Once you drop food for
thought then you let it marinate...Now remember the best tasting food will come
from sitting in that "seasoning" for some time. So when I recently made
a commentary on social media that spoke to the reasons as to why using constitutional
rights as a means of free speech to slander or bring down a certain group of
people was wrong and how do you expect us to respect that very document. The commentary
spoke to how the Black man / Woman was once considered 3/5 of a person, then
suddenly at the scratch of a pen we are now considered wholly human. I believe
this comment resonated with many including some of our white counterparts. The thing is its funny
because this had been sitting under our nose for some time and I may not be the
first to have said it but Divine timing and an appeal to common sense can help
open other’s eyes.
So we let thoughts like this marinate on the minds of our
perceived oppressors and they realize in true fashion we may help liberate them by
changing their mindsets...Once you change the mindset then it can only foster
conditions or an environment for true change that comes from empathy. When the
truth is made plain then we can shift towards Truth and Reconciliation much
like they did in apartheid South Africa .What is warranted is definitely not
only reconciliation but reparations, because the repercussions of slavery have obviously had far reaching generational consequences which naturally breeds anger and at times resentment. Pay attention to a word that is inherent
in the term reparations and that is to "repair". Repair not only
physical things but the repair of the mind body and spirit. On my previous
posts I spoke to people being mired down in poverty the kind that can break
one's Spirit..
So we ask that you seek
to repair this by facilitating means of reversing the plight of poverty without
a gentrification type of agenda among many other things such as the deeper
history of our people. Our story did not begin with slavery. Can you understand
how it is difficult to wholeheartedly respect this document that seems to lord
itself over people who weren't even considered equal to those that drafted the
document. Flash forward to the 60's again at the scratch of a pen we are told
we can vote and I believe the "right" for us to vote actually comes
to a vote every something odd years. The concept is odd in itself. It really
doesn't make it too much better. If you want to show equality then why not just
make it permanent....( Hmmm still Loving that control factor, huh?)
When you are making a
case it's difficult to gloss over the root of a problem, there in the fact that
our ancestors were not even considered wholly human...Even the man that "
emancipated" us had reservations about the so called Negro....He is quoted
as saying during a debate with Stephen Douglas...
Abraham Lincoln Quote:
“I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in
favor of bringing about in anyway the social and political equality of the
white and black races – that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making
voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to
intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is
a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will
forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality.
And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must
be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in
favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race. I say upon
this occasion I do not perceive that because the white man is to have the
superior position the Negro should be denied everything.”
by:
Abraham Lincoln
(1809-1865) 16th US President
I bring this up as a point of reflection and one
cannot say I am trying to rewrite history or even take these words out of
context. The reflection comes in the form of how this mindset is still very
pervasive in our society. I spoke a few years back (circa 2011) regarding icy
hearts and apparently some haven't melted while others are beginning to
understand the disparities in our society or even worldwide where people of
color are simply not treated the same as Caucasian counterparts....This is seen
through the blatant police brutality and false vigilante justice, atrocities like the shooting in South
Carolina church, better yet the blatant shooting of Walter Scott in Charleston, Sam Dubose in Ohio, treatment of Sandra Bland case in Texas, Eric Garner in New York, and the list goes on..... Definitely too long......
Now in efforts to bring the point home in terms of the
need for reparations I would like to speak on some research I came across that highlighted
the contributions of Black slaves to the building of the core of this nation. These
sites are well known and almost synonymous with the terms United States to any foreigner
or U.S. citizen when they think of Washington D.C., which is none other than
our nation’s capital. These popular sites among the many are known as The White
House and the Capitol Building. According to records 400 out of 600 laborers
behind the building of the Capitol were Black slaves who were paid a wage of
$5/month, which may have seemed to be quite a bit of money for that time to
some. However, the horrible irony behind this wage was that it was paid to the
slave masters as opposed to the slaves themselves. I find this rather
disturbing, but I am also not the least bit surprised. Historians have
discovered that slaves worked 12-hour days, six days a week on construction of
the Capitol. The federal government rented the slaves from local
slave owners at a rate of $5 per worker per month. Besides working on the
building, slaves worked in quarries extracting the stone for the Capitol. Other
slaves provided carpentry skills, and still others worked at sawing stone and
timber. While, slave women and children were used to mold clay in kilns. Congressman
John Lewis characterized and depicted the conditions and the situations as
follows:
“Imagine, in Washington’s oppressive summer heat and humidity, to chisel and
pull massive stones out of a snake- and mosquito-infested quarry,” Lewis said.
“Imagine, having to fight through the bone-chilling winter in rags and
sometimes without shoes. Just imagine, the United States government paying your
owner, not you, but your owner $5 a month for your labor. This Capitol, the
most recognizable symbol of our democracy, was not built overnight, it was not
built by machines. It was built through the backbreaking work of laborers and
slave laborers.”
Congressman Lewis made these statements upon the placing of plaques honoring
the slave labor in an area of the Congressional Visitor’s center called “Emancipation
Hall”. Quite frankly, a plaque alone doesn’t cut it. Where is the justifiable
payback? Where are the people who state, “If you don’t like it here, why don’t
you just go back to Africa?!” This statement alone is insulting, especially
when you know your ancestors built the core of this nation.
