Carl,
Yes, what you say is true. But it is also true that American wealth was
built on the labor of slaves. That isn't to diminish the plight of working
poor white people. But there is a huge amount of evidence, much of it
appearing in some recent books, some of which are on BARD, documenting how
our wealthiest old families became what they are today because they
benefited from the proceeds of slavery. And if you take a broader view, the
western european countries developed their cultures, their art, music,
literature, because of the resources that they stole from the people whom
they conquered in Africa and Asia and because of slave labor on
plantations in their colonies. Among the more recent books on BARD, is one
that describes the direct relationship between specific colleges and
universities, and slavery. Regardless of what the wealthy have done to the
poor, it just does not compare to what has been done to people of color in
this country. The institution of slavery ended and now we have slave labor
done by our prisoners who are forced to do the work of corporations while
imprisoned often, for possession of maraijuana.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Sunday, April 24, 2016 8:27 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: my blog carl jarvis
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Harriet Tubman and the Monetization of Black
History
William C. Anderson writes, "...Black people were and still are for sale;
Black history is for sale; and Black culture, too, is always for sale."
How very true. And, since Anderson is focused on Harriet Tubman, I have no
grumble in his relating the transition of American Blacks from Citizens, to
Consumers. I simply want to point out to Mister Anderson that this is a
common condition of all Working Class Americans, Black, White, Brown or any
other Color. It's a crime to think of the years of struggle by working
class Americans to gain inclusion in that statement, "We, The People", only
to be side tracked by the pressures of the American Corporate Capitalists,
to come to a place where we are merely "Consumers". But Capitalism must
grow and expand. To do this Capitalists must continue developing "New,
Improved", and innovative products. And consumers must do their fair share
by wanting and buying such products.
We American Consumers have been conditioned to believe that our happiness
and our success are measured by how many new and improved gadgets we own.
God forbid that we are wearing last years styles or driving an old model
car, or using an archaic common old cell phone.
But just like everything else, Capitalism has us looking outside ourselves
for Life's Rewards.
The concern should not be on whether Harriet Tubman's image be placed on the
twenty dollar bill, or not. The real concern, so far as I am concerned, is
why we pay so little attention in our history books on Great American
Citizens like Harriet Tubman, and instead drool all over the likes of Andrew
Jackson or Queen Elizabeth, or J. Edgar Hoover, or General Douglas
MacArthur. Our history books teach us the glories of the Capitalists and
the War Heroes...as long as they are ranking officers.
So it is not just a Color issue. It is a Class issue. Working people need
to open their eyes to the fact that our color does not make us any more or
less subject to the contempt of the American Capitalist.
We need to understand that if we are creating wealth for our Capitalist
Masters, it does not matter the color of our skin, or whether we wear a blue
collar or a white one. Men and women, young and old, we are all in the same
struggle. It's time we all got on the same side.
Carl Jarvis
On 4/23/16, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Harriet Tubman and the Monetization of Black History Thursday, 21contradictions therein.
April 2016 00:00 By William C. Anderson, Truthout | Op-Ed Harriet
Tubman. (Photo: HB Lindsley / Library of Congress)Don't trust the
corporate media? Neither do we. Make a tax-deductible donation to
Truthout and support accurate, independent journalism.
There's a strange irony in printing the image of someone who spent her
life on the run because she was worth money onto money itself, as a
supposed honor. This hasn't stopped the US Treasury Department from
announcing a change replacing Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman on
the face of the $20 bill. While many people see the change as
progressive and indicative of respect, others have taken issue with the
Capitalism, bolstered by slave labor and steadily craving morecase.
chattel, showed the US Bill of Rights and the Constitution to be
fictional documents.
Now, as Tubman is chosen to grace US currency, we see the latest
chapter of a never-ending saga of consumption. Black people were and
still are for sale; Black history is for sale; and Black culture, too,
is always for sale.
