The Fox and The Geese--Revised
A Synopsis
We have learned that Frederick Douglass believed that Blacks within America could gain freedom and respect as human beings by serving in the war to preserve the union[Civil War]. Then, Douglass felt, the colonists would accept Blacks as their equals. Since they fought along side them in their time of need, Douglass felt this struggle would galvanized the two people into one America. He felt that Blacks would truly become accepted as American citizens for the sacrifice they gave. Harriet Tubman often traveled back and forth, between the North and South--well aware of the difference between slave and free states and the laws which governed them. But moreover, she knew the difference between how White people thought and behaved--on both sides of this issue. Since there were growing sentiments around the world concerning slavery, most Northern states did not allow slavery within their territories--but they did create unions to deter Black tradesmen. She also believed, if the Northern states within the Union won the war, there wouldn't be any more slave states, therefore the attitudes could be a lot different; and therefore navigated between the lines. During the war, Harriet worked as a spy between the Union and Confederate states, after being the conductor for the Underground Railroad.
Though there were writings within the States and abroad condemning slavery--voicing various points of view, those views were never the sentiments of the majority of White America. The Abolitionists were only five percent of the American population. And although these Northerners and other Southerners may not have believed in owning human cargo, most did believe Blacks to be inferior to them.
Frederick's ideas were not created within a vacuum: Words bearing these common sentiments around fellow abolitionists were widespread. Already free Black men were beginning to consider how Douglass' ideas would win them the rights they so desperately needed within American life--which implied whatever freemen experienced within the area of living America pre-Emancipation era, was not freedom, justice, and equality--or full citizenship.
Those free Blacks (of the Civll War time period)who enlisted with the Union ranks bearing titles such as "The 54 Massachusetts"--attempting to uplift the race and putting the petty differences that unwittingly co-signs such foolishness. Obviously their freedom in America was anything but free, so privileged Blacks ante up the stakes by devising a plan to elevate their position in America by enlisting the Union cause.
Lincoln delivered a proclamation and the first of two Civil Rights Acts. Why create a second Civil Rights Act, if the first was successful? There were no provision or supplies provided when Blacks were released from slavery. This indicates we were not properly considered by the establishment, for the position this type of release would have provided. There was no federal aid; though everyone was well aware that slaves had no income. It looked as though our President Lincoln did not appreciate being positioned by the persuasive Mr. Douglass, and delivered the most minimal aspects of the promise he could provide. . .
Initially American troops were sent down South to support/enforce the liberation--but even that action was short lived. The troops were to quell the insurgency by White Southerners, but either it was too intense, or White American troops were too reluctant to put themselves in that kind of jeopardy for a Black life. At any rate, this behavior is no type of behavior to trust one's life with for the rest of your life anyway.
Ultimately Black interests have to be supported by Black people who are aware of the above facts. As expressed early, there where Whites who did not believe that humans should own humans, but this idea is not the same as to whether or not these people are inferior and only able to perform the most menial tasks. Many Whites today look at Affirmative Action and quotas, not as insurance policies--but as a symbol that America is lowering its' standards for the less fortunate; insinuating that Blacks could not compete on the same level as Whites without prompting and charity.
There were some elements amongst the Whites of that era, like the Radical Republicans, that did create the initial stages of Black Reconstruction work. Blacks did make initial progress politically, socially as well, not to mention education, but the paranoid factors within American society countered: The South gained more power in the house, and the individual states came up with laws and policies designed to regulate and limit the range of Blacks within the New World; and clandestine societies--such as the Klu Klux Khan--began covertly reshape the attitude of the new Blackman below the Mason/Dixon Line with threats, lynchings, and intimidation factors [sounds a little like Ferguson, Missouri to me].
See, after the Emancipation Proclamation and the 1866 Civil Rights Act, the strength of the Black family and Southern hospitality began to soar. The so-called African Retentiveness within American Blacks began to allow the group to soar exponentially, building our esteem to such a degree that it alarmed the previous human cargo owners--as well as those who concern themselves with uprisings of former slaves. As a result, the officials of the South provided legislation aimed directly at the Blackman, designed to place him behind bars for the smallest of infractions. Laws like the Pig Laws, and the Vagrant Laws were part of a bigger group of laws called the Black Code Laws.
