Tag Archives: Labor

African-American History, CRITICAL RACE THEORY, RACE

Why Conservatives Obsession with Critical Race Theory Could Be Another Step Toward Making Abraham Lincoln’s Warning About the Fall of America Prophetic

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 There is no room to reasonably argue against the assertion that many of our countrymen have gone utterly insane regarding racial matters. At the present moment, it is impossible to engage local, state, or national news outlets and not encounter some half-witted conspiratorial scheme regarding the latest boogeyman whose supposed existence is a supreme threat to White America. Of course, I am alluding to that haunting and elusive specter called Critical Race Theory (CRT).

For a significant segment of American Conservatives, CRT has become for discussions of Race in American schools what Sharia Law was during the fury against Muslims.

The latest to enter into the foray against the elusive boogeyman whose penchant for ducking and dodging is heightened by his non-existence in this nation’s K-16 educational system is Sequoyah County lawmaker Rep. Jim Olsen (R). Olsen has issued a notable blow against CRT by authoring House Bill 2988 to outlaw the teaching of American chattel slavery from a historically grounded perspective.

Olsen and those who think like him want to place a revisionist history of the peculiar institution that does not depict white slaveholders as beneficiaries of the labor of stolen Africans and their descendants in front of America’s schoolchildren. House Bill 2988 forbids educators from teaching the following facts.

  • American chattel slavery victimized enslaved Africans/Blacks.
  • The peculiar institution, meaning slavery, was the central pillar in America’s creation.
  • The enslavement of stolen Africans and their descendants occurred for an extended period, nearly 250 years, if we are counting.

Rep. Olsen offered the following commentary regarding his proposed legislative addendum.

It is important that it be taught that we had slavery as a nation and it was evil, but it would not be proper to teach it that we were the only ones that had it. It is the agenda of the far left, they want our young people to hate America.

A dimwitted portion of our populace has ascended beyond their level of ineptitude and understanding.

If American legislators are not careful, they will sanction the transitioning of America’s learning centers into Hitleresque indoctrination sites. The thin threadbare lies supporting this alteration to school curriculums are an unsophisticated attempt to extend politico-economic monopolies they have enjoyed for centuries. Unfortunately, droves of non-elites allow the foolishness mentioned above to be their sole source of information regarding CRT.

Let us be clear on this matter, CRT does not appear in America’s K-16 educational centers. Those local, state, and national level politicians who are speaking the loudest about CRT know nothing about the legal theory beyond its utility to frighten my white countrymen into following their lead. I would venture to guess that the vast majority of these so-called political leaders had never heard of Derrick Bell before the start of this entire charade and have certainly never read any of his books or other writings.

The truth of the matter is that this entire sordid falsity reveals the fact that many within our midst, regardless of their political leanings, are willing to follow political leaders who know no more than they do about racial matters.

Ultimately, the erasure of historical facts in favor of feel-good teachings weakens our nation in many ways, particularly as a false past prevents us from examining America’s creation. If Americans are not careful, they will eventually make Abraham Lincoln’s haunting prediction of America’s fall prophetic. President Lincoln said, “America will never fall from an external aggressor. She will fall from within.”

Trust me when I say to you that this path we are on will lead to all of our demises.

James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D.

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2021

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The Miseducation of the American Worker: Why American Workers Continue to “Cut off their nose to spite their face”

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In a recent video taken at a Minnesota Walmart, two white shoppers horrified shoppers by donning masks bearing the swastika symbol. For most forward-thinking people, the swastika is the symbolic equivalent of the “N-word” that carries a heavy legacy of pain that is only rivaled by the African Holocaust. As if they could not make matters worse, the female portion of this duo stoked the growing emotional embers into a full-blown inferno with obscene hand gestures that communicated her feelings regarding those taping her antics.

Although it is natural to jump to a snap judgement that this is yet another occurrence of racial bigotry, intolerance, and xenophobia. Experience has taught me to not rush to quick judgment. So, I listened to the alluded to duos explanation for why they wore the offensive symbol so prominently on their face. The explanation was in in a word, illuminating.

When confronted by other Walmart shoppers, the masked female stated that

I’m not a Nazi. If you vote for [Joe] Biden, you’re going to be in Nazi Germany. That’s what it’s going to be like. Socialism is going to happen here in America.

I resist every urge to make connections without sufficient evidence, hence, I have no comment regarding if this couple are members or mere sympathizers of the National Socialist Party (Nazi’s); it is in many ways none of my business. However, I think that the most interesting portion of this matter is found in the usual phrase-mongering against Socialism. Whenever I hear non-elites railing against Socialism, I recognize that they have undergone not only a serious misreading of history, but also are devoid of a serious understanding of American Capitalism.

I will tell you the truth that most educators fail to articulate, however, the most exhilarating aspect of being an educator is the opportunity to see students learn what are their best interests and how to balance several variables while seeking to make important decisions that are in their best interests. As a labor historian who spends much time researching and addressing racial matters, I will tell you that my students are similar to most Americans in the following way, they have no understanding of the exploitive nature of Capitalism as it is executed in this nation. This absence of understanding beautifully explains why American workers have yet to understand that they are steeped in a war for economic resources with elites. The fact that they do not understand such substantive issues is particularly shocking as the war between workers and owners is this nation’s longest running war.

The spoils of this Class struggle are life-sustaining economic resources. Yet, this matter is rarely, if ever, explained to American schoolchildren in a digestible manner. Hence, much-needed discussions over Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism denigrate to a celebration of socially irresponsible Capitalism and the dismissal of all other systems. Unfortunately, American schoolchildren are taught that Socialism is to be avoided at all costs; it is not even up for discussion.

