On February 28th Tarajee Ali spoke to us about how a new collaboration between blacks and whites could help our nation form “A More Perfect Union.” She has provided the text of her talk to us, and given her permission for us to post it on our website. We hope that our readers will find her talk eye opening, and worth further consideration and dialog. Please feel free to post your comments as you are so inclined. So here’s her talk to us…
I first want to thank the Ethical Society for giving me the opportunity to speak with you today. As an African American woman, I feel as though establishing a conversation between the African-American community and the Humanist Society is essential.
Our country is becoming more and more divided, because no one is bothering to engage over the very issues that divide us. But, an even bigger issue is being on the same page with people who are supposed to be your allies. So today, I hope we can begin an honest conversation about race, and what we can do about it.
Let me begin by asking you, as a Humanist.. Do you believe the Ethical Society in general, and you in particular, are doing enough to help the African-American community? Or do you feel like, as long as you don’t add to racism, as long as you behave ethically in your own life, that you’ve done your part?
Because, I think we all want to do our part. But, it’s how we define our part is where we differ. Is it an active part, or simply a “quote-unquote” Hippocratic oath, to do no harm? This is a very important distinction, because to combat racism we have to engage. It is not enough to not be racist, because racism has already taken it’s toll on the African-American community.
So let’s look at it..
Throughout human history, man has always found a way to create “Us versus Them”. Racism is just the latest version of this need to identify by contrast. I emphasize identify by contrast, because in many ways, identity is based on contrast. Distinction begets division, and hence, racism. But, before I get too far ahead of myself, I want to touch on what gave racism its modern day expression.
Capitalism.
Now don’t get me wrong, I understand and appreciate the power of a dollar. So, I’m no card-carrying Communist or even a Democratic Socialist. No.
But capitalism has a dark side.
And, ironically it is rooted in the abolition of another type of slavery, serfdom. Please don’t quote me on the timeline, Kwame is a better historian than me, but don’t tell him I said that. But, around the 15th century, landlords facing a labor shortage that found its roots in the bubonic plague, began to dissolve the bonds of serfdom, feudal dues, land tenures and village commons, replacing them more or less with free market.
In essence, they turned the necessities of life into commodities and put a price on everything, literally. Now think about that for a second..
When you put a price on something, in many ways you devalue it in the eyes of the people. Because it’s price becomes it’s worth.
Its worth, is no longer inherent, it is relative indeed in the eye of the beholder.
I am reminded of a story, about the first pilgrims.
When they got to the shores of America and saw those sprawling meadows, rolling hills and majestic trees. The first thing they did was to assess the value in cutting down the trees to manufacture goods.
I’m not making a moral judgment, but when you teach people to see in dollar signs, you truly lose sight of the forest for the trees.
But, back to the 15th century, serfs are becoming merchants and merchants are becoming capitalist, investing their profits in mining, textiles, overseas trade and overseas colonization. So now, this local phenomenon is about to go global. Colonies become all the rage.
The invisible hand of the market is beginning to dictate the rhythm of society. The key to remember here is, there is a price on everything.
So why not people?
Now, of course, slavery wasn’t invented by the capitalistic era, but never before was the worth of humanity so devalued. Would African slavery have reached the epic proportions it did without capitalism?
Absolutely not.
The driving factor behind the enslavement of millions of my people was capitalisms drive for dominance. Which leads to the conclusion that racism didn’t create slavery, slavery created racism.
This is an important distinction, because if racism created slavery it would be justifiable from a purely theoretical point of view. Remember, racism is only the moderate expression of our human need to create ‘us versus them’. This trait is just as much a part of us, as Fight or Flight, because survival in many ways is us versus them. So when I say justifiable, I am in no way justifying slavery. I am merely saying that had racism been the foundation of slavery, the fact is defensible in the name of quote unquote “us survival”.
I hope I have made that clear.
But, because slavery begot racism, then in many ways capitalism begot slavery. Then the basis of the problem is economics. Period.
This may be obvious to some, but many still see the face of slavery as the sadistic leer of plantation overseers instead of the accounting ledgers of major corporation, many located in the north and not the south. Slavery is always depicted as horrendous by is dictators and a “happy southern existence” by the twisted minds of its supporters.
But both miss the mark. It should be depicted as it was, a cold-blooded business transaction. Which to me, makes it even more horrendous. I would rather someone hate, degrade or even seek to destroy my humanity, than to totally disregard it as irrelevant.
Slavery, not as evil, slavery as banality.
We’ve gotten rid of the evils of slavery but not the banality. Case in point, the 13th amendment, which reads: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” This clearly states, slavery still exists as punishment for crimes committed, but incarceration and enslavement are two entirely different things. Ask yourself.. Are you OK with conflating the two?
Think about people who go to jail, for failure to pay court cost. This is a crime for which they can be made a slave. The 13th amendment makes no distinction between felony and misdemeanor. So technically a person could be enslaved for shoplifting a pack of gum in the District of Columbia! I specifically use The District of Columbia, because the 13th amendment is a part of the federal constitution, where as the North Carolina Constitution section 17 Reads: “slavery is forever prohibited. Involuntary servitude except as a punishment for crime where of the parties have been adjudged guilty, is forever prohibited”. So North Carolina dealt the fatal blow in the first sentence – slavery is forever prohibited. This is significant in its wording, because it also makes a distinction between slavery and involuntary servitude that the United States Constitution doesn’t.
Now we all know it takes 2/3rds of Congress and 2/3rds of the state to get a Constitutional amendment, so actually changing their words is next to impossible, but I ask you in your own heart, do you see and understand how the banality of slavery permeates life in America? It is simple but profound, that the man who was suppose to have abolished slavery actually insured it’s continuance!
