I took some time in thinking about what I might discuss in the 500th post for VASS. There is the American Presidential race in general, the candidates - Senator McCain and Senator Obama, race relations, the recent apology by the House of Representatives for slavery and Jim Crow, the lack of a similar apology out of the Senate, domestic drilling, energy and its cost, inflation, the economy, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and of course fanatical groups like Al Quida and Iran. Obviously there is no lack of issues that are current and important to discuss.

But because this is the 500th post, and because one of the most important issues facing America has been and continues to be race relations I decided to go there. Considering the fact that CNN recently wanted to discuss their view on what it is to be Black In America, and that there has been no fanfare accompanying the actions of the House, I felt the issue of an apology would be fair game.

But I don't think anyone can really dispute the apology. The wording of the House Resolution 194 is very clear and consice. But there is another part that goes with it. Reparations.

Like the elephant in the room, everyone is afraid to discuss this issue. Most don't even know the history of it. Especially those that dispute reparations. So I am reposting a portion of an early post I made that deals directly with this question. It is not the only reason or explaination of reparations to be found on my blogs, but it does clarify the history.

And here you are:

Reparations is what is being directly referred to when the term 40 acres and a mule is brought up. As mentioned in the goals of Blackout, it is directly part of the compensation for unpaid labor by African slaves from 1619 to 1865. More fully it is linked to General Sherman and War Department, Special Order No. 15 –

"The islands of Charleston south, the abandoned rice fields along the rivers for thirty miles back from the sea, and the country bordering St. Johns River, Florida, are reserved and set apart for the settlement of [N]egroes now made free by the acts of war and the proclamation of the President of the United States."

Additional reference to First Freedmen’s Bureau Act, which stated

“…shall have authority to set apart for use of loyal refugees and freedmen such tracts of land within the insurrectionary states as shall have been abandoned or to which the United States shall have acquired title by confiscation or sale, or otherwise; and to every male citizen, whether refugee or freedman, as aforesaid there shall be assigned not more than 40 acres of such land...”

While the order by General Sherman did in fact provide for land, the above mentioned First Freedmen’s Bureau Act was shot down by Congress, this was later rescinded by President Jackson, even though it was argued that

"...In my opinion this order of General Sherman is as binding as a statute."

Reparations have been discussed and proposed to Congress since that time for roughly 138 years, and has not been resolved yet.

Starting in 1989, U.S. Representative John Conyers Jr. began annually introducing legislation calling for a study of the lasting effects of slavery and possible reparations. Why some would ask? What benefit could it bring?

Well there is NO question that America was built largely due to the efforts of slaves. The U.S. was an agriculture based economy and the cash crops of cotton, tobacco, staples such as corn and rice, were grown in the south with slave labor.
Estimates of the value of the unpaid labor and/or the above mentioned land has been placed from $9.7trillion to $24trillion, with other estimates slightly lower and many higher. Such estimates only confirm the absolute value and impact slave labor had on the formation of this nation. The foundation of this nation, upon which all other advances and achievements have been accomplished, is based in that fact.

After the slaves were freed, which happened with the 13th Amendment and not the Emancipation Proclamation [you can see President Lincolns' thoughts on this matter in my post to a comment at History in America comments], Jim Crow and other equally repressive laws and actions hindered Black African Americans. Incidents have occurred even in the 20th century and include the Tuskegee syphilis experiments in the 1930s, the destruction of Tulsa’s Black neighborhoods in 1921 and the loss of life and property when the all-Black town of Rosewood was destroyed by a white mob in 1923. The need to have a civil rights movement clearly states that there was massive widespread and constant repression of Black African Americans over many decades at the least.

Even with the many individuals and groups who have actively supported reparations, including Mr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and U.S. Representative John Conyers Jr., there still has been no action. Yet reparations have been made to Japanese Americans and Native American Indians, at least to some degree. Remorse has been expressed by the Government to both groups. Yet the United States Government has never apologized nor acknowledged the wrongs done with slavery and its actions/attitudes in the over a century since that time. [Now corrected, a portion of the Government has taken some non-binding action towards an apology on July 28, 2008]

It seems incredible that any government or institution could overlook such actions, I think. The world could not abide a lack of reparations for the Holocaust, yet the unknown numbers of Black African Americans that died (as damaged goods lost in transport for sale, or by slave owners as useless property, or from acts of cruelty) for centuries is something that can't even be discussed. I have a major problem with that.

