Mutatismutandis and Racism In America Updated; The Necessary Changes Have Been Made - The Close of Black History Month Part I

Proposition:
Many Americans believe that the changes that were required to correct government-sanctioned racial injustice and discrimination (of the kind that would have permitted black Americans to succeed in the American system of apartheid) have already been made. These Americans believe that it is up to black Americans to decide now whether they intend to succeed or not, and that nothing else needs to be done!

Introduction: Recently, Robert D. Novak the often controversial syndicated columnist, Washington D.C. journalist and editor of the Evans-Novak Political Report said, 'all that blacks need to hope for is that the economy improves'. He made these dismissive comments in order to debunk the positions that some black Americans were taking at the time.

They held that certain measures still needed to be taken in order to eliminate the remaining structural barriers and imbalances that they believed still existed (of the kind that still hindered the progress of black Americans). Those barriers and imbalances, more than anything else - hinders or prevents the seemingly permanent black underclass from attaining full citizen access and participation in the opportunity structures of this country.

Whether or not that is true or not still remains to be proven. I have observed myself from coast to coast, from north to the south that a spirit of nihilism and hopelessness that is pervasive in many of America's black urban and rural neighborhoods persists. Perhaps the restoration of hope, to replace despair is the real solution that should be sought after! And how do you restore hope?

Chapter 1. Robert Novak like many Americans, believes that given numerous rulings by the Supreme Court over the past half-century, and the rectifying voter's rights acts that were begrudgingly passed by Congress and written into law - coupled with the improved racial atmosphere in America (reflective of the change of heart by many whites), that the rest is up to black Americans.

And he is not alone in that regard. Bob and many Americans believe that blacks need to simply take advantage of the purported indiscriminate American economic system , and that the American economic system will address any of the remaining social ills or structural barriers that may or may not exist! Americans like Bob, feel that the other problems that black Americans refer to are nothing more than excuses to perform! Bob has given blacks 90 days to stand up or else!

And who knows, perhaps Bob and the individuals who believe as he does are correct, at least as far as some Americans are concerned! Having said that, I still wonder if Bob remembers the words of the song, Money Can't Buy Me Love? Bob like many black Americans, believes that the solution to the problem is apparently an economic one! So isn't Bob contradicting himself when he says that on one hand the economy is the solution, and on the other hand an economic shot in the arm is not the solution that blacks need?

The following also appears to be true, with regard to racism in America, as far as this writer is concerned:

Racism in America, in its most recent permutation, has mutated into classism, often economic classism, of the kind that Hagel referred to as, "the ownership of property and the pursuit of power through class struggle". Even some black Americans who have made it have joined in the denigration of those blacks who have not made it yet, Shelby Steele and Thomas Sowell notwithstanding.

Today's modern-day class conscious American racists, who mostly still control the American economy and own most of America's wealth, will defend their positions by saying that I cannot be a racist because blacks live in my neighborhood or building, I have black friends, I attend a multicultural church, I am black or better yet I am married to a person of another race. He or she will then ask, so how can I be racist?

Now keep in mind that there are several terms in the American lexicon that are anathema, in other words you don't just utter these terms to an American for most Americans do not take kindly to either being called 'a sinner or a racist'. And all too often there are many Americans who remain both sinners and racists! My answer to those who ask, how can I be a racist?

My response to male members in that group would be as follows:
a). Just as you can also have a mother, a sister, a daughter, a wife or girlfriend.
b). And you live with or take care of your mother, sleep everyday with your wife, drive your daughter back and forth to school and you are kind to your sister.
c). You can still be a sexist or misogynist in the same manner that you can be married to a person of another race, have persons of another race at the church where you attend, or have people of other races living in your neighborhood, and still be a racist.

And if you don't believe me, simply ask the wife, mother, daughter, or sister whether or not their husband, son, brother, father or brother is either a sexist or misogynist (in spite of his beliefs to the contrary)? And, don't be surprised when the answer that comes back is an unequivocal yes!

Is Bob Novak a racist? I don't know whether he is or not, however, based on what usually comes from his mouth and pen, he is definitely flippant, arrogant, insensitive, uncaring, paternalistic and typically a condescending snob!

