When Will America Take Responsiblity For Slavery?
“When are black people going to stop blaming white people for slavery?” – Deb
If white people aren’t responsible for slavery, then who is? I’m not sure what some white people want. Is it some white people’s contention that white people are not responsible for slavery? Is it some white people’s contention that they have done enough to undo all the damage done to the black community during , the same damage that continues to manifest itself in the black community today, that they no longer deserve a finger pointed in their direction?
A lot of people make shortsighted statements like no white person alive ever owned a black person and no black person alive has ever been a slave. That little statement might be true. But nevertheless, the black community has never been properly compensated for the unequal treatment that it suffered through America’s institutionalized slavery or through the era of blatant racism that continued long after a law was passed to subject the black community to its substandard status.
Slavery ended years ago. But the conditions that were caused by institutionalized slavery, where the white community enriched itself by not compensating black people for their labor, where the white community could establish programs to educate its population while the education of the black population was neglected, where members of the white community were allowed to accumulate wealth and pass that wealth down from one generation to another, where the black community in general was not allowed to participate in the accumulation of wealth and had nothing to pass down through its generations, continue to exist today.
When will black people stop blaming white people for slavery? I’m sorry but white people are solely responsible for America’s era of institutionalized slavery. I know some people like to promote the idea that black people were capturing other black people and putting them on those slave ships. But it was white people who established that trade with black people and it was white people who sailed those ships across the middle passage. It was white people who enriched themselves in the trade of black people. It was white people who packed black people like sardines into the bowels of slave ships, where black people had to defecate on themselves and each other, making it easier for disease to spread and infect everyone within the hold. It was white people who would toss black people over the rail like a sack of dirt, into the waiting arms of the ocean, when one of the pieces of cargo got sick.
It was white people who created the market of supply and demand that led to America’s institutionalized slavery. It was white people paying for black people at auction. It was white people who kept black people in rickety shacks and on sustenance unfit for white people’s consumption. It was white people that kept black people from learning. It was white people who broke up black families.
It was white people who put laws in government books that made it legal to consider black people nothing more than white people’s property. It was white people who passed laws making it legal to consider black people only three fifths human. It was white people who stood idly by while other white people would whip an enslave black a person within an inch of his or her life. It was white people who were willing to look the other way as black women were raped at the white man’s whim. It was white people who invited other white people like Willy Lynch to develop processes to separate black people from their land, from their families, from their community, from each other, from their culture, from their spirituality, and from any hope that they would ever return home and any hope to be made whole again.
I know there are many who would prefer to absolve the racially generic dominant community that just so happens to be predominantly white of any and all responsibilities for the condition of the black community. But the simple fact is that the white community worked for generations to destroy black people, the black family unit, and the black community. And after America came to its senses and realized that this blatant form of racial discrimination was in fact cruel and intolerable, it was white people who spread the myth that just passing a law to make slavery and racial subjugation illegal was all it took to make restitution to the black community. White people who worked so hard to subject black people did nothing to restore black people. Slavery was white people’s fault and no one else’s. White people were the ones who benefited the most from slavery. Black people were the ones who suffered the most under slavery.
Hey, everybody who was alive during that time is now dead so no one is obligated to do anything to repair the damage that white people have caused. More of the dominant community’s propaganda. The hijackers of the planes that terrorized America on September 11, 2001 died with their passengers and with all the other people who were killed. But that didn’t stop America from taking her wrath out on the Taliban and the rest of Afghanistan. America even held Iraq partially responsible even though the evidence against Saddam Hussein was transparent to a blind man. The perpetrators and the victims were both dead. Yet, America is still there, six years later with four thousand dead troops and a trillion dollar bill for war to show for it.
White people will hold fast to the idea that they’ve done enough to repair the damage to the black community. Black people have welfare, isn’t that enough? If anyone were to ever take an honest look at what race benefits the most from welfare he or she will see that white people are, once again, the biggest benefactors of the various welfare programs. Trust me, if black people were the ones benefiting the most from the welfare programs they would have been terminated a long time ago.
