2008.07.17
Troubled history still rings of truth
Every day in this job, I hear from people who want to weigh in on something I've written.
Some of the calls and e-mails are enlightening. Some are disturbing. Some are bewildering.
An e-mail I received about my Tuesday column fell into the last category.
Tuesday's column highlighted a new study that quantifies how black people are as varied in thinking, beliefs, lifestyle and economic status as any other race.
One sentence noted that the binding tie of black Americans is the history of slavery and discrimination. Otherwise, we are a diverse people.
The reader took exception -- to that one sentence or to the entire column, I'm not sure.
"Just more of the same about how blacks were slaves," the e-mail began. "I am SOOOOOO TIRED of this!!! The people that are living now had nothing to do with the fact that these people were brought to this country against their will.
"If anything the black people living now are treated in some instances better than white people!!! I see lots of different people in my job and I have black friends, but I still think this song is old and should be retired."
I'm not including the writer's name because I was unable to confirm it Wednesday.
But the author isn't alone.
Many people want to pack this country's tragic chapter of slavery in a sealed box and put it on a shelf, out of sight, out of mind. That's obvious when even a fleeting mention of slavery in a column about diversity elicited such a strong reaction.
Oddly, no one has a problem with recalling some other aspects of the past.
Nobody complains when we write about D-Day (but sometimes they complain when we don't).
Who gets upset when they hear about Paul Revere's famous ride?
About 18 million people refused to forget that women once were denied the right to vote as they lined up to cast ballots for Hillary Clinton.
It seems America embraces some of its past. But if that history is tainted with guilt of slavery, then watch out.
Last month, renowned columnist and author Leonard Pitts delivered a dynamic speech in Roanoke about the impact of the nation's racial past on its future. He implored blacks and whites to make peace with that history and embrace truth.
"We are all children of our fathers and mothers, all heirs to history, its triumphs and its failures alike," Pitts said. "And you [can't] escape that. As a moral matter, you shouldn't even try."
The e-mail's author was upset by a fact that is a historic truth. It is my truth, it is our truth.
It is America's truth.
Shanna, if you're sick of me being "first one in", just let me know. But I just love your column!
I'm a little on both sides here, and I had to go back and read your other column again to see if I could read into it the way your commenter did.
I'll agree with him on one point: The fact slavery existed should not be the "trump card" excuse for any problem befalling a random black person. Nobody denies that slavery existed. Black people were forced onto ships, "lived" in probably horrid conditions in a little hole on a swaying boat for months(?), came here and worked hard with little/no freedom. I won't deny that happened. However, the fact that slavery existed does not answer why any random black person did not get accepted to Virginia Tech this year, or was overlooked for a position on the board of trustees for their homeowners association. And it is definitely not the reason that I, and many other non-blacks that I know, are not voting for Obama.
But from the other side, just as you said it was a casual mention. It's one of the few things that most blacks, as a race, share a common bond in history. Jews share the fact of the holocaust. Many other examples. My understanding was that you mentioned that just to emphasize there are a few common things, but beyond that everyone is an individual.
So, first off Ed was right...I called in your last column that someone would bring it up.
You were right in that we're all individuals. And the commenter was right in that the history of slavery is not some big conspiracy to continue keeping the black man down, regardless of what some outspoken people say.
Comment by Ed S. — July 17, 2008 @ 12:08 pm
Yes, slavery is definitely one of the two worst blots on U.S. history. This is the other one. Since Roe v. Wade in 1973, American abortionists have savagely killed more than 48 million children in their mothers’ wombs or while they were being born. That is more than the total population of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina! And the slaughter continues – 1,200,000 innocent, vulnerable children brutally killed every year!
The Declaration of Independence states “life” is the first of our God-given freedoms. When life is taken away, all of the other freedoms are stripped away, too.