Now to bring this home even further (bases fully loaded). This is where I ‘m
going to seek to appeal to the hearts and minds of all as the extrinsic and the
intrinsic forms a fabric of the Universe. Washington D.C. is indeed at the core
of this nation and how it runs. The White House hosts the figurehead and The
Capitol carries out and conjures up laws. It is no coincidence that the
Patriarch & Matriarchs (Origin of Civilizations) played an undeniable part
in erecting these structures. Many shaped after the likes of early African
civilizations such as Egypt (think obelisk’s, pillars, and domes). The problem
is for centuries the builders didn’t receive there just compensation physically
and spiritually.
You essentially had them building at the center or core of a
nation, yet seemingly strive to keep them at the periphery. It is as if you are
breaking Universal laws by committing such acts. Blacks have a long history of
being treated as outsiders when we are at the core of building this nation.
Truth is the South was becoming too powerful for the North off the backs of
free labor, hence the derivations of the Civil War to “preserve the Union”. The
freedom of the slaves was a by-product of such a war and helped minimize the
perceived threat of the seceding South. Are you beginning to understand the
double edge sword of the words of Abraham Lincoln during the debate. Some may
argue he was trying to appease his constituency and the act of emancipation was
altruistic. Please keep in mind you are dealing with the lives of human beings
such as yourselves. In other words no one has time for the mind games and
politicizing of human rights any longer. This is something that must be
addressed in order for things to come full circle.
The Universe (GOD) does not like ugly and by coercing us to play the
periphery or being resistant to leveling the playing field you are doing the
world and the country a disservice in trying to delay the karma of benevolence
that should come from free labor. For those that feel this language is here to
spew divisiveness, this is far from the case and this is why it appeals to
facts and the Heart mixed with a common sense approach to shifting minds on the
matter. Divisiveness may be found in the fact the other 200 laborers may have
been indentured servants or even free men earning fair wages. In fact many were cited as being immigrants. One only needs to
look at Treasury pay slip archives to make these discoveries. I love hearing the stories of
some of my fellow West Indians tell the story of how their great grandparent
was instrumental in the building of the Panama Canal, or White counterparts
speak on the building of the Brooklyn, George Washington, or Tappan Zee bridges.
They make these statements with a sense of pride. The challenge is that what
true pride apart from the level of endurance needed to work in difficult
conditions for free can be found in the building of the core of a nation that
again keeps the original builders at the periphery.
Lawmakers to you I ask “How do you want your legacy to be shaped?” Did you
notice how I just brought up the examples of the pride found in the building of
the bridges or canals that essentially made it easier for people to reach the
core of cities or countries that were a challenge before? Symbolically you can
essentially build that bridge and canal between the periphery and the core
through the passage of laws that address true reparations for the Patriarchs
and Matriarchs (Origin of Civilizations). Andrew Jackson seemingly passed the
buck with the “40 acres and a mule”. At this point the issues that pervade our
society and culture not only nationally but worldwide run far deeper than just
receiving land. It has to be of the intrinsic and extrinsic kind for the
Universe (GOD) to acknowledge it in all of its glory. The key is to allow us to
be a part or even lead how we are compensated for atrocities and free labor of
the past that have left a negative trickling effect on our progress as a people
and an uneven playing field ( If you’re thinking about Affirmative Action, then
you are severely missing the point). However, we so persevere as I’ve said time
and time again.
We’ve done the forgiveness thing for quite some time and now it
is time for us as a nation to put our money where our mouth and laws are in the
very buildings that those who have been on the periphery helped build. Let’s
build a genuine referendum on how we need to be compensated inside and out and
watch the dominoes fall right into place as a result of this resonating energy
we are about to overwhelmingly put out there. This is not to say it hasn’t been
done before, but we must move past plaques and monuments in order to affect
true change. To my people, the Patriarch & Matriarchs (Origin of
Civilizations) Chosen tribes our time is no longer near, it is here. Below is a video found on atlantablackstar.com, in which a gentleman makes a succinct point on why the forgiveness and prayer factor can only do but so much and economic power is what is required to level the playing field among other factors. Please make no mistake I'm a firm believer in prayer, as I view it as meditation. Yet, it's meditation that leads to manifestation, in essence the opposite of faith without works. The meditation on a massive scale helps push a movement forward, as they essentially always begin with a thought construct. On my next posts I plan to speak on what actions would yield a true sense of reparations. I'll tell you this much, money isn't the only thing on a Brother's mind. Nevertheless, I will keep an eye and ear on the pulse of the people and see what other facets they have in mind. Peace Fam! Love Is Love ;-)....
Sources:
-Fourth Debate with Stephen A. Douglas at Charleston,
Illinois, September 18, 1858
(The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume III,
pp. 145-146.)
-
http://www.reunionblackfamily.com/apps/blog/show/40443702-african-american-slaves-constructed-u-s-capitol-and-the-white-house
-
http://blogs.denverpost.com/artmosphere/2013/02/12/the-slaves-who-built-the-white-house-brick-by-brick/8675/
-
http://www.sodahead.com/living/did-you-know-the-white-house-and-capitol-were-built-by-slaves-that-made-5month/question-186381/
-http://atlantablackstar.com/2015/09/22/his-explanation-for-why-black-people-need-economic-power-instead-of-prayer-and-forgiveness-is-spot-on/
Connections: Intuition & The Love of GOD (Yah )
