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Happy Black History Month!
2023 Theme for Black History
This year's Black History month’s theme is Black Resistance, honoring the ways Black communities have withstood a history of brutal oppression.
The Lucrative Business of Anti-Black Racism and Oppression
From Enslavement to post-Emancipation's legalized lynching of innocent Black bodies, to racist and illegal police patrols, to peonage, Jim Crow Laws and the school to prison pipelines.
For over 400 years, the Black Community has had to navigate and endure profiteering from white supremacy-structured pipelines. Which in today's financial market equates to trillions of U.S. dollars owed to the descendants of formerly enslaved Black people.
Black Enslavement
Black chattel enslavement created the first official and government-sanctioned, white supremacy-structured pipeline in the U.S., generating Billions of dollars of generational wealth for White families. This highly lucrative pipeline lasted for over 250 years,
Talk about, "A head start", "Pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps" and my favorite, "I earned it!"
Peonage
Soon after Black Chattel enslavement ended, the second, multi-Billion dollar white supremacy-structured pipeline was created, called Black peonage. This illegal pipeline forced newly freed Black families to sign illegal contracts that bound Black families into a lifetime of free labor and debt to White landowner families.
Jim Crow Laws
A third white supremacy-structured pipeline was created right after Black peonage. This racist pipeline came through legal laws in the south specifically targeting the Black community. They were called Jim Crow laws. Jim Crow laws were used to segregate Black communities from White communities. Jim Crow laws also created racist barriers for Black people to vote. Being denied the right to vote disenfranchised Black communities for generations from equitable opportunities in real estate and business deals,
In addition, legalized housing segregation and unjust redlining laws helped U.S. White families generate Billions of dollars through segregated real estate opportunities, while, simultaneously, impoverishing Black families and communities for generations. So much so, that in present day a majority of Black families still feel these generational unjust and inequitable impacts.
School to Prison Pipelines
The fourth racist white supremacy-structured pipeline was created through school to prison pipelines. According to Justice by Design, due largely in part to the privatization of U.S. prisons, currently mass incarceration in the U.S. is an 80 Billion dollar business funded by taxpayers.
Recruitment Starts in Preschool
The U.S. Department of Justice reports, though only 18 percent of the overall preschool population, Black 4 year old preschool students, account for 70 percent of police referrals and 48 percent of preschool suspensions. So, unlike most colleges, the U.S. prison system readily recruits Black students as early as preschool.
U.S. Wage Gap in Black and WhiteAll of these historic and racist pipelines help to explain why, presently, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve, while White families hold over 86.8 percent of overall U.S wealth in this country, Black families only hold 2.8 percent.
Black ResistanceYet and still, for over 400 years, since 1619, the Black community has faithfully been at the frontline in the war against racism, helping to give access and opportunity to other marginalized and racialized communities while, at the same time, creating large-scale movements that foster change in culture and in law. Now, after all of this, it can be said, the Black community's very existence is the definition of resistance.
Subsequently, after Black Chattel Slavery was officially outlawed for all U.S. states in 1865, with Galveston Texas being the last hold out in 1867, one key Black resistance movement was during the American Reconstruction Era, 1865-1877.
Positive Historical Impacts of the Reconstruction Era, 1865-1877
Voting impacts
After the Emancipation Proclamation, coupled with the 14th Amendment, over 3.9 million Black American formerly enslaved peoples were freed from U.S. Black Chattel Slavery
Immediately after being freed by Black and White soldiers fighting together in the Civil War, the newly freed Black Community became a majority. They organized the community and used their new hard-fought freedom to vote and win rights for all.
Over 500K Black voters supported and voted for Ulysses S. Grant, as a result of a large Black majority vote, Grant was elected U.S. president. President Grant was 100% behind the new Reconstruction project, which empowered the Black Community to reconstruct the South.
Political Impacts
By 1868, 700K Black Americans were registered voters.
Over 1,500 black leaders became U.S politicians.
Over 14 Black leaders held seats in the U.S. House of Representatives
Over 1,500 Black leaders took positions in the State Legislature and political leadership.
Economic Impacts
Manufacturing rose in the South.
Many southern states could boast a definitive increase in economic growth.
7 southern states had an increase of over 50%
This new wealth created by Black freedom led to new factories, new products and new jobs in the South.
Educational Impacts
Newly elected Black officials helped pass the new universal state-funded system of schools.
This gave free education rights to Black, White, Asian, Latino and Indigenous students.
Free public education was created and developed by newly freed Black people and gave access and opportunity to all races, nationalities, religions and cultures in the south.
Human Rights
During the early years of Reconstruction, Civil and Human Rights saw its largest expansion in U.S. History
Black Chattel Slavery was officially abolished
The Civil Rights Act, the 13th and 14th Amendments were passed:
Which codified Black American citizenship
Prohibited Black housing discrimination
Gave Black and all Americans the Right to own, buy and inherit land
Gave Black and Brown Americans and Immigrants Equal protection under the law
Gave the right to citizenship to all immigrants
What can you do to help dismantle racism?
Educate yourself on Anti-Black Racism and Anti-Racism
Google is free 😊
Support Anti-Racism work
Advocate for a more racially diverse education in schools
Black History Made in Sports:This year will be the first super bowl in history where two Black quarterbacks lead their teams and play each other.Go Eagles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Have a great day and Happy Black History Month!
De-Dee Loftin-Davis
Executive Director of Anti-Racism and Equity
South Burlington School District
Resources:
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/america-owes-reparations-pay/story?id=72863094
The 1619 Project pgs. (14-21)
Study.com
History.com
Inside Look | Reconstruction: America After the Civil War | PBS - Bing video
The story of Reconstruction - Bing video
ARD.com
https://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/themes/peonage/
https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/school-prison-pipeline-time-shut-it-down