Why reparations? In my mind it is simple... the nation has never healed, and never will until admission of its actions up to and including the civil rights movement is made. Monetary repayment is due, made perhaps in other manners besides direct cash payments [perhaps a fixed tax credit that is used over a lifetime and transferable to offspring until used], but denial of the fact of how this nation came to be is no excuse. We will never get beyond the nations largest and most subtle activity which is the division of Americans based on race, if we cannot come to terms with the past.

Labels: 40 Acres and A Mule, First Freedmen’s Bureau Act, General Sherman, House of Representatives, race in America, Reparations for Slavery, Representative John Conyers Jr, Rosewood, Tuskegee Experiment

Concluded from Part 2...

An example is that of Senator Hillary Clinton, which I quote from my previous post, Commenting on Sen. Hillary Clinton's Dr. Martin Luther King Day speech, “when you look at the way the House of Representatives has been run, it has been run like a plantation, and you know what I'm talking about.” Or in comments from Senator Obama mentioning that he is “home” in Selma. Or virtually any other politician during Black History Month, on Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday, to humble or humiliate their opponents, or other noted dates of importance to Black Americans. Such comments belittle what was done, marginalizing the acts, and in my mind prove that the connection is real in the minds of all Americans. So why won’t politicians move forward and apologuize at least [other than those already noted]?

I have asked several in the current group of Presidential candidate hopefuls their position on this question. Not one has answered me. I ask all the Pesidential candidates now, will you support an apology from the government to African Americans for slavery and segregation and the various civil rights denials for more than 346 years?

I ask Mr. Hargrove, and Speaker Richardson, to provide me a sound and evidence supported argument that disputes my position. I ask them to show me how America has not benefited from slavery, how that is not connected to today, how there are not Americans alive right now that denied rights to Black Americans, and how the effects of more than 3 centuries of abuse and disrespect do not exist today.

Please help me with this effort. Pass this on to the above mentioned individuals, and every politician in the nation. Post this on the blogs of the candidates for President. Let’s hear exactly why they will not pursue at least an apology, and at best provide some form of reparation for the $9.7 – 24 trillion earned by slaves. Let them explain why they cannot seek forgiveness for the wholesale slaughter of Rosewood, the destruction of Tulsa’s Black neighborhoods in 1921, the Tuskegee syphilis experiments, and segregation to name a few items.

I really look forward to their responses.

This is what I think, what do they think?

Labels: African American, Black History Month, Dr. Martin Luther King, presidential election, Reparations for Slavery, Rosewood, Senator Hillary Clinton, Tuskegee experiments

There are a few things that I’ve recently thought about. I ran across an interesting article by Mr. Johnathon E. Briggs on teen boys. At Roosevelt University clinical psychologist Lance Williams asked teen boys to take a critical look at Hip-hop. Mr. Williams seems to feel “hip-hop today has been usurped by rabid commercialism and musical celebrations of mayhem, misogyny and materialism. He reminded the teens that from its early origins three decades ago in the South Bronx, hip-hop was meant to raise one's political and social consciousness, not dehumanize or degrade. “

Now those that have seen my www.blackentertainmentblog.com site are familiar with my views on the current state of hip-hop and the commoditization [not a true word I know] of Black African American culture. I have long held the thought that the proliferation of songs that celebrate the lowest aspects of life in America, or as human beings, has been a negative factor in the lives of Black African Americans as well as all of America’s youth. It’s nice to know that I am far from the only one to see this.

In any critical glance at Black culture today it is obvious, I think, to see that women are purely objects of sexual gratification and respect is only viewed as gained through violence. Material gain is valued over mental, and the actions of an individual more important than anything else. This is a cementing of a different thought I have also long held. Some may have heard this before.