Andrew Jackson -- whose image will remain on the back of the $20 bill
-- was a horrible president, to say the least. He was a man dedicated
to murder, despair, oppression and genocide. His face, like the faces
of many other US presidents, haunts onlookers who know what
commemorating such a person means. Those who gladly welcomed the
murder, enslavement and degradation of my ancestors as well as others'
ancestors stare at us regularly from money, statues, state buildings,
street names and more. This is a regular fact of everyday existence in
the United States.
The canon of capitalism tells us we should respect money more than
anything and cherish our right to use it freely. Therefore, putting
someone's face on a bill would be seen by many as a great honor.
However, money is exactly what drives much of the worldwide trauma
that capitalism creates.
Consequently, since Andrew Jackson was a slaver, purveyor of
Indigenous genocide and ruthless military man, having his face on the
$20 bill seemed quite appropriate.
If the general consensus were that money is something filthy and that
capitalism is a crisis, there would be no question about the problems
with putting Harriet Tubman's face on a piece of money. This is not the
Money is something we need to function societally, something we aspirereported:
to attain and something we often cherish when we have it. It's money's
necessity in our everyday lives that will make many view Tubman's
presence as a respectful representation. Yet, it's the continuous
creeping of corruption, environmental decimation and ruthless
accumulation that argues otherwise. The overwhelming wealth
inequality, racialized poverty and gender pay gap that pervade this
country expose the "honor" bestowed upon Tubman as a blatant mistruth.
In recent years, false notions of progress tend to dominate public
conversations around "diversity" and "inclusion." From the election of
sitting President Barack Obama (who will likely be blamed by bigots as
if he single-handedly chose Tubman) to this change of face in
currency, these symbolic acts become scraps to appease populations
hungry for justice.
Moreover, monuments, commemorations and efforts to represent Black
people and our history often become engines to build capital. Civil
rights tourism allows travelers from around the world to visit the
places where Black people have been killed, enslaved and brutalized
while merely trying to secure some stability in an economy and social
hierarchy that excluded and marginalized them. Today, visitors to
places like Selma's annual Bloody Sunday commemoration can buy civil
rights products and attend often expensive events to their heart's
content, while reflecting on a tragic "past." The Martin Luther and
Coretta Scott King Unity Breakfast this year in Selma was $50 general
admission and $500 per table. In a recent report titled "Still a City
of Slaves -- Selma, in the Words of Those Who Live There," the Guardian
In the US, joblessness for African Americans is roughly twice that ofcase.
whites. In Selma, which is 80% African American, joblessness runs even
higher. In 2010, unemployment in Selma reached 20%; it has since been
cut in half to 10%, but [is] still around twice the national average.
Wages in Selma (as for African Americans nationally) also badly lag
the country, with the median family income at roughly $25,000 -- half
that of the US average.
There are countless theories offered by academics and politicians
about why African Americans disproportionately suffer higher
joblessness and lower wages -- a lack of education, dependence on
manual labor, technological shifts -- but to many Selma residents
those theories are just excuses for racism.
In Memphis, Tennessee, you can go to the very spot where Martin Luther
King Jr. was murdered and see a monument to him -- as well as to the
bank sponsors who didn't hesitate to advertise on the property.
Memphis, which has the highest energy cost burden in the country, has
struggled with a devastating poverty rate for years, with 30 percent
living below the poverty line. Just over 13 percent of lower-income
households' income in Memphis is spent on energy.
The same is true in many other Black historical landmark cities across
the country. In terms of poverty, the cities that closely follow
Memphis for most household income spent on energy are Birmingham,
Atlanta and New Orleans, according to the Pittsburgh Business Times.
These are three cities that make a lot of money on civil rights
tourism, and their rich Black histories in general. It's quite
distressing that in cities that market their history of brutality
against Black people to visitors, the descendants of those very people
are disproportionately impoverished and struggling to pay their bills.
Plus, these Southern states (especially Alabama and
Louisiana) are filled with wretched prison systems where Black people
are killed, tortured and brutalized, just as Black people have been
here for centuries.