When will black people stop blaming white people for slavery? I’m sorry but white people are responsible for those pages in the America’s history book. The idea that we can change the history of slavery if we stop looking at it is a popular one among many who wish to protect the status quo. The proper question a lot of people should be asking is, when will America take responsibility for the damage it caused, and continues to cause, the black community?
Brotherp,
You are so right with this post. White people want to take responsibility for things when it is convenient for them. None of these people were alive when the all those whites died during the civil war. As they constantly want to divert your attention towards them since they believe these whites were fighting for our so called freedom. So it is fine to point out a bunch of dead people when it makes you look good but not when it shows the nature of your race and how our two races got where we are now.
It all boils down to hypocrisy. A bunch of people who want to take credit when it is something good but ducking responsibility when it makes them and their forefathers look bad.
Thanks for this great post. I like the how you put right in all of our faces.
Thanks for the feedback theblacksentinel,
Interestingly, Deb, the blogger who inspired this post, has removed her post asking the question, when are black people going to quit blaming white people for slavery. I have tried to revisit the original article titled “Give Don Imus a Break” written on June 25, 2008. But, I received an error saying that it is no longer available. I changed the link so that it simply goes to her blog.
I have to agree with you. The hypocrisy of some people is truly amazing. This is a first class example of some people doing something blatantly racist and then refusing to stand up and take responsibility for it.
Peace
I think we need to talk more to each other. Blacks and whites in the USA do not have the same experiences and so it’s hard to sometimes grasp the implications of that. Of course white people benefited enormously from slavery in the USA, as were the Dutch traders and also those who captured and sold people to the slave traders. A horrible history and I am often stunned to see that image of the slave boat. It is difficult to imagine surviving these torturous circumstances.
The question more is what is expected of me now, today, as a white woman in response to this past? I was raised to suppose that everything I do myself is my responsibility, but for example, I don’t feel responsible for my mother’s support of George Bush. It might be embarrassing, but there is nothing I can do about it. Our sense of responsibility is very individual. Do I benefit now from discrimination? I’m sure I do, but it’s subtle and I’m not intentionally causing this to happen. Does this make a difference to someone who feels discriminated against? Probably not.
Here’s an interesting post on another site that may give you another perspective on how a white person is grappling with the fact of inequality on the ground and his growing awareness of it. Maybe it suggests a way to start a different conversation.
http://www.christinemartell.com/category/diversity-intercultural/
Thanks for the feedback Betsy Hansel,
But what is there left to converse about? Many people in the black community need help. Most people in the dominant community don’t have much compassion for people in the black community. We don’t need to hear how we need to pick ourselves up by our bootstraps any more while we spend a trillion dollars and four thousand plus American lives trying to help the people of Iraq in a bogus war that is getting us no where.
To equate the continuous plight of the black community at the hands of the racially generic dominant community that is predominantly white to your mother voting for George Bush is woefully inadequate. No you don’t have any responsibility to your mother’s voting habits. But if your mother was a notorious pedophile who you have often witnessed snatching children off the streets to steal their clothing and what little possessions they have with them and the sexually exploit them for purposes of pornography and then throws them back on the street, oh yeah, you have some responsibility for stopping your mother and to help try and right the wrongs she has done.
America can stick her collective nose into the business of Iraq half a world away. We can give Israel billions of dollars in aid every year without question. We call ourselves the morale police and can take the steps necessary to stop the genocide in Kosovo. We can send millions of dollars in aid to Burma when the people there suffer from a hurricane but we can’t seem to do anything to help the people who have suffered from a hurricane in the good ol’ US of A.
No, what we need is more dialog so that people from the dominant community can tell black people exactly why this country has absolutely no responsibility for what our grandmothers did.
Peace
Unfortunately I don’t think that America ever will.
Thanks for the feedback tenacitus,
Peace
Betsy,
I actually visited that site and read it over a couple of times. I don’t understand why we need a different conversation or a conversation at all. What is there to talk about? We all know the problem, the past and the present. So what else do we need to discuss. We have analysis paralysis in this country when it comes to racism. We want to sit and continue analyzing all the while doing nothing to fix things.
