew Johnson, who became Vice-president under Lincoln under abolitionist claims, showed his true colors. He was deeply racist, and believed that all people of color were inferior human beings. He vetoed civil rights legislation, sabotaged efforts toward reconstruction of the southern colonies on a humane basis, and made no effort to intercede when violence toward Blacks occurred. As a result, deep prejudice against the Black population became further embedded in the south, passed from generation to generation, leading to an abomination of Jim Crow laws, seizure of property, hangings, bombing of churches, police brutality, legal injustice and the Oklahoma massacre.
Progress against this social abomination has been slow. It is now almost five hundred years later, and we still suffer under its evil oppression.
In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation under Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery in the United States of America, by executive order. Slavery may no longer have been legal, but bigotry and violence against people of color increased in intensity.
In 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment formalized that previous executive order, abolishing slavery in all states of this country. This constitutional change did nothing to help the plight of Black Americans, who were segregated, shunned, still used as indentured labor, and treated with contempt.
In 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment stated that all citizens of the United States of America had equal protection under the laws of this nation. Color, race, religion or country of origin did not matter, if that person was a citizen of this nation. This amendment did not change social behavior at all. Persecution of Blacks continued, with hangings, house burning, and seizure of property, even though this amendment states that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.
In 1870, the fifteenth Amendment stated the right of all citizens of this nation, regardless of description, to vote. The response of white supremacists was to legislate further restrictions of registration, polling places and ballot boxes. Additional voting restrictive laws are being added, as we speak, in 2023.
In 1922, at the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial, only one Black person was invited to speak. All the other orators and officials were White men. The most glaring hypocrisy at that historic event, however, is that the crowd was segregated. Blacks were not allowed to sit with Whites.
In 1964, the American Civil Rights Act outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national heritage. It prohibited the unequal application of voter registration requirements, as well as racial segregation in schools and public accommodations. It prohibited employment discrimination. In spite of this sterling legislation, for which we have Martin Luther King to thank, suppressive treatment and police brutality directed toward the Black population have continued.
When we elected a Black President in 2008, I was ecstatic. I thought that perhaps we were coming to an end of this awful crime foisted upon our Black population over the last five hundred years. I expressed that opinion in my essays and books. I was wrong, blind to the continuing acts of prejudice and expressions of racial hatred in this country. Then we got a White Supremacy, Male Dominance, Christian bigot POTUS. The smoldering anger of White Supremacists was immediately fanned into flames by the bellows of Donald Trump. This psychopath lies constantly, denigrates women, praises the violent actions of white supremacists, wants to keep Muslims from entering our country and has built a wall to keep Mexicans out. He has committed treason against the United States of America, in a blatant attempt to overthrow our democracy. Under his tutelage, social programs promoting equality have been eliminated, and voting rights diminished. Police brutality and gun massacres of minorities have continued.
Some 30% of the voting population of this country support Donald Trump. They want the favoritism of White Supremacy to continue. This segment of our United States of America is trying in every possible way they can, to preserve their prejudicial status. The school voucher system promoted in many states, for example, is a thinly disguised attempt to re-establish segregation. The outcry of Ted Cruz and Ron DeSantis against Critical Race Theory and a “Woke” society are a blatant attempt to prevent our school children from understanding that our social system has been violently suppressive of our Black population for the last five hundred years, and still today surreptitiously, broadly, promotes inequality. These White Supremacists do not want our children to understand that it is time for this evil burden to end. You say this is the land of the free and the home of the brave, founded on the equality of our citizens? It is not, and you are to blame. Put your money and your efforts where your mouth is. We have a racist society; it is time it becomes what it says what it should be: the land where there is equal opportunity for all its citizens to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.
Our children deserve better. Our people of color deserve better. Our people from other nations deserve better. They deserve to have what our constitution says is their right in our country; equality of opportunity. The richness of variety is what brings vibrancy to our lives. All races and colors should be embraced and welcomed, not condemned. It is time for this great ethical evil, systemic racism in the United States of America, to end.