Sumner Fuller wrote a letter in the April 3 paper regarding Cherie Speller’s March 26 column in The Daily Reflector. After reading Fuller’s Public Forum letter, I was no longer sure we had both read the same Speller column. So I went back and read it again.
My take on Speller’s column was that of a local black editorialist reflecting what has been stated by many black parents on radio programs of late, after the death of Trayvon Martin in Florida. I recently watched the documentary, “Slavery By Another Name,” which chronicles how most Southern states restructured and reinstituted slavery after the civil war using local debtor laws. Thus slavery was not actually ended until the beginning of World War II.
Of course, since our school history text books are controlled by the state of Texas’ school board, that is not taught in U.S. history in our high schools.
For the complete article, please pick up a copy of The Daily Reflector. Current home delivery and electronic edition subscribers may log in to access this article at no charge. To become a subscriber, please click here or contact Customer Service at (252) 329-9505.
Comments
Almost
The Great Society was a mantra of the Lyndon Johnson administration. In FDR's it was the New Deal. It was primarily Mrs. Roosevelt who drove her husband to mandate many social programs, including the plight of the nation's black population of the time. As you recall in the movie about the first black aviators she was depicted as the push to get them out of the U.S. and into combat where they fought valiantly winning many awards for bravery, deservedly so. The "Red Tails" won a high place in history by their actions and paved the way for the complete integration of the military, just as women are doing on the battlefield today. As I stated in an earlier post, one of the best Marines I had the honor to serve alongside was killed in an IED explosion in Iraq. She was a Major, red headed, about 110 lbs of pure fury, and participated in triathons in her spare time. She left a husband and two children.
I, too, watched that documentary. Mister Lewis is a very assiduous writer and a forward thinker.
Tyer
One must remember this is an election year and the drums are beginning to roll again. It seems that our president's agenda includes reminding everyone of the bad in order to sway votes. It is a large and wide spread campaign.
If you bang the drum of lesser times long enough, they become the present once again. I give you Ireland where every year the Irish Republican Army over and over again reminds all Irishman of an invasion that happened almost 600 years ago and riles old feelings of second class treatment once more.
Millions of African Americans have left the past behind to become professional athletes, lawyers, Congressmen and women, Senators, Multi million dollar corporation CEO's, actors, poets, top selling authors,the highest ranking military officers, and even President of the United States. All of them were born in America. Honorable positions in our society, some would even say envious.
When you saw "Extended Slavery" on NPR. Do you see who was narrating it? None other than the wife of the present Attorney General of the United States of America, Mrs Holder. Now, was that part of the re-election campaign or just a true documentary? I'll leave it to you to figure that out.
Yes, there are thousands of Americans that live below the poverty line. They are of varied skin colors, black, white, brown, yellow, red,and polka dot. 11+ percent, not the "adjusted" figures stated today, of our nation are unemployed. Over a third of our nation have foreclosed homes. We are in debt up to our eyeballs, our monetary credit rating has dropped and we are leaving a far worse country for our children than our parents left for us. Now these are facts, so in order for this administration to be re-elected they are playing smoke and mirrors to keep our minds off of the above stated facts.
Consider the Irish, Polish, Russian, Arab, Japanese, Chinese, English, French, German and countless others that came to America and were treated as second class citizens when they arrived. There are today Chinese/Latino/Russian/Cuban/Arabs smuggled into our country and made to work in sweat shops, prostitution, till the fields, to pay for their illegal passage, many for the rest of their lives.
Please do not fall into the abyss of pseudo self pity that states one cannot succeed because of skin color. Just remember this is an election year and the rants are flying once again. Remember equal means equal opportunity, not equal stature, and the pursuit of happiness is not an entitlement to happiness. Life is what one makes it. It is not fair. There is no place on an infant's birth certificate that states that it will have a fair life.
America is the land of opportunity for all Americans. All one has to do is try. Sure, someone will not hire you because of inbred prejudice. I have been refused positions because of my military service. I am just as sure if you look back you can find a similar job refusal in your life, perhaps you had the wrong hair color, or wore or did not wear a beard, or were too fat, or too skinny, wore glasses, or did not wear glasses, spoke with the accent of your ancestors maybe. If one lets any of those reasons become an albatross around their neck, and keeps reminding themselves that they are plighted just because they are looked down upon for any or all of the above reasons, the will fail and create a pattern of failure throughout their lives.
Add comment