You claim that you understand that you benefit from discrimination and that it is subtle and “you” are not intentionally causing this. Well then who is? White people always want to point the finger of discrimination at some other whites, just not themselves. If you are benefiting then someone is suffering under this subtle business. You are just as guilty as the phantom white person who is giving “you” the benefits.
If all white people aren’t engaging in this subtle practice then how does it continue to propagate? How does white privilege not end if good white people such as yourself decide NOT to practice it? Obviously it is flourishing because you and other white people accept the privilege and pass it around by allowing it to continue with or without your intentions.
What do you think should be expected of you? If you do feel responsible for your actions then TAKE responsibility for your actions. I understand you feel there is nothing you can do about your mom. But, what can you do about racism and discrimination, nothing? We all need to do our part to equalize this country. Not sit back and continue to sip at the glass of racism while shrugging off our involvement.
Thanks.
Thanks for the feedback theblacksentinel,
Peace
The truth is, I don’t know what actions to take. That’s partly why I’m reading this blog. It’s addressing issues that I feel are important, situations that should change. I don’t have a magic wand. I don’t have a very powerful voice. I like this blog because it doesn’t oversimplify issues.
So what do I try to do?
Point out discrimination when I see it. Think about how I live. Vote for candidates I think will try to create a more inclusive society. But it’s hard not to be cynical about the political process. Strengthen my personal relationships and connections with people outside of my own particular cultural subgroup and to stay open to different interpretations of reality.
I don’t know if this will be effective or not, or what “help” I am providing in this way. It does seem like small steps, certainly. But I am sometimes able to be a bridge, to cause someone to think a little bit. Maybe that’s all I really can do, but I would like to do more, and welcome any additional thoughts.
Betsy,
Reading this blog to me a is a great first step. Also, the things that you mention such as calling racism when you see it and being that bridge that helps others to see and think is a great idea. If everyone were to take that stance we could weed out racism in no time. Yet we are working against a well coordinated front.
I think any help is better than accepting things as they are. You don’t have to have the most powerful voice to be heard. You only need to tell one person and hopefully they do the same.
Good luck.
I am greatly disturbed by your website and your opinions. I am a high school English teacher who has taught in many multi-ethnic schools. It bothers me greatly that you state,
“every time we take note of the percentage of the black population in America and compare that number to the percentage of black doctors in America, the percentage of black scientist in America, the percentage of black billionaires and millionaires in America…”
But, I say that there is a very big difference in the mentality of the average poor student – they don’t want to work in their classes, therefore, they will never become any of those things. The problem is not the color of his/her skin (but he/she will say that it is), the problem is that students living in poverty tend to act a certain way, no matter their skin color.
I had a black student that complained one time that the movie theater he applied to wouldn’t give him the job – he blamed it on the manager being white. I asked him how he was dressed when he went for the interview and how he talked to the manager. He wore jeans that sagged and a baseball cap, and according to him he didn’t speak any differently to him than to me. That was his problem. It had nothing to do with the color of his skin, or the color of the manager’s skin. It is not ok to look bad, no matter what your color, when going to a job interview; he should have known better. Did his parents not teach him any better?
I had another student who was not black nor white who failed his driving test. He said that it was because he was brown. Seriously? No, it was because he didn’t read the driver’s manual and didn’t use the “10 and 2” wheel stance. He went back the next day, using correct hand positioning and got his license. We, as people, want to blame anything for our problems other than ourselves.
The only students who have ever cussed me out or threatened to hit me, or thrown things at me all had one thing in common…they were poor. It can not be blamed on their color – they were not all black, or brown, but white also. Their common denominator is that their parents were so self-absorbed that they would rather watch tv or drink a beer than tell their child how he/she should live for a successful future.
Therefore, your complaints about “white people” can appear to have merit, but that would only be because you see them (white people) as mostly middle and upper class. Yes, middle and upper class people behave differently – no matter the color of their skin.