The important thing to note, is that whenever Whites in this country experience any sort of economic depression (such as the devastation the South experienced during the end of the Civil War), the common reaction has frequently been, to take their frustrations out amongst
Black men; and it is still being done to this day. One would think that many Whites are afraid of uprisings by Black because the country is economically weak. Hmmm. . .
The Black Codes had their roots in the slave codes that had formerly been in effect. The general philosophy supporting the institution of chattel slavery in America was based on the concept that slaves were property, not persons, and that the law must protect not only the property, but protect the property owner from the threat of violence.
Slave rebellions were not unknown, and the possibility of uprisings was a constant source of anxiety in colonies and states with large slave populations. The Black Codes were all intended to secure a steady supply of cheap labor from the Black population, with the assumed ideology that all of our people are inferior and in the Dred Scott case, that Whites did not have to respect the rights of Whites [as evident in the Michael Brown ruling of November 24, 2014, by a Grand Jury Investigation].
Black Codes varied from state to state. Most notorious of these laws were the vagrancy laws which declared a Black to be vagrant, if unemployed and without permanent residence; a person so defined could be arrested, fined, and bound out for a term of labor if unable to pay the fine (which oft time was the case if he wasn't working). So they force you to work for nothing, because you can't find a White to allow you to work for something. . . Sounds like double-talk to me. . .
The Jim Crow Laws was a group of laws which developed as a result of the White majority to enforce racial segregation in the South. This took shape between the end of the Reconstruction period in 1877 and the beginning of the strong civil rights movement in the 1950s for Black people. The Jim Crow Laws became synonymous with the White majority's attitude towards the segregation of the White and Black race: These laws reflect the protection of White majority interests and ideology--similar to the financial support and ultimately the verdict in the Ferguson case in Missouri.
It is obvious from the above situation, that we were being bullied by Whites because we were in their world. Courts and local authority, at the time, were never Black. And today, with our own having little sense of allegiance to our people because of so-called race (aka, sellouts and people trying to escape the pain associated with being Black), we still do not have proper legislation to represent our best interests. We are in a state of divided interests. Once a Black person gains a little personal wealth and moves into their neighborhood, many times his social interests switches to their community and not his former. There's this false sense that he or she has "made it." There's this false sense that he or she is "no longer Black and persecuted." There's this false sense that he or she has escaped discrimination--that is, until he or she is pulled over by a police officer.
Then one sees that there is a different way that they are being "handled," as opposed to their White neighbor. It is 2014 and we still have White police doing surveillance in predominately Black neighborhood; neighborhood that they live nowhere near and probably have stereotypical attitudes towards. Laws are produced according to the needs of the people in charge or position, to regulate or produce a condition where they feel safe and their needs are being taken care of. Jim Crow law was designed to be applied to any one of ascertainable or strongly expected Black origins, in order to regulate, contain and oppress.
There is a general somber mood in every Black person now, after the wake of Michael Brown/Ferguson verdict. There is a feeling that these officers are not there to protect the neighborhood; but to run surveillance, monitor it, and keep the Black populace in order. As a Blackman, regardless of class or social status, you have to be concerned whenever a White officer pulls you over, that you don't become a casualty of blind hatred and bigotry; even if you are identified by address to be affluent: That officer might just jealous that a Black person is making more money that any of his relatives. . .
So as we can see from this, we have to look out for our own interests, our own communities, our own economics and our own people. The "politically correct" thing only goes but so far; especially when the country is headed for a depression. Thank the Universal Mind for sports, because if not, many Americans would not have an outlet to release their anger; and things could become worst. However, we cannot just "blow off" Ferguson, because no matter where the Blackman and woman is in America, he or she is subject to subjugation--whether he or she knows it or not; and what happens to one of us, can happen to any of us; whether you know it or not.
It is time for another "strategy." It is time for many of us to wake up out of this 'fantasy' that we are trapped in, and start ironing out our problems towards collaboration and solidarity; for you cannot escape your Black skin (and Whites action to it), regardless to how well or how you "act."
As Nina Simone once said, "This is a show tune, but the show hasn't been written for it--yet."
Thank you for your consideration,
C. Be'er la Hai-roi Myers
Peace.
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