Dear Black People

Before slavery, the inferiority of Africans did not exist and definitely not in the way it is perpetrated now. People from different parts of the world were not reduced down to the basic epithets of ‘black’ and ‘white’ but were referred to by their nation name. Slavery changed all that, making it necessary to label African people in a particular way to fuel the trade and stem any early counter arguments against it. The problem is, people across the world have taken these lies as gospel and that is the basis for much of modern racism against African peoples.

The net result of the slave trade was the systematic and total dehumanization and demonization of an entire group of people. This was a ‘necessary’ byproduct of the trade to justify the cruel, inhuman and sadistic treatment in order to make as much money as possible. Free labor forever, the ultimate capitalist dream.

So in order to perpetuate this exploitation, African people stopped being people and became less than--too stupid to fend for themselves, saved by Christianity and European ‘Civilization, and so on. As time went on and slavery became entrenched it became important to reinforce those stereotypes and prevent any collusion between the dirt poor whites and slaves, and later on, between the poor whites and freed African Americans. These stereotypes have just become subsumed into the American psyche as much as Davey Crockett and the stories of how the pioneers pushed across America crushing the savages as they went.

Over the years various other lies were perpetuated; such as Africans being genetically inferior so they should not mix with other races, especially the ‘white’ race, as they would damage them in some way. Despite the fact that African people were raped as a matter of course throughout the trade. Other lies included African people being naturally more violent and having a type of voracious, unstoppable sexual appetite. All designed to keep one group at a lower level and to justify extreme and brutal treatment, some of which continues today. Examples are the astronomical numbers of black men incarcerated, serving longer sentences, or given higher rates of the death penalty.

The racism we see in America against the African diaspora is one that started in a particular place in time to justify an abominable practice but has subsequently been built upon to maintain a type of inequality with African Americans at the bottom. All of this continues to ensure that African Americans are not equally able to share in America’s dream.

How do we get over this? Teach people the truth. The violence that you see is mostly a knee-jerk reaction, arising from the deeply ingrained fear of black people that all Americans have.

But there's a simmering discontent which exacerbates these events. It's because people of other races (particularly conservative, white Americans) see black people getting so much “special treatment” (affirmative action, United Negro College Fund, NAACP, etc.) and “free stuff” (Ronald Reagan's use of welfare queens in his campaign to decimate the welfare state raised the ire of many conservative white Americans), that they see this as injustice against them.

Add to this that most Americans are ignorant of their own fear of blacks and of the centuries of demonization perpetrated against black Americans. And for many whites at least, it seems blacks constantly whine about things not being fair enough - in light of all the special "stuff" they think blacks “get”, this really confuses and angers said whites.

Combine all this with a particularly conservative, anti-big government mindset, and you have someone with an underlying annoyance (at best) or outright hostility (at worst) about these issues. I should point out that for most, the anger is directed at government policies, rather than black people themselves, although as I said, it's the fear of black people that provides most of the kindling.

And a black person who inadvertently confirms that fear provides the spark. The hate isn’t entirely irrational. Almost everything is rational if you understand how it came about.

The United States became extremely wealthy largely because of slave labor. When slavery ended, promises made to ex-slaves were often broken. Former slave masters realized they weren’t being just, but they were angry that they had lost an easy path to prosperity. The fear at the time was that black people in sheer numbers could turn violent and kill white people in the name of vengeance.

How do you overcome that? Reduce or eliminate the rights they are supposed to have in order to reduce the ease in which a rebellion can be facilitated.

How did this happen?

• Make it more difficult for black people to vote.
• Segregation, legal or otherwise, which still goes on today to a lesser degree. Schools in typically black neighborhoods are underfunded because of the way schools are funded.
• Discredit black social movements that are bringing about real social change (Black Panthers, BLM).
• Make financing more difficult for blacks thereby making things like home ownership and entrepreneurship a greater challenge for the black population.
• Portray negative stereotypes in the media. People from areas where not many blacks live will have only these images to base their opinions of black people on. Blacks meeting people from these areas will have to work harder to overcome stereotypes.

These are the processes that have hindered black people from advancing to their full potential in the United States. What is more, these processes have armed opponents of black progress with strong proof that blacks are inferior. For example, the other side will make statements like the ones below, and call them facts.

"If blacks cared, they would come out and vote!"

"Blacks are less likely to own homes."

"Blacks are more likely to be in prison."

"Blacks always play the race card."