Thanks for the feedback Tiffany Williams,
However, I understand the factor finances plays in the formulation of our communities and our futures. Students that come from families with resources are more likely to do better than students from families that are struggling. A lot of parents do not have the skills to be parents. What does that have to do with people in the dominant community wanting to be absolved of the responsibility to our black community? If the children of black people were properly compensated for the sacrifices our ancestors made as the enslaved property of white people more black people would have had the resources not to be the financially poor that are resulting in the students with poor reasoning skills.
Besides, how many poor kids actually have the reasoning skills to know that they need to dress to impress in order to get a job? How many poor kids know that they have to clean themselves up in order to get a job? You sound a lot like Bill Cosby who makes blanket statements about poor people who go around buying five hundred dollar tennis shoes. Not all poor people should be judged negatively by the acts of a few.
And one last thing, self absorbed parents who fail to properly guide their children come in all economic classes. For example, where were the parents of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris when their children were shooting up Columbine? What were the parents of Lyle and Eric Menendez doing that led to those two decided to go ballistic and murdering them? In the final analysis, compared to these two upper and middle class examples, I would think having a kid whose only crime is not being properly prepared for finding a job is a vast improvement.
Peace
I do not see how “proper compensation” for something that happened multiple generations ago would matter. I came from a very poor family (we were evicted from every house I ever lived in as a child), but my parents made sure that I went to a decent school so that I could get into college so that I could change my own future. There has to come a point where people are responsible for their own lives. (This seems to also be the point that Obama has been making – maybe he discusses the black community more because that is where his heart is for change; I can understand that)
And, you are right that it is not fair to make a blanket statement about poor people; it is not true for all. But, it is so true for most. I see it every day (my school has close to 90% on free and reduced lunch). Why can’t organizations come into the schools and help out with these problems – or hold after school programs? I taught in one school where every footballl player had to take an etiquette class (many of them were poor students there on scholarship for sports). Their behavior became impressive, even more so than that of many of the rich students who attended this highly affluent private school.
I just don’t think it’s fair to look back and to blame something that is in the past. We have to look forward and come up with creative and positive ways to lead all of our young people in the right direction.
May we all receive well-needed peace and guidance
Tiffany Williams,
I don’t think that you can have it both ways. You say that it is not fair to look back and blame something that is in the past. But you will look back and credit something in the past for a person learning to succeed. You will look back in the past to explain that a person is the way they are if they were raped, beaten or any number of things that affects people lives in the future.
We only want to say no lets not look back when we are dealing with slavery. The deeds of the past carry on into the future. What was done during slavery was not just something that affected the people of that day. White people of the time used certain strategies to manipulate the black race. If you have never heard of this try reading the Willie Lynch letters.
They were engaged in a sort of breeding experiment. By pairing certain people, snatching children, breaking up families, killing certain “kinds” of slaves and making certain “kinds” of slaves house slaves. They were able to manipulate the thinking and the very essence of who those people were. Do you NOT think that they then raised their children with these learned identities, behaviors and idiosyncrasies which bled into the future?
Of course slavery, racism, discrimination, Jim Crow, raping and ripping of our culture plays a large part of how each of us were raised, taught and continue to be treated in this country. You can’t take history out of the present or future. We are a product of the past. That is just common sense. We need to stop denying the past when it is convenient to the white community.
Thanks
Tiffany Williams,
“…the problem is that students living in poverty tend to act a certain way, no matter their skin color.”
You say that the conditions of people living in poverty is the problem. And then you’ll say…
“I do not see how “proper compensation” for something that happened multiple generations ago would matter.”
Which one is it? If the poor had the resources that were stolen from their ancestors then the poverty factor would go away. Too often, we are willing to excuse the mistakes of the past simply because they happened so long ago. But then we will say something like…
“Why can’t organizations come into the schools and help out with these problems – or hold after school programs?”
Why not hold the society that created the problems that led to so much poverty and underachievement responsible for correcting the problems? Instead of examining this idea for its merit some people want to immediately dismiss it as something that we don’t understand how it would matter.