There's no realm of existence where Black people can escape so that
our bodies aren't taken advantage of on earth. Both sides of the
political "spectrum" are intent on criminalizing Black communities and
subjecting them to state-sponsored violence, and they often agree on
making money off of the history of anti-Black violence as well. It
shouldn't come as a surprise that a Black liberator is being used for
money when many have already been making money off of our histories of
struggle at every turn.
Now, in the case of Harriet Tubman, she is being made into money. Her
face will be placed among men who would have sold her, killed her and
committed other egregious acts of violence against her if they would
have had the chance. She was a Black woman whose strength seemed
endless. She is not being honored by being placed on a weakening dollar.
Black people have been through incredibly distressing times, and if we
know anything, it's that we cannot always depend on money. When times
have gotten rough for Black people, we've always depended on our
self-determination for our freedom. It's this realization that leads
me to ask: Why put a value on a people, a history and a culture that's
absolutely priceless?
Copyright, Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.
WILLIAM C. ANDERSON
William C. Anderson is a freelance writer. Follow him on Twitter:
@Williamcson.
RELATED STORIES
Archaeologist, Black Feminist Unearths Contributions of African
Diaspora, Everyday People By Max Eternity, Truthout | Interview Any
National "Conversation About Race" Must Include Black Radical
Tradition By Adam Hudson, Truthout | News Analysis Flag Controversies
and Race Politics in a Civil War Town By Graham Stinnett, Truthout |
News Analysis ________________________________________
Show Comments
Hide Comments
<a href="http://truthout.disqus.com/?url=ref";>View the discussion
thread.</a> Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Harriet Tubman and the Monetization of Black History Thursday, 21
April 2016 00:00 By William C. Anderson, Truthout | Op-Ed
. font size Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink
reference not valid.Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error!
Hyperlink reference not valid.
. Harriet Tubman. (Photo: HB Lindsley / Library of Congress)Don't
trust the corporate media? Neither do we. Make a tax-deductible
donation to Truthout and support accurate, independent journalism.
. There's a strange irony in printing the image of someone who spent
her life on the run because she was worth money onto money itself, as
a supposed honor. This hasn't stopped the US Treasury Department from
announcing a change replacing Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman on
the face of the $20 bill. While many people see the change as
progressive and indicative of respect, others have taken issue with
the contradictions therein. Capitalism, bolstered by slave labor and
steadily craving more chattel, showed the US Bill of Rights and the
Constitution to be fictional documents.
Now, as Tubman is chosen to grace US currency, we see the latest
chapter of a never-ending saga of consumption. Black people were and
still are for sale; Black history is for sale; and Black culture, too,
is always for sale.
Andrew Jackson -- whose image will remain on the back of the $20 bill
-- was a horrible president, to say the least. He was a man dedicated
to murder, despair, oppression and genocide. His face, like the faces
of many other US presidents, haunts onlookers who know what
commemorating such a person means. Those who gladly welcomed the
murder, enslavement and degradation of my ancestors as well as others'
ancestors stare at us regularly from money, statues, state buildings,
street names and more. This is a regular fact of everyday existence in
the United States.
The canon of capitalism tells us we should respect money more than
anything and cherish our right to use it freely. Therefore, putting
someone's face on a bill would be seen by many as a great honor.
However, money is exactly what drives much of the worldwide trauma
that capitalism creates.
Consequently, since Andrew Jackson was a slaver, purveyor of
Indigenous genocide and ruthless military man, having his face on the
$20 bill seemed quite appropriate.
If the general consensus were that money is something filthy and that
capitalism is a crisis, there would be no question about the problems
with putting Harriet Tubman's face on a piece of money. This is not the
Money is something we need to function societally, something we aspirereported:
to attain and something we often cherish when we have it. It's money's
necessity in our everyday lives that will make many view Tubman's
presence as a respectful representation. Yet, it's the continuous
creeping of corruption, environmental decimation and ruthless
accumulation that argues otherwise. The overwhelming wealth
inequality, racialized poverty and gender pay gap that pervade this
country expose the "honor" bestowed upon Tubman as a blatant mistruth.