A crucial portion of myself is saddened to report that not only have my students been instructed to avoid Socialism but that they cannot tell you from whence such emanate. To put it simply; my students have been indoctrinated about this and many other substantive matters.

The dimwitted, uneducated, and certainly poverty-stricken Walmart couple’s support of Capitalism is a classic case of “cutting off your nose to spite your face.” Only in America does one witness economically marginalized citizens of every race/ethnicity taking a stand for their exploiters right to continue their exploitation. If non-elites who have been convinced that the best way to display their patriotism is to support an ownership class that exploits their labor for the amassing of unconscionable profit do not increase their understanding and change their ways, their economic position will continue to spiral downward.

In their rush to defend American economic philosophies that rest on thoughts of individualism and small government, non-elites are betraying their present and their children’s future. It is surprising that non-elites fail to recognize that during economic downturns the elites who claim that unfettered Capitalism is the most patriotic of all activities are quick to adopt Socialist principles of communalism and government assistance when necessary. If I knew no better, I would believe that American elites believe in cooperative Socialism for them and exploitive Capitalism for everyone else.

As the son of a now retired unionized U.S. Steelworker, I can attest to the essentialness of unionization and a non-biased worker solidarity. It is the only way that non-elites will not lose this centuries-long war with greedy avaricious owners devoid of loyalty to the workers who have enriched them beyond measure.

Unfortunately for workers, as long as they receive their “education” at the foot of American Capitalists they will continue to be “hoodwinked, led astray, run amuck, and bamboozled” by economic elites. We are witnessing a slick economic game where the victim of a brazen robbery has been convinced that if he plays his cards correctly that he could also reach a point where he could rob and exploit others. Until the brainwashing of American laborers and their children is eradicated, they will continue to not only lose in this epic battle between workers vs. owners, but also have nary a clue for whey they are losing battle after battle.

Ultimately it appears that America has devolved into a place where not only is it permissible to have Socialism for elites and exploitive Capitalism for non-elites, but also those being exploited by this rigged economic system have thrown their support behind its perpetuation. What a wicked trick that the elites have played on American workers.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2020.

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When The Chickens Come Home to Roost: The Poetic Justice Associated with the Coronavirus for American Elites

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With the benefit of hindsight, I am sure that I got on my close friend Regina Alhassan’s last nerve by repeating the phrase “Maybe God is trying to tell you something.” My frequent use of that popular axiom was meant to serve as a not so subtle push that would result in her mustering the courage to become the entrepreneur that everyone except for her believed was her destiny.

Regina Alhassan is one of my closest female friends, we attended THE Ohio State University together and have managed to maintain our connection through the unpredictable twists-and-turns of life. At times we have been each other’s confidant, cheerleader, and critic. It was during one of these moments that called for harsh criticism that I expressed my foremost frustration with my dear friend. She, like the vast majority of people, placed unnecessary limits on herself that muted prodigious talents and genius for the stability offered by a job that enriched her employers immeasurably. This brilliant sister who is unrivaled as a fundraiser had long possessed an internal urge to break away and start her own business. I am sure that there were a legion of friends and family members who did their best to silence Regina’s self-doubt. I have no doubt that Regina tired of my constant refrain of “Maybe, God is trying to tell you something” when she accomplished a difficult task for her employer. Yet, I meant what I repeatedly stated. God, in his own way, had told Regina for the longest time that it was time for her to become an entrepreneur.

Although I am sure that God loves Regina Alhassan, I do not for a second believe that he loves her so much that he only speaks to her. He certainly speaks to the rest of the world on a continuous basis. As for myself, one of the things that God has repeatedly emphasized to me is the belief that “We (humans) are inextricably linked with one another.”

The arrival of COVID-19 aka coronavirus that has infected over 95,000 people and killed 3,200 is yet another reminder that “We are inextricably linked with each other.”

Domestically, there have been nearly 250 cases with 17 deaths attributed to the coronavirus. The following states have all reported cases of the virus that many fear will become a pandemic: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

For me, these developments birth an understandable question of “What is God trying to tell humans?”

I believe that the message is that “You are all inextricably linked.”

It is ironic that Americans who during advantageous moments promote the “inalienable rights” that Thomas Jefferson highlighted in the Declaration of Independence frequently resist the notion that at its best, America serves the interests of its citizenry. Despite their stern protestations, it is impossible to effectively argue that their resistance to universal healthcare plan is a parcel of the U.S. government serving its citizens’ best interests. From my perspective, it is this failure to realize that “We are all inextricably linked” that has created the cavernous opening being exploited by the coronavirus.

This moment appears to be the perfect storm to produce untold damage not only within this nation, but also around the globe. Consider for a moment what the absence of universal healthcare means for poor and working-class Americans. In the event that they do become infected, they will go undiagnosed.

I am sure that you are wondering “How does this impact the lives of others?”

Well, when poor and working-class people are sick, they tend to resist calling off of work and missing a much-needed paycheck; they simply cannot afford to do so as they are the working poor who are already “living paycheck to paycheck.” This desperation to secure money threatens to expose untold others to the virus. Despite what American elites may think, history reveals that their financial status will not protect them from this virus. In fact, the virus may be personally delivered to their kitchen or bedroom by servants whose sole function is to serve their financial superiors.

I have little doubt that “God is trying to tell us something.” And no faith that Americans’ as a whole are listening to the admonishments. Instead of heeding God’s warning regarding the dangers inherent in humans not taking care of each other, far too many American elites behave as if their kind are protected from such things.

What a silly and foolish people they are proving to be by their inability to recognize when the chickens come home to roost.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2020.

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