There is a political movement now to weaken our public schools even further. Give the people vouchers so that students can leave poorly performing schools and find better ones. And how will poor families get students out of the poor schools and pay the transportation cost to send them to better schools? What’s wrong with the simple idea of getting resources to the public schools in order to get them to perform better? We can pass mandates like no child left behind that focuses on improving a standardized test score. But real learning of knowledge and how to apply that knowledge is becoming a lost art, not just for the poor but for people all across the board.
Peace
Easier said than done. Some people do not have someone there for them to keep positive and give them a supporting hand.
My ancestors were poor and uneducated. They thought they could never get ahead. They were hungry, unhealthy and self esteem was very low. They began to think that the way they were living would be a forever lasting ordeal. On winter nights they would put what little clothes they had on top of them just to keep warm. My mother would go without food just to feed her children. My father could never find work. I did not go to school because I had to help around the house. My father and my grandfather and their fathers before them were all the same, poor and uneducated and never had a home or anything to call their own. Moving from one spot to another. Now years and years later I find myself with that same low self esteem and never seeming to get ahead. Yes, at least my ancestors had choices they could make. Where as the blacks had no choice. But my ancestors were also blocked in so many ways. The jobs were not there for them because the rich white people had slaves so they did not hire poor whites. Which meant my ancestors had no money. It was very hard for some of the whites as it was the blacks. Do I think someone owes me? If I would have to answer that then I would have to say the RICH WHITE PEOPLE.
Thanks for the feedback bonnie,
But, is that all you boil this discussion down to is an impression that because you and your ancestors had it rough black people’s claim has no merit? I have heard this rather simplistic argument from so many white people that it borders on an collective thought epidemic. If black people were poor simply because of circumstances beyond people’s control such as a lack of industry or a lack of food or such other similar circumstances, that would be something we could live with.
People in the black community had to, and continue to endure, a concerted effort by many people to actively deny people an opportunity simply because they have dark skin regardless of the fact that jobs may have been available or an opportunity for a quality eduation was in fact available. Nobody told the bonnie ancestors that you are less than everyone else. Your ancestors dealt with circumstances just like everyone else at the time. I cannot tell you the number of white people who come here with some bull about how their family had to deal with a potato famine or with a great depression. I am so sorry.
We are not talking just about money. We are talking about a systemic process to deny black people humanity, dignity, legal representation, civil rights, education, health, housing and so many other aspects of life that are required. I’m not talking about poor black me or a single poor black person or family some where or another. I am talking about the black community in general. When the bonnie family become representative of all white people, maybe then we will talk and compare notes. Until then, get over your narcisstic approach to this argument.
Peace
I know it’s Only My Opinion, but you can say what ever you want. You have the right to speak your mind. But it shouldn’t stop another person from doing the same. Your arguments are valid to a point. But what is being said would only turn the tables on another Race. That doesn’t mean you don’t have the right Idea about the rights of the individual. People of all Races are hurting in America. White/Black/Asian/and Indian but if all we are going to do is point fingers and say he’s is why I can’t succeed, we are going No Where Fast. If all races don’t come together to make things right for everyone we are going to fail. While all Races are fighting we don’t see that the individual Rights of the Person are being taken away. If a Christian photographer doesn’t believe in same sex marriages and gets sued because he doesn’t want to do a job, and loses the right to say NO. what is that? Who had their rights taken away? Do the research and look outside the box, without using Race as an excuse. Read about what is happening. It isn’t only about Race that I am talking. But your falling and you don’t even know it. What would happen if there was a Race war in America? Think carefully about that question. What would the government do? Think carefully about that question too. It has republic in our pledge of allegiants for a reason, but to listen to the government the USA is a democracy. We need to stop the fighting to understand what is happening, before it is to late. The Government would declare martial Law and take over. And use a Race war as the excuse to do it. They want us fighting. Black/White/Asian and Male/Female. If you really pay attention you will see that even the media thinks that all Americans are stupid. You think you are doing good by trying to help the black community and that is okay too. But we don’t have to say it is the white people that did it to us. That is only making things worse, because people today are right. They are trying to make things better for the black community. But if we push so hard that we become the discriminators how would that make what we are doing right? Maybe we should tell every white guy that he has to be a slave to a black family for a year? Would that make things right? Two wrongs , well, you know the rule. But of course it is what everyone is saying. If we can’t make the people that did this to us PAY, Their great, great, grandchildren Will. And we will be better off for it. STOP! Wouldn’t that make us just as bad as the people that did this to us? When is it going to stop? Someone has to say I forgive you. And It may be hard for the black community to do, but until we get past our prejudices No One is going to come out on top. In fifty years when the whites come back and say to our great, great grand children It’s your Fault I couldn’t Succeed! what are we going to say to them?
