Tag Archives: Racism

Where Did This Thing Called “Race” Come From?: Please join us tonight for the latest MRCi Session

Despite the disclaimers of a multi-racial coalition of deniers, America has been and may always be marred by an unspecified “racism” tag. It is difficult to effectively argue against assertions that this nation was infected by racial bias when Thomas Jefferson announced the colonists’ intention “to not be the slaves of Britain” and that All Men Are Created Equal in the Declaration of Independence or when W.E.B. DuBois prophetically asserted that “the problem of the twentieth-century will be the color-line.” It is important that Americans realize that its foremost social cancer is DuBois’ color-line, “racism.”

Yet, I have always found it difficult to explain the reality that although Americans have been brined in a putrid brew of economic inequality, racial bias, and institutionalized racism that they know very little about the origins of “racism” in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Not only is the average American wholly ignorant of how “racism” functions, but they also have little desire to address their intellectual feebleness regarding this matter.

Please join us tonight (August 6, 2020) at 7:30 EST /6:30 CST for a stimulating intellectual discussion regarding the roots of Race in America. We will discuss the following issues in the interactive Zoom meeting tonight.

  • Were the initial Africans who arrived in the Jamestown colony under European control “slaves” or “half-free.”
  • Who is John Punch and why does he matter in discussions of American racial matters?
  • When did racial identity become so important in colonial life and why?
  • Did the colonial system encourage the rape of Black women?
  • Did enslaved Africans fight against the developing society that rested on their exploitation?

You are being cordially invited to attend and participate in tonight’s Zoom session. I will be the lead presenter for this latest session of MRCi (Manhood, Race, and Culture Interactive).

I hope to see you tonight. Trust me when I say that we have a grand time interacting and learning from each other.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2020.  

An Unnecessary and Burdensome Load: Why Black America Must Shed Any Shame Associated With Slavery

During a recent event celebrating the work of a fantastic collective of African-American artists addressing ‘Afro-Futurism,’ I listened intently during the Q & A session that followed. All that I can say is “out of the mouths of babes” because the most poignant inquiry raised came from one of the youngest in the audience.

The poised middle-school-aged African-American female was undoubtedly wise beyond her age, an “old soul,” so to speak. This child shared a heart-wrenching account of how uncomfortable she becomes when the issue of slavery arises in any of her classes. This impressive young sister shared the following.

When we talk about slavery, all of the white kids turn in their seats and stare at me. It is uncomfortable. I wish that my teachers would not talk about it at all, mainly because I am the only Black person in the class.

Unbeknownst to this young lady, the vast majority of African-Americans, regardless of age, educational attainments, and socioeconomic status, experience the “shame” when the topic of chattel slavery arises. It would not be a stretch to argue that the subject matter haunts them like an unwanted haunting. I will never understand why the descendants of those victimized by American chattel slavery choose to carry negative connotations regarding the African Holocaust on their sturdy shoulders.

The burden is not theirs.

If anyone should shudder at the mention of America’s original sin, it is those who have Anglo-Saxon blood flowing through their veins. They are not difficult to find as they proudly lay claim to this eternal transgression by claiming sole ownership of this nation. Unbeknownst to them, their claim carries a foreboding history that should guarantee one’s place in the hottest portion of Hell. Rest assured that this thought is not new, as evidenced by the words of an American Patriot who advised his countrymen of the desperate need to shed the sin of slavery in the following manner.

If God is just, and I believe that he is, we will burn in Hell for this shit.

White Anglo-Saxon Protestants claim to this nation identify them as the descendants of a people who perpetrated untold horrific deeds during this nation’s darkest period. As if that were not enough, the same boasting and bragging convicts their kind as the perpetrators of multiple Holocausts on the North American continent. If only we could get others (Polish, Japanese, Italians, Ghanaians, Brazilians, Nigerians and a host of others) to join in the process of laying such atrocities at the feet of White Angl0-Saxon Protestants, racial matters would become less convoluted in this nation. 

When one thinks about this issue, it becomes evident that the “original settlers” of the North American continent (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants) have been able to shed what should be inescapable blame and responsibility for the deeds of their ancestors.

If nothing else, I have to tip my hat to the ingenious ways that White Anglo-Saxon Protestants have been able to convince persons of African descent that their ancestors were responsible for their victimization during the world’s greatest Holocaust. Similarly, “Whites” whose ancestors did not arrive in this land until well after the deplorable institution was established and operating have been duped into believing that a portion of their admittance to whiteness is paid in their joining the White choral whose favorite tunes are the denouncement of racial justice and resistance to reparations.

Arguably, this is the longest-running con on the North American continent. The most crucial element in its achievement is the astounding lack of historical knowledge that engulfs the vast majority of Americans. When viewed from a detached view, it is obvious that the greatest tie binding Americans together is the shocking level of historical illiteracy that governs their belief systems and worldviews.

Anyone who has studied the discipline of History in depth can tell you that the most powerful element in shaping the worldview and beliefs of people is “the narrative.” The narrative is merely the arrangement of facts to generate sympathy and support for one’s version of History. Experience has taught me that Black America, despite their oral traditions, have yet to learn that they must seize their historical record, just as persons of Jewish descent have, and wield it as an Excalibur against less than favorable “narratives” of History. I guarantee you that until that occurs, African-Americans will continue to carry the shame of slavery on their shoulders, there may be no greater manifestation of this unfortunate reality than the nervousness and insecurities that overtake Black children at the mention of slavery.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2019