The battle cry for many anti-black American racists (not members of organized hate groups only) is mutatismutandis, i.e., the necessary changes have been made and nothing else should be done - it is up to them now. How convenient? These individuals ignore the General Assistance hand out and support that they received from the government for over 200 years.

They also ignore the free capital that benefited them which was derived from the forced labor of black Americans - the latter lasted them for over 200 years. White Americans did not succeed in America simply because of their hard work as they would have you believe. Let's face it, they were smart enough and evil enough to steal, kill and force others to work in order to reap all of the profits.

It is ironic that these beneficiaries of government largess (200 years of Government Assistance and protections), at the expense of non-white Americans, still cannot understand why blacks are entitled to retribution. Any people who were immoral enough to take over a country the size of America with all of its resources, and to force millions of people to work gratis while they kept 100% of the profits, would fare well, wouldn't you think?

General Sherman, bless his naive heart, before and after the surrender and ratification of the treaty between the north and south that ended the American Civil War had a different idea. He proposed that blacks each be given capital, land and a mule. He knew that black Americans certainly had earned that over and over again. However, the government felt that the available land that could have been given to blacks in payment for their years of hard labor, should inure to the benefit of white railroad barons.

Now just think about what difference could have been made, if blacks had their stolen capital returned in one form or another by the majority culture? We would more than likely not be having these discussions today. Furthermore, if blacks had been paid for their labor, we wouldn't be having these discussions today. On the other hand, those who were the beneficiaries of inherited wealth and the capital that caused the American economy to burgeon, wouldn't have the capital and wealth that they enjoy today! Having said that, they still would have been well off!

Blacks would have built comparable towns and schools and enterprises, assuming that whites would not have gone in to destroy those black towns, schools and enterprises which would have likely thrived. Well, in fact many black settlements that thrived anyway, without the support of the government, were summarily destroyed by members of the majority cultures anyway. It wasn't enough that the majority culture kept all of the wealth for themselves, these ignorant souls simply did not want blacks, or Negroes as they were called at the time to have anything!

The very mention of the term reparations today to be given to black Americans to repair the damage, to return some of what was stolen, to provide redress given the complicity of the American government in systematic racism, stirs up an incendiary feeling of hostility among many selfish Americans. Any form of retribution that would compensate black Americans for their setbacks, and for the failure of the government to have done its job is anathema to them.

The Honorable Representative John Conyers of Michigan tried for two decades to have the matter of reparations for black Americans, brought to the floor of the house where it could be voted on. Sadly, he could never get a bill out of Committee that could be brought to the floor. This same Representative also brought now deceased mother of the Civil Rights movement to Michigan so that she could pursue a livelihood.

Why? White Americans in the South were angry with her, given that blacks were given equal access to public accommodations as a result of her inspiring of the Montgomery bus boycott. And what was her reward for correcting an egregious American problem and forcing the government to do its job, she could not get hired anywhere in the south. The fact is she should have been retired, and the salaries of all of the government officials who failed to do their jobs should have been handed over to her.

Now, why haven't blacks attempted to seek reparations through the courts? They did, however, black Americans ran into a roadblock in the American judicial system. We discussed this roadblock at length during several sessions at the Legislative Conference of the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington DC. Since black Americans tied reparations to slavery, the courts insisted that blacks be able to show a 'documented class', to prove that were damaged by and descendants of slaves.

The problem is that the records that were kept were substandard. The slaves couldn't read or write or keep records, and massa' retained records that were sufficient enough to protect, sell or buy new human collateral. Blacks were often moved from plantation to plantation, and it was not uncommon for them to be given the surname of the indigenous slave owner that they were sold to. As a matter of fact there are a variety of last names that most of us were known by. My last name could just as easily have been Woodfork, MacMillian or Nixon, and not just Solomon.

Black civil rights workers have pretty much abandoned the idea of pursuing reparations through the court system. The consensus among black leaders is that the best way to pursue reparations-redress is through Congress. And by the way, during the last Legislative Conference that I attended, approximately 9 prominent black Representatives were against reparations themselves.

The truth is, black Americans should not have had to pursue reparations in the first place - the Government should have automatically reimbursed black Americans - given its failures alone to protect their rights and given its participation in the willful discrimination against blacks during and post-slavery!