Thanks for the feedback Robert,
If you want your comments included on this blog you need to learn to chill. People who start their comments with personal attacks will not be allowed to participate in these conversations. You need to learn a little etiquette. Thank you for your approval of me speaking my mind. But honestly, I really had no idea I needed it. And for future reference, that reverse psychology shit doesn’t work with me.
People of all races might be hurting in America. But some people are hurting much worse than others. Black people are being hunted by police, black people are being denied due process in a court of law, black people are being denied employment and educational opportunities, and then you want to come here and call me a racist because some how I’m the one black man denying white people privileges and opportunities.
You say I need to do research. What makes you think I haven’t? I have seen a black child beaten to death on camera in a boot camp, a state employed coroner tries to dismiss the death as a latent sickle cell trait, and then a jury finds the seven guards who killed the young man innocent of any crime. And you want to call me a racist? Unarmed black men are shot down in a hail of bullets for walking home with groceries or driving home to get ready for their wedding. An unarmed black woman is killed by police while holding her baby because her boyfriend is wanted for drug trafficking. Police don’t even care that she was holding a black baby. If the government hasn’t declared martial law on black people then it must certainly have declared open season. Yet I’m the racist!
This isn’t about Christian photographers and your simplistic explanations on the white community’s behalf. You would be more than happy to support the status quo of white privilege while black people continue to be subjugated. If people want to be part of this society they don’t have the right to say only certain segments of this society’s people are entitled to be treated fairly and equally. How are people making it better for the black community? This is nothing but your tow the line propaganda that has been spoon fed to you and others ever since black people set foot on this godforsaken country. White people had to take those black people away from Africa to give our ancestors a better life.
It is not wrong for black people to be treated equally and fairly. We are not entitled to “better” treatment. We are entitled to equal treatment. There is a difference. When is it going to stop? When we are treated equally? Until then, it is hard to forgive someone who continues to constantly shove his foot up your ass. When the AMA makes statements that it has actually worked to keep black people from becoming doctors you damn skippy I have every right to say it is your fault I couldn’t succeed.
And by the way! I am very successful. Just because my bank account isn’t full of zeros doesn’t mean I am not a success. The fact that I can go to work as a professional in this environment that automatically holds black people at a disadvantage is a phenomenal success. However, I am not in this alone. I am a member of the black community. There are people that I care about who are not as fortunate. I do it for them like my ancestors and elders did for me. I don’t know who the fuck you are!
Peace
Robert,
You and your boot licking comments are no longer welcome here.
Peace
Robert,
It would be great and truly easy to forgive the white race for all their transgressions in the past. But the last time I checked in order to forgive a person they must stop the behavior which is causing the problem. And since we are NOT equal by any stretch of the imagination how can I now say I forgive you? How can I forgive a man for rape if he is STILL raping me daily? That would make absolutely NO sense.
Maybe instead of saying that blacks should do this or that, why don’t you ask white people to do this or that? Because to me you seem totally hell bent on making the black race responsible for the actions of another. I can’t blame the white race for each and every problem but I can say that they set this ball in motion.
You really need to rethink your position. Apologizing is great but there has to be a commitment from both sides. Not just one side continuing its subjugation while the other just decides to forgive and allow it to continue. So wake up it doesn’t help to be an enabler.