I have thought that originally a plan of selective breeding occurred in America during the 200+ years of slavery. Much like the breeding practices used in farming, stronger Black African males were bred with the stronger Black African women in the hope of stronger slave children. In addition to strength, temperament and intelligence were no doubt factors as well. I can only assume the goal was to created the equivalent of a human pitbull. But of course we are human beings, with intelligence and emotions that expand the human experience beyond that of animals. Thus it was necessary to also break the bonds of family, and to create the impression of a lesser stature of these Africans in the American culture.

The effect was the economic prosperity of this nation, agriculture being the primary source of income for the nation at the time. In addition the growth of commerce and industrialization that occurred at that time led to the America that exists today. The economic consequences are no speculation, you can see my post on reparations to see more on that.

The effects of dehumanizing, disruption on the core family unit and forced lack of education continued well past slavery with the Jim Crow laws and segregation. The virtual non-existence of Black African Americans in any media with the exception of caricature helped reinforce the early views and efforts. Job opportunities in menial manual labor help to continue the selective breeding efforts.

But as human beings, with minds and souls, resistance to these efforts existed. The human spirit rose in spite of these pressures, leading to the Civil Rights movement. And during this time the minds of Black African Americans flourished in ways not openly seen in some time. That is to say that millions were able to gain more education and better education than ever before. Growth in every aspect of life was experienced and positive exposure in media was accepted on a wide scale.

I’m not saying that there were no intelligent Black African Americans prior to this time, nor would I ever say there were none that were successful. Rosewood (and other cities or areas in cities like Harlem) and hundreds of patents (colleges as well) prove that as being false. But the prosperity was not as widely felt by the average person. This is my opinion only, I may be wrong and my older readers can definitely correct me on this.

But as media accepted and barely included Black African Americans, as Equal Opportunity laws were enacted, and the sacrifices of millions were being accepted something changed. Most notably, in the 1990's a fledgling music genre created a splinter form that started to gain traction immediately. As that splinter grew, it became commercialized and promoted. It’s affects were to promote specific business industries, and separate the youth from the mainstream. I do mean ‘gansta rap’ as it was called then, rap hip-hop music in general today.

While there have been benefits, and the expression of thoughts is an absolute right (guaranteed by the 1st Amendment) there are problems as well. Media capitalized, and continues to do so, on this by promoting the violent and disenfranchised nature of this music genre. Unlike any other music genre, the objectification of women - especially of color - was/is on display frequently. The artists creating this genre were/are selected from violent areas of the society, above and beyond those from other parts of society. The message of this genre was promoted at the exclusion of the main music form, that had insisted on inclusion, support of the community, empowerment, education and enjoyment of life. Narcotics, long held as a cause of destroying a society, were/are now considered a positive. Consumer products associated with this genre became the new Dutch tulip craze. Forms of clothing that were long held as inappropriate for anything but sporting activities (which they were designed for) became not only common place but disproportionately expensive (sneakers have gone from $10 to $150 in my lifetime as an example). And the importance of improving oneself with education has evaporated.

The overall effect is that Black culture has become a commodity, and an expensive one. While media does contain more diversity, its focus is predominantly on the most violent, addictive and separatist nature of the Black community. Education of the youth is reaching lows not seen in decades at the least and the core family unit is more unstable than ever before (at least in my lifetime) with both being portrayed as positive actions.

All of this cannot be laid at the feet of what was once a splinter of a music genre. But that cannot be dismissed either. The effects do seem to be promoting an old theme, as I mentioned above. Stronger Black African American males (or at least more violent ones), less education, no core family units, economic dependance and the promotion of specific commerce industries, and dehumanization. Added to that is the rampant addiction of the Black African American community.

No one thing is a cause of the ills found today. In some respects acts of the past can be seen again. The question of whether this is the past repeating itself because some lesson has not been learned (or that an apology has not been given) or a new aspect of the world I cannot say. But if we do not address what is happening, if we refuse to acknowledge its existence, if we continue unabated on this path then the outcome will only be our fault.

This is what I think what do you think?

Labels: Black culture, Black Entertainment USA, Civil Rights, hip hop, Johnathon E. Briggs, Reparations for Slavery, Rosewood