Again, white Americans to put it succinctly, would not be where they are today had it not been for the uncompensated for and grueling labor of black Americans. Given the American system of retributive jurisprudence, one would think that white Americans would be only too happy to compensate for, and return that which was not rightfully there's in the first place. The majority of whites however, fail to see a connection. Bob Novak certainly does not see one!

Sorry Daughters of the American Revolution, George Washington's Mount Vernon plantation should be turned over to black America. Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's slave plantation should be turned over to blacks. The states of South Carolina, Mississippi, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, Alabama for starts ought to be given to black America.

And for that matter Washington D.C. should be turned over to black America, the majority of its 600,000 citizens are black anyway. Did I mention that those 600,000 citizens who pay taxes, and are sent to fight in America's wars, do not have congressional representatives. U.S. Representative Tom Davis of Virginia, admitted how embarrassed he was when he scolded the Chinese in Bejing a few years ago.

As he attempted to scold the Chinese officials about voter's rights in China, they confronted him with the internationally known fact that the black citizens of the District of Columbia, seat of the U.S. Government do not have the right to vote for congressional representatives either. oops!

BTW, thank God for Benjamin Bannekar's contribution to the nation's capitol. I learned firsthand about his contribution by spending a day at the Benjamin Banneker Museum in Ellicot Maryland.

To my way of thinking and I repeat, not only should blacks receive reparations for the injustices of slavery, the United States government also needs to compensate all black Americans for its failures. The United States' Federal, State and local governments were derelict in their duties given their failures for two centuries to uphold the Constitutional right of all Americans, especially the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendment rights of black Americans.

Federal, State and local American government, officially sanctioned the preferential treatment of 'one class of America's citizens' over and above the other. I suppose that the Federal Judiciary or District Courts would want black Americans to prove that too! Can anyone see why white Americans are where they are today given an over 300 year boost, and some blacks are still struggling.

The fact is that slave capital at one time in America, exceeded the combined capital wealth of all of American industry combined. The civil rights movement was born as a result of the government's failure (Federal, State and Local), to protect the rights of black Americans, and for its complicity in system-wide discrimination against non-white American citizens. The government joined in on the conspiracy against non-whites!

The modern civil rights movement that preceded by centuries the Montgomery bus boycott, Dr. Martin Luther, SNCC, CORE, SCLC and Rosa Parks was active long before these individuals were even heard of. Why? Because the government historically failed to do its job where non-whites were concerned. The oaths that many of these men and women took over the years meant nothing.

And factually, each one of them should have been tried and imprisoned given their egregious derelict of duty, and in many instances breach of oath.

With respect to the real or imagined barriers that still exist and persist in America, a white TV Show Host in upscale Great Falls Virginia (the home of many Washington DC officials, ambassadors and Washington's elite) told me that with respect to the racial divide in America, he was 'tired of hearing about it'. Why wouldn't he be tired of hearing about it? He is a long-time resident of Great Falls Virginia, he wasn't hurt by it economically - he has it made.

The fact is he was one of the beneficiaries of systematic racial discrimination against black Americans, and receiving a hand and leg-up from the government. He was stunned to learn that I was looking at properties in consideration of moving into Great Falls Virginia myself while I was on an assignment in the Washington DC-metro region. Great Falls Virginia sits adjacent to Langley Virginia where black luminaries like General Colin Powell and others reside. The median cost of a home in Great Falls is approximately 2 million dollars.

John, the TV host considered having me as a guest on his television show at first, but he later opted out. I wonder why? As he explained it, he was not sure that we could have a 'civil' discussion. Despite the implication and his choice of words that I was somehow uncivilized, he knew that I would have spoken the truth. And the truth was not something that his viewers wanted to hear! John is the perfect example of too many twisted Americans.

Oftentimes when driving through Great Falls or hanging out down at River Park on River Road, I sense the spirit of all of the slaves and black laborers post-slavery, who worked their whole lives to make Great Falls what it is today. And what did they get for their labor, typically a plot of land elsewhere usually about 3 feet wide, and 6 feet long. The bodies of 98 slaves are buried at Mt. Vernon, that was their reward for all of their labor.