Thanks
When will we take responsibility for slavdery? NEVER!!! Because we didnt do it, Americans did! English did but the Irish DIDNT! I am categorised under white but have I ever been a slave driver NO! You cant generalise white people! Irish are innocent! We were slaves to the English! We were once too poor to afford anything! Now we are asked to take responsibility for something we COULDNT do! Well I wont say sorry! Im sick of being generalised by Americans as either a Leprechaun or a racist… I AM NEITHER!!!
Why did you delete that comment? It was perfectly valid?
You just lost a friend and now the bad publicity will spread I hope you realise that this is not an idle threat
Thanks for the feedback Adam,
But I think the title of the article speaks for itself. America needs to take responsibility for what it has done to a substantial segment of its American citizens. People here in America want to think that the perpetual condition of the black community has nothing to do with the foundation of the black and white community relationship developed under institutionalized slavery. A lot of people, black and white, think that this means individual Americans have to take responsibility. If that was the case, the title would have been Individual White Americans Need To Take Responsibility For Slavery In America.
As far as friends go, I seriously doubt if we were ever friends. We were acquaintances, at best, with the potential to develop a real friendship. However, it appears I haven’t lost jack. You appear to be nothing more than a typical white person quick to anger. You are no longer welcomed here.
Peace
Slavery is not a white or black issue. Slavery to America started so Africans could make a profit for slaves they captured during the African wars. These slaves were sold openly and this was a reward to them otherwise tehy would have been executed. Slavery is not just an America experience and still exists in Africa. Slavery routes from Africa went all over the world including the Muslim based middle east. The last thing I want to hear is a racist staement like whites had slaves,,,Opera says this all the time”. It was not my people or my ancestors from Europe and we are white. It was a certain countries only. Your racist statement that whites had the slaves of America is like saying Whites loved Adolf Hitler. Slavery started in Africa and is still ongoing in Africa today. The Spanish started the slavery to America and still put claims for minority benefits. That is how the facts were and remain.
Thanks for the feedback Dan,
But the traditional slavery of Africa is nothing like the institutionalized slavery of America fueled by racism and hate. You might not see the difference because you want to justify America’s hatred of black people. White people buy and sell black people based on nothing but the difference in the color of skin and yet you want to call me a racist! Only in America!
Why do we call the killing of the Jews by Nazi Germans a holocaust? Jews have been killed all over the world. What’s the difference? I guess people who focus on the Jewish holocaust are racist as well.
Peace
it saddens me that so many people are agreeing with the author of this blog
stop viewing yourselves as members of the “black community”, doing so only further divides us
the victims and perpetrators of institutionalized slavery are all long, long dead. trying to vicariously claim suffering through your long dead ancestors is a very cowardly thing to do, just as saying that “the white man” of today is guilty for his ancestors’ crimes.
every smart, capable, hard-working person born in america has opportunities to succeed, regardless of the color of their skin.
Thanks for the feedback Pie Hole,
Yes it’s true that the perpetrators of institutionalized slavery are dead and gone. But the foundation that they established for the pattern of race relations in this country is alive and well. Just the other day Manny Miranda went on record saying that blacks think differently. How divisive was that comment? By every social measure the black community lags behind and people are constantly saying that black people deserve their fate. What’s really said are people, like Pie Hole here, who think that the black community is somehow being included when every statistic says otherwise. Like Eric Holder said, we are a nation of cowards who dodge every opportunity to honestly discuss the racial disparity in this country.
Peace
theblacksentinel,
there is no metaphysical “white criminal” to attack here.
the white racists of today are a modern problem and have nothing to do with the dead criminals who purported slavery in america.
your comment that “the white man” of today is still raping “the blacks” is pretty much the epitome of racism. the “white community” is merely a collection of individuals, as is the “black community”, and once you stop grouping people by the color of their skins, maybe you’ll see things a little more clearly
stop viewing yourself as “a black man”. fuck the color of your skin. stop viewing people as “white people” or “black people” and just start looking at them as “people”
Pie Hole,
Trust me, black skin has truly been fucked already.
Peace