All of this is without going into some of the more heinous examples of actions against blacks in America. Look what racist white American power structure has done to black people so far since slavery.

• The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921: A white mob, with the aid of law enforcement officers of Greenwood, in Tulsa, Oklahoma attacked and devastated the wealthy black community of Greenwood (nicknamed 'Black Wall Street') during a two-day rampage, and then, kept it secret until 2001.
• The Tuskeegee Study: White American medical experts intentionally infected black males with syphilis.
• The CIA's Crack Cocaine Scandal: The low-income black neighborhoods of California (i.e. Compton, Watts, etc.) were struck with the crack epidemic when the CIA, more or less, dropped the substance off in those "hoods" during the Iran-Contra fiasco of the 1980s under President Ronald Reagan.

Now, if you had taken part in any of these things, wouldn’t you be afraid of blacks, too? Of course, so you continue employing the same tactics in slightly different ways, in order to keep things as they are which, of course, only increases your fear.

Slavery ended 150 years ago, and yet, racism is still going very strong.

People fear blacks because they don’t want to look at the reasons behind the reasons. Racial issues are complicated and there are many ways to distort the facts. Admitting that these things go on would be admitting that things like affirmative action are not only fair but just. And that reparation is neither a ridiculous nor an unfair concept. It all just depends on who pays the money...because it's always about money.

Therefore, racism will end when the victims of racism do whatever it takes to gain economic power, control, and recognition for themselves. Marching and protesting for equality cannot, and will not, deliver black people to the end of racism. Only group economics and increasing wealth will accomplish that. Anybody can be a bigot or prejudiced but the problem arises when such persons have the power to control your life, or worse, strip it from you completely.

When black people finally obtain the economic currency as a group to back the campaign of any political candidate (be it a Democrat, Republican, or Independent), then even white supremacists would have nothing to say. And thus, the whole establishment of racism would crumble because the excuse of saying someone is inferior because of skin color will be seen as invalid. Black people would be able to control the media to present the right image of themselves. And they will have the political power to put a stop to the shooting and killings of black men and women, rather than ask for validation not to be hated. Black people would be seen as needed because of wealth earned, reputation and power as a collective. When blacks are viewed as more than just hip-hop enthusiasts, "drug dealers," and poor African people, the black narrative and experience in America (the world even) would change. It would have to, even if a continent or country didn't want it too.

I personally have no problem with white people that are racist. Why? Because I know they wouldn't have influence over my life if black people had any real economic and political power. I don't aim to correct the racist thinking of anyone, because gaining political power for oneself is really, and truly, the only thing blacks need to leverage the world in adjusting its treatment of them.

A dark-skinned person who has prejudices against light-skinned people is just a bigot, not a racist, because, societally, dark-skinned people are unlikely to be able to set up the system to disadvantage the lesser pigmented person. That is the world in which we lived when slavery began and it is the one we live in now. This is the case even in predominantly black countries, where the effects of colonialism still linger.

Past and current systems in North America include:

• Redlining and restrictive covenants in housing;
• Laws about local funding for schools (so rich neighborhoods have well-funded schools and poor neighborhoods have poorly-funded ones, leading to unequal education and a cycle of poverty);
• The “one-drop” rule to ensure that the descendant of a slave is always enslaved;
• Police and courts that hassle, charge, and incarcerate people (especially blacks) in part on the basis of race;
• Restrictions on native religious practices and political moves to restrict other non-Christians;
• Restrictive rules about what First Nations people can own, inherit and build (Canadian example).

When enough corrective action has been taken, and I mean affirmative action and repealing laws that have racist impacts, there will be people of all races in all types of positions: elected officials, journalists, teachers/professors, public administrators, judges, police officers, janitors, doctors, models, and so on.

And yes, we will still have our individual biases and prejudices, but there will be fair systems in place so that our biases are merely only our personal flaws, and not codified in law and handicapping the opportunities of the historically disadvantaged.

People for whom racist systems are advantageous will need to wake up and take action to make systems fairer. I, for one, think it could happen, though it will take time. Maybe in 50 years? If determined blacks and non-blacks say, and do, nothing to counter such systems..then it will probably take longer. My generation was unprepared to tackle that responsibility, as we were too blind to see it...and too lazy to do the work...and too apathetic to care. However, the black youth of today and the oncoming generations of tomorrow are the best hope for the African diaspora's economic and political rebirth. Because, simply put: protesting for long overdue policies and reforms that will never come is so counterproductive, and egregiously so.

Through you (the future black generations) we can do more. We can do better.