Great Falls is not too far away from Suitland or Oxxon Hill Maryland. Do you suppose the good folks of Great Falls feel any responsibility for the conditions of minorities in these municipalities, or even in nearby Washington DC? Why are some greedy Americans so selfish, and incapable of self-reflection. Frankly, I'm pretty sure that Bob lives in Great Falls. Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld are also residents of Maryland, both have super large and palatial homes!

The question that remains, is whether or not enough has been done to remove the institutionalized structural barriers that prevented the rise of too many black Americans in the American capitalist economic system. The question also remains is, shouldn't America compensate those that it has aggrieved, particularly if it can compensate other nations in this country who were far less aggrieved?

Chapter 2. If Blacks Would Only Let Go of the Past
Have you ever been misused or abused by someone, only to have that same individual turn around and tell you, without apologizing for their behavior or comments, that you should get over that? That is essentially what the majority culture has said over and over to black Americans.

Folks, even if blacks could or would simply forget the past as their antagonists have often suggested that they ought to do, the painful reminders of the past are still present each and every day. In many respects the same conditions that were here during the first centuries, are still with us today. Should black Americans or any individuals hold a grudge? Is that healthy?

Even in scripture, believers are taught that if they have been offended by someone, they should first go to that individual and tell them, and blacks have done that, but only to be rebuffed. I find that most aggrieved non-white individuals in America today are not so much aggrieved by the past, as they are by the present. And to those who tell them, you need to get over the past, they are saying that it is not the past that bothers, it is what you are doing in the present that botthers me.

It is amazing how cavalier some individuals can be about their mistreatment of other people. The fact of the matter is that the other side was provided with 200years of government assistance - the real government welfare program. And that is by and large the reason why the other side is where it is today (while many blacks still remain a part of America's permanent underclass). The fact of the matter is that the other side are beneficiaries of something that does not belong to them.

The inherited land and other wealth that should have been passed down through the families of black Americans, is still being held by the other side. I can recall when a decade ago when one of the buzzwords in America was tokenism. Tokenism referred to the adjustments that were being made that was to atone for the years that black Americans had been systematically violated by the white majority culture in America.

Hurrah, well at least for a while. Why? Well, because it appeared for awhile as if Americans had found their conscience. However, it did not last. Whites, who were the beneficiaries in many instances of the victimization of black people, past and present, cried foul. I thought about it at the time, wondering whether or not blacks, many that I knew, should have taken advantage of affirmative action. Then it came to me, affirmative action was only an attempt to restore what had wrongly been taken away.

Blacks were not tokens, because they accepted jobs under a quota system. Why not? It was a quota system that prevented blacks from being hired with pay in the first place. The quota system that the majority cultured preferred and still prefers in too many instances is for the best paid occupations to be reserved for the white majority. The white majority never had a problem with black Americans working, they simply wanted them to work in the most menial positions - jobs that they did not want to do.

They also wanted black Americans to work for free, or for a mere pittance. The government conspired with the majority in their racist hiring practices in order to either keep blacks out or in the lowest paying jobs following slavery. That the government was forced to turn around and correct its own complicity in helping to cripple the black race in American was simply the right thing to do. The only thing the government did wrong then was to stop short of compensating black Americans for their sustained losses.

Can you imagine what would it would be like today had blacks been paid a fair wage for their labor? Can you imagine what it would be like today if the inherited wealth including real or personal property had been passed on from generation to generation. Instead, the inherited wealth that should have been passed on from generation to generation in the black community, had been kept and passed on from generation to generation to families in the majority culture.

And today, the majority culture would prefer that blacks simply forget about that reality. Just imagine the difference it would have made today, it is more than likely that where we see ghettoes in today's urban black centers, we would see prosperous communites. These communities would own their own businesses. In America today, blacks own less than 1% of American businesses.

Instead of a high percentage of black males ending up in prison (usually tied to unemployment), these same young men would be home with their wives, and raising their children. Let's face it, in most instances there is no need to steal if you have something already. Well, that is true in most instances, however, we are witnessing today that the ones in this nation who have the most wealth, continue to steal from those have not given their insatiable need (similar to their forbearers) to be wealthy, in deference to those who labor but have nothing.