Comment by LRS — July 17, 2008 @ 1:42 pm
Every race on earth has been in slavery at some point in history...but American blacks revel in it!Its both their excuse for failure and reason for continued unnecessary strife..Its been over(in America) for 150 yrs...Get over it and move on....
Comment by Steve — July 18, 2008 @ 3:58 pm
Maybe Steve says all that needs saying but at the risk of being called names and other remarks made, I'll toss in a few details he omitted but probably knew. Check out Wikipedia. Slavery in: Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mauritania, Sudan, Arab slave trade, Aztec, Bermuda, Nazi Germany, Soviet Union, Modern Africa (YES MODERN), Asia, Swedish slavery, and oh yes, Slavery in the US. "Slavery predates written records - almost all cultures...traced to records of before 1800 BC". I'll spare readers the detail but the information clearly shows "black in America" is hardly the only place and time of slavery. What's odd about the American experience is that blacks (some/many/most?) seem to enjoy using the 150 to 200 year old reality to qualify much of their current situation. Personally, I see no indication that non blacks are trying to sweep slavery under the rug or re-write history so that it (slavery)disappears. Another oddity is that modern day "victims" who are not black, such as American Indians or Jews, appear to hold the historical experience without the formalization of institutions designed to keep the issues alive and ongoing for the specific purpose of winning a seemingly never-ending accommodiation from the government and from American society. Apparently a whole lot of non blacks in this country enjoy the guilt of having been responsible for slavery...or so the guilt trip rational goes. They apparently need a connection to a cause which makes them somehow a better person for coming to terms with the insidious past of slavery in this country. I read Mr. Pitts often and like his rational on many issues. But on this issue, I could not disagree more. It is long past time to put the history into history. Let's have a national "Remember Salvery" day and get on with the tasks which face this nation. Social injustices will continue and we'll simply address them as we must. But please, do like you own delegate Ware suggested a few years ago...."Get Over It".
Actually, Del. Frank Hargrove of Hanover County is the one who urged blacks to "get over" slavery.--s
Comment by Al — July 18, 2008 @ 8:08 pm
I'd like to know a little more about what the article discussed and why the unknown e-mailer chose to write about this one topic. I'm slightly familiar with the study on black America because I was sent the link a few days ago. I only skimmed the lead sentences in the article, but I gathered that it just highlighted the fact that black America is very diverse in our beliefs, philosophies, careers, lifestyles, etc, and there is no one standard of 'blackness' and that black people are, and have always been, multi-dimensional in every aspect of our lives.
Why the unknown e-mailer chose to reflect on the issue of his/her disgust with black America's issue with slavery is something I'd like to know.
What everyone needs to realize is that 400 years of a system based on slavery, racism, white supremacy, bigotry and the disenfranchisment of black people has a legacy that will not go away or magically appear better overnight. It lasted 400 years. We (blacks and whites) will always feel the effects of this system for years to come, in one way or the other. Slavery may have ended in 1865, but segregation and Jim Crow were the law of the land for one hundred years later until 1954, with Brown v. Board of Education and the subsequent desegregation and integration being the new law of the land. For those who lived during that time, remember that full integration did not happen overnight and it was a violent social change. The Little Rock 9, and other incidences highlight that fact.
So how is this issue supposed to just 'go away' overnight if it was part of the social fiber of this country from the moment it began?
On another note--do you ever hear someone say to a Jewish person, "Get over the Holocaust"? Or to survivors and victims of 9/11, "Get over 9/11"? Or to those at Virginia Tech "Get over 4/16"? You will never hear someone say that to those populations, but black people are quickly told to get over slavery and somehow overlook the effects of it that affect every aspect of life, dismissing the personal and cultural pain of that legacy.
Regardless if you didn't live during slavery or if your parents didn't arrive in America until after it was over, we ALL suffer from and experience the evils and benefits of slavery, bigotry and Jim Crow. And white America especially needs to own up to that fact.
