Perhaps America is on an arc of the moral universe that bends towards justice, as Martin Luther King, Jr once remarked.
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
The arc is undoubtedly long. King paraphrased a quote from abolitionist minister Theodore Parker who said a bit more in an 1853 sermon:
President Barack Obama had the King version woven into a rug in the Oval Office. It was not without controversy, and the White House had to defend its presence. On his first day of office, Donald Trump ordered the rug removed, replacing it with one used by Ronald Reagan.
There have been many moments and movements in Black history that were once thought to be defining. Many accomplished far less than hoped for; some were a sham when originally announced. I will list several of these once-promising events that did not fulfill that promise.
1794- Slave Trade Act
This Act is retroactively hailed as the beginning of the end of enslavement in America. It prevented Americans or American ships from participating in the International Slave Trade. Still, it did nothing to hinder other nations from bringing slaves to our shores or reduce enslavement in America.
1807- Slave Trade Abolition Act
In 1807, following up on the Foreign Slave Trade Act of 1806. Britain abolished their involvement in the International Slave Trade with the Slave Trade Abolition Act. The British Navy patrolled African shores in search of smugglers, but all of Britain wasn’t on board. Before 1807, Britain had transported over 3 million slaves across the Atlantic, over half of them departing from Liverpool. British merchants weren’t about to give up that revenue. They continued shipbuilding for the slave trade, building faster ships than the British Navy had available. When they were caught, it wasn’t illegal to possess slaving equipment like shackles as long as they weren’t caught with enslaved people on board. This sometimes led to dumping their “cargo” to avoid punishment. Slavery was still legal in British colonies, so the 1807 Act was nowhere near as important as historians claim. British merchants aided the Confederacy during the Civil War, though Britain itself didn’t take sides.
1808-Act Prohibiting Importation Of Slaves
January 1, 1808, was the first day allowed by the Constitution on which America could ban the importation of enslaved people. That provision was a concession to South Carolina and other states dependent on the slave trade for much of their economy. Charleston was America’s leading port for the importation of enslaved people. Historians again point to this date as the beginning of the end of enslavement (which didn’t end for almost a half-century), but the purpose was far more nefarious. Then Thomas Jefferson signed the law; he proclaimed it was a victory for human rights. He also made himself and other Virginia enslavers richer by eliminating the competition.
Enslaved Americans did experience significant change as a result of the Act. America was almost totally dependent on domestic-bred enslaved people during a period when the Deep South needed enslaved people badly. Meanwhile, more Northern states like Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware had too many due to mismanagement of tobacco fields and failure to rotate crops and use other known methods to protect their fields.
America’s need for more slaves was met by forced breeding and rape to increase production. Thomas Jefferson knew this when he wrote George Washington to put his money into slaves and about the profit he’d receive, even after the inevitable maternal and infant mortality experienced at that time.
1863- Emancipation Proclamation
This date is often proclaimed as the date Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves. Technically, he freed some of the slaves, those in Confederate territory. Even then, they had to successfully navigate their way to free territory to make good on Lincoln’s announcement.
The rationale behind the Emancipation Proclamation was not an altruistic desire to free the slaves but to keep Britain and France from siding with the South (and hurt the Southern economy). Worth reading is the text of all the Lincoln/Douglas debates. History claims how great those debates were, but they will never be reenacted and televised; Lincoln’s reputation would take a hit.
Amazingly, runaway slaves who listened to Lincoln were still persecuted by the Runaway Slave Act, forcing a return to their masters for another year. Many who escaped enslavement came to Washington, DC, which was ill-equipped to receive them. Many were placed in “contraband camps” where they were poorly fed. Diseases, including measles and scarlet fever, ravaged the camps. Some rightfully asked, “Is this freedom?”
1865-The Thirteenth Amendment
The Thirteenth Amendment officially ended enslavement when ratified on December 6, 1865, and proclaimed on December 18, 1865. There is a gaping exception that allowed for enslavement of the incarcerated.
Forget about the mass incarceration as a result of the 1994 Crime Bill. State after state began passing The Black Codes, which made lots of things crimes for the newly freed; the penalty was often sending them back to the very plantations they were released from. Slavery of prisoners is still allowed; the next time you see a roadside chain gang or prisoners fighting wildfires, ask yourself, how is that not slavery?
1954-Brown v Board of Education
Black people celebrated when Brown v. Board of Education theoretically ended segregation in public schools and elsewhere. Unfortunately, the not-so-small print included by the Supreme Court allowed states to take their sweet time in implementing integration, many of them taking decades and requiring federal consent decrees to force them into action.
Segregated schools still exist in America in states as diverse as Mississippi and New York. States like Florida are increasing funding for private schools, many of which are primarily white. Segregation is alive and well, almost 70 years after Brown v. Board of Education.
1965-Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act was hailed as a great day in America. It may not have passed at all but for the nationally televised beating of peaceful protesters crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday. The Voting Rights Act was supposed to rid America of discriminatory tools like literacy tests, poll taxes, and racially biased gerrymandering and redistricting. One of the most important provisions was Section Five, which forced states and some jurisdictions within states with a pattern of discrimination to seek preclearance from the Justice Department before implementing new laws. In 2013, the Supreme Court found Section Five unconstitutional, eliminating preclearance. Several states began enacting discriminatory laws the very next day, voters having no redress but to work through the court system after the fact to restore their rights.
