As it is written: “And he showed me Joshua the high priest
standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to
accuse him.” (Zechariah 3:1 KJ 2000 Bible).
How Do White Folk Offend
Black Folk
Part Five – The Mark of
Oppression
A Psyche Hold Over of Historical
and Current Events
Let
all accusations subside!! The “Mark of Oppression” the residual affects of
American Slavery and the hundred years that followed its end, has origins in
the White human beings absolute control of power and the many sundry methods of
projecting this power. The Mark of Oppression very well may be the most
impactful theory discussed in the war against division in America . One
can not discuss Racial Reconciliation in America and not look at history. American
history is what impedes good Black and White relations today. Let all
accusations subside!!
We
are persuaded that the difficulty in having a race based discussion typically
has to do with the “historical findings” as they project into the present; landing
in the heart of White folk in this present day. This is a conversation that
most Black folk want to have. For many reasons White folk would rather avoid race
based conversations. Whether or not avoidance is the right thing it is all too
real that conversation avoidance occurs. The fact is real and right or wrong
the conversation will not be avoided. History will not allow the avoidance.
This is said not for the purpose of accusation but rather explanation.
Why
is avoidance real? Accusation has flight! Even when not spoken the spirit of
accusation flies! The “accusatory” flight of ancestry: for White folk is blame
and for Black folk is shame. The “accusatory” flight of ancestry is the simple
reality that terrible events involving the projection of White power in America affects
the heart of all races. In White folk it is the conduct of their forefathers in
American history that flies as the spirit of accusation to lay the blame for
history at their feet. This should not be so! And still it happens. Throughout
the land, accusation flies as a spiritual force of destruction with one agenda:
hatred.
Some
folk care and many do not. Some are just fearful and resigned because of many
factors and likely it is just the daunting nature of the concept “A Racial
Reconciliation Movement in America .”
The quest sounds daunting to me. Integrity with honest sincerity and no bitter
un-forgiveness in the discovery process, we believe can effect a positive
outcome of a race based discussion. The hard reality that we all face whether
we care or not, is that our forefathers White and Black did not reconcile their
history with one another!
For
whatever reason America ’s
dark past has never been reconciled! Beloved, the charge and the challenge, to reconcile the past of our forefathers has unfortunately been left to us. The difficulty in putting forth revelation is the
exclusion of accusation. The giver must give as it has been given and their understanding is available. The receiver must strive wholeheartedly to resist
the forces of accusation: forces that desire the defeat of the revelation. The purpose
of revelation must always and only concern a good outcome. As it is written, “But he that prophesieth speaketh unto
men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.”
(1Corinthians 14:3 KJV).
With these admonitions in mind, as we explore
our history let us consider how we reconcile the failures of our ancestors. To our White
colleagues and loved ones we simply say do not buy-in to the accusatory spirit
that seeks to divide us all; hinder a reception of discovery and limit your
solutions to the problems as discovery comes forth. Let us all be of a mind
that the results of a better future for our children’s children is on the line
right now. We can and must put an end to the distractions history brings to our
psyche today. As we look in on history let us seek its guidance for our present
need and learning for our change; for the securing of America ’s
better tomorrow.
“President Abraham
Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation
approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared
"that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states
"are, and henceforward shall be free." (National Archives and
Records Administration).
We
are now 151 years since, President Lincoln signed this “Executive Order” proclaiming
freedom for Black folk. It is interesting to note that not all were declared
free, but that is a longer story than we have time for here. Let us simply
refer all to: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/emancipation_proclamation/
where one can actually read the document
for your further discovery.
Though
President Lincoln signed the Executive Order in 1863 it was not until 1865 that
Slavery was ended in the U.S. ,
as a Constitutional matter. Though the “Three-Fifth Compromise” set forth the
manner in which Slaves would be counted to determine the number of House of
Representatives each State would be given, it would be the Thirteenth Amendment
to the Constitution of the United
States that would eliminate this particular sin,
and also put an end to the nation's sin of Slavery.
The
Three-Fifth Compromise did not say that the Slave was not an actual human being
as some have said including me. What is revealed is that a Black Slave was not
equal in value to a White person in the determination of votes. In another area
we do have this conversation of life’s value.
Now,
this “compromise” was put forth by the Northern States who feared the political
dominance of Southern States who outnumbered them with their huge Slave
populations. “Passed by Congress
on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th amendment
abolished slavery in the United States
and provides that "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
Underlined
for emphasis, as an aside, we find it very interesting that even today, in 2014,
according to the U.S. Constitution one can become a Slave in America: “as a
punishment for crime” after being “duly convicted” of a crime! Not to be
inflammatory, but this certainly makes one pause when thinking of the Pipeline
to Prison reality that is prevalent today, and faced by so many young Black men
in America. The imagery is palpable.
The
truth is plain and simple. We have a history that informs us of a “For White People
Only” (as so many signs were once legally posted), belief system that has enforced
a “Just Us Philosophy.” This philosophy began as the overriding principle that
has lead to White dominance of much of the world post 1492. This remains as a
philosophy and ideology of a White Oligarch influence within the United States and Europe .
The Just Us Philosophy has guided the implementation of an economic system that
was Slave based; used to oppress an entire human culture. The African. We do not in our thinking discount the participation of the African people in the implementation of the African Slave trade as a world-wide phenomenon.
The Just Us Philosophy is something altogether different than the Slavery question though the way American Slavery was implemented in its forms of brutality was certainly posited by the philosophy. This is the overriding philosophy that has produced a “Mark of Oppression” that may
have begun in the 1600’s but it remains within the subconscious psyche of Black
folk today. There has been no process for rendering an end to the Just Us
Philosophy; therefore it has projected from the past and into our present day. Some
might go as far as to say that this projection is actually contained in the
blood, psyche, and progeny of African Slavery.
Though
some of our White brethren might disagree, the fact that their yet remains
embedded in the systems of commerce, judicial authority and governance, a
discriminatory apparatus makes it difficult today to get beyond the Just Us
Philosophy. Black and White folk in America today engage these systems differently and
this is as a result of White Privilege: whose genesis is the Just Us
Philosophy. Systemic discrimination is embedded within all of these systems. For Black
folk, “The Mark of Oppression” is an offense created by White ancestry. Our discovery process will show how this came to be true and how through Racial Reconciliation in America we will minimize the affects on our future.
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