We all need to realize that parts of American history are ugly and befall us all--black, white, progressive or bigoted--in all kinds of ways. Yes, black folks need not use slavery as a crutch to prevent them from moving forward, but at the same time, white people need to stop telling black people to 'just get over it'. I don't like dealing with racism and bigotry when I encounter it, but as a black woman in America, and in southwestern VA, I know it will always come up.
We all need to realize that black people are now just receiving benefits that were denied to them as citizens that were always there for whites. If you have a problem with affirmative action, for instance, you really have a problem with Jim Crow--if it truly had been "separate but equal", everyone would have had the same advantages. But we all know that it wasn't. So there lies another problem.
We can all move toward a more progressive, accepting and equal society, but I feel we need to do that by remembering history, understanding its complications that affect the now and the future and learn to move forward, never to repeat those mistakes again. And most importantly, we need to realize that it takes time to change cultural and personal attitudes, thoughts and perceptions and to be patient with the process while it happens.
Comment by YW — July 18, 2008 @ 9:09 pm
First of all, I do think "get over it" is not the correct expression even though I used it. A better concept is put it behind you (us) and get on with dealing with today. Secondly, 9-11 and 4-16 have nothing in common with the matter of slavery. And I would also almost separate the "holocaust" from slavery by Nazi Germany during that period. Jews were not the only ones enslaved or forced to labor under the Nazi government but let's lump all the victims together for now and call them "Jews". Do you see a National Association for the Advancement of Jewish People" in modern day Germany. Does modern Germany have laws concerning "equality" for Jews in employment or housing? Is there a United Jewish College fund? There are many other similar UNCOMMON links you will not find there which you will find in the US (moreso than probably any other country with a history of slavery) Support groups do exist, but they exist to remember and not extract their debt from society. The mentality seems to be, it happened, let us not forget and never let it happen again, but let's move on...(and it's only been 70 years more or less). BTW, in my associations with black people, rarely do I encounter any as having this "keep it alive" mentality. If they do, they surpress it. It strikes me that it is far more common in the upper levels of black leadership such as Jackson, Sharpton as well as any number of high profile media actor/esses or other such "personalities". Seems to me they simply would have no message if not for this one.
Comment by Al — July 19, 2008 @ 10:30 am
Each time period has it historical events, and it seems that the next generation has a different prospective of these events. History whether oral or written always needs to be investigated for the truth and any error should be discarded. Did it really occur and can we understand it in today’s light? When a country in the world claims that the holocaust never existed we should know what the real facts are about. Slavery should have been denounced in the minds and hearts of all Christians but sadly the latter group of people supported it. As a nation we are always searching the archives to determine what the truth is, and the truth can never be altered. The same people that I have heard say "get over 3OO years ago" are the same people that say "slavery was not that bad as they got free housing, etc". Ignorance is always trying to interfere with truth.
Comment by Hercu1 — July 19, 2008 @ 2:07 pm
Hercu1 misleads us by syaying, "Slavery should have been denounced in the minds and hearts of all Christians but sadly the latter group of people supported it." This statement ignores the fact that it was Christians who also led the successful fight to put an end to slavery in the U.S. and Great Britain.
Let's remember, too, slavery exists even today in some Muslim nations and atheistic communist nations.
Comment by LRS — July 19, 2008 @ 9:22 pm
Several good points made here, especially the letter by YW. Admittedly, I did not support the legislature's "apology" resolution a while back, because to me it was little more than a "feel good" attempt at a politically correct maneuver by its sponsors. Actions speak a lot louder than words or formal apologies. What is a bit disturbing to me that the reader completely ignored the main thrust of an excellent piece by Shanna and instead focused on one sentence that most of us, if we even noticed it, would have readily accepted as a given. Now that the topic has been brought to the surface, though, it seems ridiculous to expect our brothers and sisters to "get over" something in history so shamefully unjust. To me that's like telling Christians to get over the crucifixion. Some events in history simply can't be erased from the minds of those whose own ancestors were directly affected by them. Like "Ed S.," this Republican thoroughly enjoys each and every one of Shanna's columns, but Thursday's was one she shouldn't have had to write.