Also imagine the impact that it would have on the economy if the rightful wealth of the black American, real and personal property that he or she never received, had been passed along. Would black Americans be receiving government subsistences in the form of AFDC, General Welfare or even SSI or SSD? There is a direct correlation between past precedents and the number of black Americans (again not the majority by any standard) who rely on government assistance.

It is also a well known fact that individuals who do not have adequate income or resources are unable to address their healthcare needs, they survive on an unhealthy diet, their general welfare (stress and other related social pressures) affect their general overall general well-being. How can black Americans forget the past, when the past is staring them in the face everyday in its more subtle forms, but nevertheless it comes from the same source.

Could of, should of, would of you say? Just imagine where this nation would be today if the errors of the past and present were corrected today. The government essentially provided one class of Americans with land, markets, credits, financing, police and military protections. On the other hand the government assisted in taking land, markets, financing, police and military protections away from the other black caste.

Why won't the same government act in-kind to assist in lifting the chronic poor members of America's permanent black underclass up to where they should be once and for all. For every black American on welfare, involved in the criminal justice or mental health system, living in an American ghetto, working at a grueling underpaid postion, each one of them that I talk to has or had a dream.

Sadly, these individuals do not have a government or anyone else to help subsidize or finance their dreams. And most of these individuals lacked the resources that they need and needed to get their ideas off of the ground. Why? Because what should have remained in their families and what should have been passed along, was stolen, and is still being retained in order to finance someone elses dreams.

Thank God for our black athletes and entertainers who have made some headway. However, when you compare the number of black athletes to America's overall black population of nearly 40 million, there are too many more black Americans who will never likely realize their dreams of even moving out of the ghettoes. Others find it hard to escape the prescribed life sentence for blacks to either die as a result of hypertension, diabetes, murder or a broken heart.

Has enough been done to help lift many blacks from their sense of nihilism and despair that resulted from having their livelihoods stolen away for so many decades? Are modern day tergiversator's and beneficiaries of government largess right, or are they wrong when they say, enough has been done? And finally, is the problem today merely a black and white post-reconstruction problem that simply won't go away?

Remember, the Jews were commanded to accept reparations upon their departure from Egypt under Moses's command, not to simply forgive and forget what they experienced while they were in bondage? Why would God command them to take 'reparations' with them? Could it have been because it took capital to operate, and that Pharaoh had retained the majority of the capital that the Hebrews rightfully earned given their 400 years of bondage (roughly the same amount of time as black Americans experienced government supported servitude and discrimination in America)?

Blacks not only provided the nation with free capital as a consequence of slavery, blacks continued to be the beneficiaries to American white capitalists during the post-slavery periods. During slavery and after slavery ended blacks were egregiously underpaid in the labor market in the military, in government and in every other aspect of the American society during the post-slavery period.

Isn't it amazing that black Americans who fought in most of America's major wars, were paid based a lower wage than members of their white counterparts? Some blacks were never paid for their service in the military. It was as if the majority culture was saving that your life simply is not worth as much as ours in life or in death.

Having said that, no matter how hard the majority culture may seek to have the past suppressed as well as the harsh economic realities and disparities of the present, they continue to fail. Why? Because everyday it seems, the truth is revealed in some story from the past or even from one in the present. Even President George H. Bush explained to the world, in the aftermath of the Katrina Hurricane in New Orleans Lousiana, that racism had ledto the poor conditions of black New Orleans. Why would an American President admit such a stark reality?

The whole world witnessed the decrepid conditions of black Americans in the most prosperous nations of the world (those who lived mostly in the lower wards of New Orleans). It was a throwback to the days when the world witnessed via the media, black Americans being bitten by police dogs and hosed down by America's finest in Birmingham Alabama. President Bush tried to do damage control, and to save his own reputation by blaming the conditions of blacks in Katrina on previous racism.

Did he do enough to clear his own name. Not likely, for in deference to the past, the question remained, but would did you do to reverse the conditions of American blacks on your watch. His explanation also failed to explain why the Federal Government had been so slow to react in a national catastrophe, where black Americans were the center of focus. The world knows that it took the Federal Government four days to begin to mobilize into action.