Except as a crime, this simple clause, made sure slavery would be a part of the American justice system which is evident to this day.
Now, I want to ask each of you a personal question..
Were you aware that slavery is still a part of the American justice system? If you say, yes, are you OK with that?
Should slavery be punishment for a crime? And if you didn’t know, maybe you can now better grasp why I say slavery as banality permeates our society in subtle ways.
There may not be much we can do about the 13th amendment besides bringing awareness to the issue, but we can definitely do something about the G.I. Bill.
The GI Bill was enacted into law in 1944, as it was for returning serviceman after WW2 to help them with education, housing and jobs. A commendable piece of legislation, except for one thing: it discriminated against black GIs. Now, the significance of the G.I. Bill cannot be overstated because it was instrumental in creating the middle class in this country. As I’m sure you know, America was instrumental in rebuilding Europe and Japan after the war, which created millions of jobs for Americans. The economy bloomed and GIs were able to participate largely because the G.I. Bill, which also makes the inverse true. Black GIs weren’t able to participate.
As we all know, home ownership is one of the key wealth builders and over the years, has acted like a multiplier for the white middle-class. How many CEOs, entrepreneurs, even presidents can trace their advantages back to a family that benefit from the G.I. Bill? On the flip-side, how many black CEOs, entrepreneurs and even presidents would there have been if given the same opportunity? Now of course, they have been many laws passed, state and federal, that have had an adverse effect on black people. But the G.I. Bill is unique in the role it played in the emergence of this country’s middle class.
Are the descendants of these serviceman entitled to anything? Even if they aren’t given anything but a free college education or the chance to buy a home. With correcting the wrongs of the G.I. Bill in mind, it would be a start and that would speak volumes about the ability of this country to make amends? Again, I want to emphasize, we aren’t dealing with the economic consequences of racism. We are dealing with the racist consequences of capitalism. To many, this may seem like a distinction without a difference, but if you look closely, I think you’ll understand my point.
Racism doesn’t have an agenda, it is a cancer. It eats away at the racist as well as it’s victim. But there are many negatives to capitalism, racism being only one. Remember, when you put a price everything, you can devalue it just as long as you can establish its worth.
When capitalism led man to price his brother, dehumanizations became inevitable. There is a straight shot from slavery to the GI Bill.
The next step is remedying the situation. I am only proposing this one remedy. There are many others, but I propose this one because I believe it will have far reaching ramifications, a lasting impact and immediate results. The solution I speak of is, universal childcare.
What I propose is single mothers of all races be given one 8 hour shift, where the federal government will provide childcare for their children, including enrichment programs that she could not otherwise afford due to low wage paying jobs. This will give women a chance to go to school, start a business or find a job. And, finally, single parents need a mental recharge for mental health balance. This will also allow children to be in a safe, creative space, that keeps children engaged in their community as opposed to running the streets due to a lack of support or resources. This solution will create new jobs, and will be ran by the residents of that community.
This may seem minor, but the majority of low income families are headed by a single female, myself included. Many people believe falsely that women would rather be on government assistance instead of finding work.
No! Emphatically No!
While there is an exception to every rule, the rule is, most women want to work. But not having adequate childcare prohibits them. Like me, my family lives in the south I live in NY. I don’t have a support system, so many opportunities to start businesses have passed me by. Now, I am running a modest business, but I have to pass up opportunities if childcare can’t be covered. If universal childcare was available, you would provide jobs and uplift the black community within one generation! One!
How would we pay for this? Reparations.
I intentionally didn’t want to use the word reparations because, when people hear that word they think we are still talking about 40 acres and a mule or monetary compensation to every black person in America.
Not to say those kinds of reparations aren’t warranted. Because, it’s not as if we didn’t attempt to build our community after slavery, but our efforts were consistently met with opposition or deadly force. In such cases as the fires of Rosewood, January 1923, Tulsa Oklahoma aka Black Wall St. June 1921, and Wilmington NC 1898. These are just prime examples of rights, resources and land being stolen from the innocent. In these cases, we went from Hope to hopelessness overnight. My people were always starting over from the devastation of fires, being forced out, the traumatic effects of losing family members due to violence, hate and racism. Today, the psychological toll of trauma and fear has induced a state of paralysis and stagnation amongst my people. We no longer have a self-sustaining economic system or infrastructure within the Black community.
The psychological pain that has been endured for so many years has left us very broken. Which is why we must now work to rebuild our self esteem and a sense of worthiness.
This is also why, I believe as a society, monetary reparations are no longer feasible.
Today, reparations isn’t about revenge or retribution, it’s about healing a Nation still reeling from a virus we’ve suffered since the Birth of this Nation. We can’t ignore it, nor can we change it. White guilt is useless in the face of white complacency. It’s not about whose to blame, but are we big enough to take responsibility. Not for the problem, but the solution. Lincoln may have freed the slaves, but he didn’t free a nation of slavery. It’s baked into the quintessential American pie.
So if we’re going to address systematic racism, we got to confront how deeply it goes.
Reparations isn’t about blame, it isn’t about retribution. It’s about restitution. It’s about acknowledging the historical imbalance and doing something about it. Delaware’s governor,Jack Markell, just recently apologized for slavery. The Japanese government just repaid the Korean women that were used as sex slaves during WW2. Is America any less than Japan or a state governor? If you want blacks to stop playing victim, put an end to institutional victimization.
At some point, slavery must cease to be a current affair issue. And if you agree with that then you must agree, reparations is the only thing that can heal our Nation. Otherwise, you are saying.. it happened, get over it, you get nothing! And that black people will continue to be wards of this country!
Thank you.