Comment by Mike — July 19, 2008 @ 11:59 pm
BTW, Al, surely you jest when you refer to "Reverends" Al and Jesse as the upper levels of black "leadership." These two clowns have done more damage to race relations than all of the John Rockers, Michael Richards' and Imuses in history. If there's anything that blacks need to "get over" it's that pair of phonies, and I believe the vast majority of them have.
Comment by Mike — July 20, 2008 @ 12:15 am
Jackson and Sharpton are among the most visible level of "leadership". Like them or not, my point is that people at this level seem to be the ones who use every opportunity they find to keep history from actually becoming history and BTW, I do agree the "get over it" angle is not a good selection of words. Do some people wear the badge of slavery in a never ending effort of self promotion? I see absoultely no movement to deny that it ever happened nor anyone to seriously claims it was good. 200 years from now, if the victims of 9-11 are holding rallies and claiming entitlements due from society and if I were alive, I supposed I would have a message for them as well.
Comment by Al — July 20, 2008 @ 2:57 pm
Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton ARE the upper echelon of black "leadership".
What does that tell you?
Comment by Percy Kution — July 20, 2008 @ 10:58 pm
Nothwithstanding the "O lawd help me caus I's black" crap spouted by Jessie and Al every 5 minutes they're awake, I'd rather have either one of them in the White House than Sammy O'Bammy. Jessie and Al DO make sense when they get off the "woe is de black peoples" crap.
Comment by Percy Kution — July 20, 2008 @ 11:09 pm
Al:
In light of Jesse's latest gaffe, I have to agree at least with the "most visible" part, but I think you and I also agree that "leadership" is the very loosest usage of that term when used to describe those two hooligans. You raise an interesting point about the 911 victims and someone else mentioned the VT victims in another post. As heartbroken as I was over those events, and as sorrowful as I was for the families of the victims, I did not believe they were entitled to compensation by any government agency for their terrible losses. The settlement by the state with the families in the VT tragedy, in my opinion, set a dangerous precedent and could potentially subject the commonwealth to future lawsuits any time someone is killed or injured on state property, regardless of the circumstances. Likewise, I don't believe that descendants of slaves or of the native Americans from whom this country was allegedly taken should be entitled to monetary compensation either, but I can't begrudge either of those groups their right to harbor feelings of resentment over the treatment accorded their ancestors.
Comment by Mike — July 20, 2008 @ 11:25 pm
Yep, "leaders" is a bit of a stretch re Jackson and all such people. And you raise an interesting point about resentment. I never really thought about the use of that term specifically. Resentment leads to hostility, revenge and maybe even hate. Seems to me it is more likely to be a natural sentiment in times immediately following an event but 200 years later is resentment still a healthy position for the generations of today to hold? I guess it's OK to resent the slave owners and even the governments that allowed it. But why resent white people? Why resent today's government?
I'm sure somewhere in my Irish family past I could find evidence of some act of religious hate inflicted upon my ancestors. But today, I have no hate of either "P" or "C" because of it. The generations since have come to see it as acts of hate in a cruel world and the focus was/is how to grow beyond it and put it in the history books as history, not carry it around for 300 years and revive it by doing a march on the mall in DC.
Comment by Al — July 22, 2008 @ 11:00 am
Al:
I think we're still on the same page. It's the acts of the past that they should resent, not the descendants of the offenders. Personally, I don't get too excited about nonviolent marches, since nearly every group with a cause, including charitable organizations, engage in them. I view those as a form of free speech, and while I wouldn't ever march in one myself, I have nothing against those who choose to express their feelings in that manner. Shucks, even the Boston Marathon is a "march" for some, but it would likely be more of a crawl for me.
Comment by Mike — July 22, 2008 @ 11:45 pm