America, the purported democratic land of the free remains a nation where two societies co-exist, the haves and the have nots. It was embarrassing what the world was witnessing George Bush's watch, the depraved conditions that a reflective portion of America's permanent underclass continued to live under. Now the cover had been pulled off of not only what the majority culture wanted blacks to forget, but what the United States government and the majority culture wanted the world to forget - that American remains a bifurcated societies.

Rather than debunk the president's position, why don't we just agree with him and thank him for being one of the first American Presidents to confirm that what I have been writing about, and what others have said and written about is true! And what is the truth? The President said that the poor social conditions that members of America's black permanent underclass were living under in New Orleans, resulted from the egregious and systematic racism that previously existed in America.

And what will be done about that sad fact, given the President's own admission? The answer is simple, nothing will be done about it. His father, President George H.W. Bush once made the mistake of referring to black Americans who who were fighting for their rights at the time, as freedom fighters. On another occasion, he spoke out about the senseless beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles California. On both occasions, he was rebuked by his mostly white majority political party.

Thank God that the courts saw things differently, well at least after the second trial concluded. The first time, in all-white Simi Valley California, a bastion of white conservative Republicans, an anomaly in California - the jury held that the police acted appropriately and that Rodney King was not aggrieved. The Justice Department stepped in (after 200 years of doing nothing without being forced to) and said 'no mas'. The world witnessed the beating of Rodney King, just as it had the beating of Birminghamians - America had to do something.

The second trial was moved to downtown Los Angeles, where a fair and balanced jury was selected to hear the trial. And the outcome was completely different. The jury ruled in favor of Rodney King and against the cops who clearly overreacted. Los Angeles is usual considered to be liberal according to conservatives. However, not many Americans know that as late as the 1960's that many of LAPD's officers were members of the Ku Klux Klan

And the majority culture asks again, why won't they just forget the past? It is incidents like these, the Rodney King beating, the Katrina Hurricane and what most black Americans still experience today, that reminds black Americans that the so-called past is still a current reality. The real question is how come the majority culture won't stop denying the truth and to return what was stolen and to stop its current racist practices. Then and only then will the majority of black Americans forgive not only the past but current racial imbalaces and double-standards.

A few short weeks ago, the grand pubar of the Ku Klux Klan announced that if a black man were to become President of the United States, that they would kill him. Again, why won't black Americans forget the past, because it stares them in the face everyday, in the form of painful reminders. Several months ago, likely a prank, hanging nooses began to be displayed on the campuses of schools and colleges of America. Was their an overreaction? It was certainly not an overreaction to those who recalled just what those nooses represented!

What are the chances of blacks being compensated for the injustices that were done to their ancestors, as well as to them? Well, if simply asking the federal government to issue an apology is a true barometer of whether or not blacks will be compensated or not, don't hold your breath. The Congress of the United States under former House Speaker Newt Gingrich refused to apologize for Congresses part in the historical racial conspiracy to uplift whites.

Newt and the majority Newtonians concluded that if they were to apologize, that Congress would be admitting that America had aggrieved its black citizens. And an apology, Newt surmised, would be followed by a demand for restitution. Neither Newt or any of the other beneficiaries of black servitude and exploitation have any intention of ever re-compensating blacks for the wrongs that have been and are still being done to non-white Americans today.

And what does that say about Newt and the Newtonians? Well, what is so sad about it is that not only are these er herm gentleman representatives of the people, they are all mostly lawyers. These, er herm, gentleman know how the American system of Jurisprudence works, i.e., that Americans are abused they have the right to seek redress when they have been aggrieved. Also, in the American system of Jurisprudence, financial remuneration is often considered the appropirate means of redress.

Newt and the boyz, the same individuals who have constantly fought for corporations and other individual white interests to be compensated when they have been aggrieved, insist that black Americans (one of the most aggrieved groups in this nation's history), never be compensated for the manner and method in which they were aggrieved. What a double-standard, given that lawyers who know the law refuse to uphold the law when it comes to black Americans.

All is not lost for keep in mind that white Americans will be the minority in this country in another decade or so, and I suspect that the combined majority, along with reasonable whites will act in favor of America's aggrieved citizens. I personally hope that there will be a redistribution of wealth in this nation - yes, take the wealth from the selfish, and redistribute it among the masses.

Some Americans need to have taken from them what was stolen, and the aggrieved including America's native populations ought to be the recipients of the stolen bounty.