The Supreme Court may have been right in concluding it was unfair to single out individual states and communities for their racism when the whole nation is complicit. This is clear from all the voter suppression laws passed in recent years. Preclearance should still exist but for the entire country.
The Supreme Court did what it always does. They have weakened or found unconstitutional every civil rights or voting rights ever passed in this country. As I write, a ruling is expected on affirmative action from the court. I know what I expect. They recently voted to uphold the status quo in an Alabama voting rights case, but I suspect that was more about their image than protecting voting rights. Other cases are headed their way where they can achieve the same goal.
2008-The Election Of A Black President
In 2008, America elected a Black President for the first time. Many claimed that moment as proof that America wasn’t a racist nation, which was proved again in 2012 with his re-election. America was now supposed to be “post-racial,” with America now free from racism and discrimination. It turned out that America wasn’t post-racial at all. Barack Obama’s election brought racists out of the woodwork, and their whitelash led to the election of his polar opposite, Donald Trump.
2013-Black Lives Matter (TBD)
Black Lives Matter was formed in 2013 in response to George Zimmerman’s acquittal for the murder of Trayvon Martin. In 2013, there was little indication they’d reach the point where their name would be painted on the street across from the White House in Washington, DC, in front of Trump Tower in New York City, at the site of a slave auction in Birmingham, and in Orlando, San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, and more.
Black Lives Matter gained national prominence after the shooting death in 2014 of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, by the police and the choking of Eric Garner by police in New York. BLM organized mass protests in those cities, but the result was the same as with Trayvon’s killer: no justice, no justice — never any justice. There were more deaths at the hands of the police, the pattern was predictable, anger and protests continued, and the list of names we said became longer and longer, but no real change took place. In 2015, there were BLM protests after multiple deaths — you may remember the names of Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray, and the nine members of a Charleston, South Carolina, church killed by a white supremacist. The shame is the number of forgotten names as the senseless killing of unarmed Black men and women is so long as to be impossible to remember.
Black Lives Matter would rise in visibility after each new death and sink into obscurity after a time. That changed after the video was released showing Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin keeping his knee on the throat of George Floyd for almost nine minutes. Protests led by people holding signs saying, “Black Lives Matter,” broke out not only in Minneapolis but throughout America and numerous other places worldwide. The cover photo for this story was taken in Sydney, Australia.
What made these protests different was that it wasn’t just the usual suspects; Black people complained of unfair treatment by law enforcement while the rest of the country looked the other way. This time, white people and others of every persuasion took to the streets by the millions. It looked for a few days like there might be change, and suddenly, the organization Black Lives Matter was thrust to the forefront.
Usually, white supremacists come out of the woodwork to offer varying excuses and explanations to explain away bad police behavior, and some tried. They blamed the victim and said he died because of a medical condition. They claimed the cops were following proper procedure and feared for their lives due to the mean crowd yelling at them to stop. But this time, their message wasn’t enough to cut through what people had seen with their own eyes. The people demanded cities “defund the police,” which mostly meant reallocating resources to qualified mental health professionals to deal with certain calls. It looked like this time, protests would make a difference; if only that were true.
At the same time, Black Lives Matter was rising in popularity. According to a poll by the Pew Research Center, their favorability rose from 55% to 67% among all Americans in the weeks after the release of the George Floyd video. More importantly, their fundraising went through the roof, with BLM raising over $90 million in 2020, with an average donation of $30.
Despite having at that time around thirty chapters, the national organization mainly the three founders: Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi. Their structure wasn’t prepared to handle the influx of money and memberships, and they weren’t ready for the introspection they would receive when the national media called. Neither were they expecting the organized attacks on them corporately and individually.
Their enemies never fail to tie them to ANTIFA whenever Black Lives Matter is mentioned, though the organizations have no relationship. BLM is portrayed incorrectly as violent and thugs. Their finances are put under a microscope and often misrepresented by those with no qualms about NRA leaders and multi-million dollar yachts or Supreme Court Justices riding on private jets. The figurative jury is still out on the impact of Black Lives Matter. We will see!
I’ve left out many events that held promise but never had the desired impact. Perhaps that arc is still headed in a positive direction. However, there’s a possibility that Trump will again be President or that Ron DeSantis will come along and wipe out progress in the nation as he did in Florida.
The nation has implemented several changes and passed laws to eradicate racism and improve society. America responded to the rise of the Klan with the Enforcement Acts of 1870 and 1871. Still, the Klan rose twice again in America, arguably a fourth time, and today we have the Proud Boys, Boogaloo Bois, and Oath Keepers who perform much of the same function.
I am not saying the fight is hopeless. I am saying that many battles will have to be fought repeatedly, for what America gives, usually in response to forceful demands, it also taketh away. The basic struggles for voting rights and against mass incarceration are as important today as in 1865. Victory requires perseverance; those against us don’t take time-outs.
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This post was previously published on AfroSapiophile.
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You may also like these posts on The Good Men Project:
White Fragility: Talking to White People About Racism | Escape the “Act Like a Man” Box | The Lack of Gentle Platonic Touch in Men’s Lives is a Killer | What We Talk About When We Talk About Men |
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Photo credit: iStock