And in answer to the question again, why did and does America have civil rights workers? The answer simply put is because they are needed. The majority culture had and has all 3 branches of the federal government to see to their needs. The goverment sees to it that their civil rights are never violated and that their needs are always met. Anything that the majority culture needs wants and needs, 'their government civil rights organization' will see to it that they have it.

Consider the recent proactive action taken by the Bush Administration to create a stimulus package in order to jumpstart the economy. He did not have to be asked to take action, given that the problem has had a deleterious effect on the majority culture. Blacks Americans never had a government federal, state or local that they would be proactive, or one that they could turn to for help.

And as a result black Americans had to come up with their own leaders to march, fight and advocate for their civil rights, and to seek after stimulus packages (which never came) to jumpstart the black economy. Should black America have to have disparate groups to advocate for their civil rights? The answer is no, however, the fact remains, if they don't do it, who will? Will Newt? Will George Bush? Will the United States government advocate for blacks? Has the United States government ever advocated for its black citizen?

Someday, we will have to talk about what the explorers to the new world did to luminaries like Quetzcoatal and the Aztecs, the Incas of Peru and the other American inhabitants of Central and South America! Black Americans should not forget the past, on the other hand white Americans should remember the past and do something about its effects in the present. Today's American prisons who have been incarcerated for doing far less than their white counterparts did.

The Constitutional Congress, the United States Government, the American Constitution, the majority of America's presidents, representatives, justices, governors, mayors, police officers and ministers have been failures since the inception of this nation.

The majority of these individuals were not only racists, many of them were also rapists, murderers, pedophiles, child molesters, homebreakers, kidnappers, landgrabbers and slave traders. And how many of these criminals who were made officials in this nation ever spent one day in jail for their misdeeds? I anger many people when I say this, but the Americans that most Americans view as heroes, even many of its founders, presidents, judges and ministers were nothing more in character but pimps, perverts, thieves, child-molesters, satan worshipers, adulterers, murderers, and liars.

My elder brother once responded when he heard me say this was, well that was the way that it was back then. I corrected his misappropriation of the facts and informed him that no, that was not the way that it was for the majority of Americans at the time. Only a group of whites believed in the slave trade. There were many whites who cried foul from the onset! For some reason the bad ones assumed the power and control of the nation!

Those luminaries who stood up for social justice like John Brown, President Abe Lincoln and others were rewarded usually with a bullet to the head or back! Why is it that some Americans want black Americans to forget the past? Have you ever heard that saying before, that if you don't learn from your history, you are abound to repeat it.

Some Americans want black Americans to continue to live in the past. In other words, some non-white Americans always want to maintain an advantage so that they can continue to exploit black Americans. I was watching a townhall meeting on television one evening, Chris Matthews may have hosted it. The question was raised, why won't black Americans simply forget the past.

A Jewish gentleman in the audience provided the best answer. He asked white Americans why is it that you never ask Jews to forget our past, however, you always want black Americans to forget there past. He went on to explain how white Americans join in and help Jews to reflect given their horrid past.

America is in denial about what was done to black Americans. No other nation or people have been told in America to forget about their history. In fact, I know of no other people in history who were victims in any nation that tried to erase their history or make them forget their past. Black Americans in the USA appear to be unique in that regard.

If anything, all black Americans need to be taught more about their history, both the positive and the negative aspects of their history. Most black Americans know little about Africa, or African history. I asked a young man what was taught at his inner city school during Black History Month. He answered, well every year they talk briefly about Dr. Martin Luther King and that's about it.

Well folks, there is more to African American history than Dr. Martin Luther King. Certainly his life is to be analyzed and celebrated, however, black youngsters need to know about a time in history when their forefathers were kings and queens. Too much has been done and is being done to erase the history of the African, and the history of his homeland - the apparent 'cradle of civilization.

Perhaps if black Americans were exposed to more of their proud history, they would overlook the aberration of life in the Americas over the past 4 centuries, or perhaps it might make them angrier. I wonder, have the same Americans asked white southerners and the white confederate states to get rid of the Confederate flag?

Peace & Grace
Reverend C. Solomon
sealofabraham.blogspot.com

to be continued...,