In recent years, false notions of progress tend to dominate public
conversations around "diversity" and "inclusion." From the election of
sitting President Barack Obama (who will likely be blamed by bigots as
if he single-handedly chose Tubman) to this change of face in
currency, these symbolic acts become scraps to appease populations
hungry for justice.
Moreover, monuments, commemorations and efforts to represent Black
people and our history often become engines to build capital. Civil
rights tourism allows travelers from around the world to visit the
places where Black people have been killed, enslaved and brutalized
while merely trying to secure some stability in an economy and social
hierarchy that excluded and marginalized them. Today, visitors to
places like Selma's annual Bloody Sunday commemoration can buy civil
rights products and attend often expensive events to their heart's
content, while reflecting on a tragic "past." The Martin Luther and
Coretta Scott King Unity Breakfast this year in Selma was $50 general
admission and $500 per table. In a recent report titled "Still a City
of Slaves -- Selma, in the Words of Those Who Live There," the Guardian
In the US, joblessness for African Americans is roughly twice that of
whites. In Selma, which is 80% African American, joblessness runs even
higher. In 2010, unemployment in Selma reached 20%; it has since been
cut in half to 10%, but [is] still around twice the national average.
Wages in Selma (as for African Americans nationally) also badly lag
the country, with the median family income at roughly $25,000 -- half
that of the US average.
There are countless theories offered by academics and politicians
about why African Americans disproportionately suffer higher
joblessness and lower wages -- a lack of education, dependence on
manual labor, technological shifts -- but to many Selma residents
those theories are just excuses for racism.
In Memphis, Tennessee, you can go to the very spot where Martin Luther
King Jr. was murdered and see a monument to him -- as well as to the
bank sponsors who didn't hesitate to advertise on the property.
Memphis, which has the highest energy cost burden in the country, has
struggled with a devastating poverty rate for years, with 30 percent
living below the poverty line. Just over 13 percent of lower-income
households' income in Memphis is spent on energy.
The same is true in many other Black historical landmark cities across
the country. In terms of poverty, the cities that closely follow
Memphis for most household income spent on energy are Birmingham,
Atlanta and New Orleans, according to the Pittsburgh Business Times.
These are three cities that make a lot of money on civil rights
tourism, and their rich Black histories in general. It's quite
distressing that in cities that market their history of brutality
against Black people to visitors, the descendants of those very people
are disproportionately impoverished and struggling to pay their bills.
Plus, these Southern states (especially Alabama and
Louisiana) are filled with wretched prison systems where Black people
are killed, tortured and brutalized, just as Black people have been
here for centuries.
There's no realm of existence where Black people can escape so that
our bodies aren't taken advantage of on earth. Both sides of the
political "spectrum" are intent on criminalizing Black communities and
subjecting them to state-sponsored violence, and they often agree on
making money off of the history of anti-Black violence as well. It
shouldn't come as a surprise that a Black liberator is being used for
money when many have already been making money off of our histories of
struggle at every turn.
Now, in the case of Harriet Tubman, she is being made into money. Her
face will be placed among men who would have sold her, killed her and
committed other egregious acts of violence against her if they would
have had the chance. She was a Black woman whose strength seemed
endless. She is not being honored by being placed on a weakening dollar.
Black people have been through incredibly distressing times, and if we
know anything, it's that we cannot always depend on money. When times
have gotten rough for Black people, we've always depended on our
self-determination for our freedom. It's this realization that leads
me to ask: Why put a value on a people, a history and a culture that's
absolutely priceless?
Copyright, Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.
William C. Anderson
William C. Anderson is a freelance writer. Follow him on Twitter:
@Williamcson.
Related Stories
Archaeologist, Black Feminist Unearths Contributions of African
Diaspora, Everyday People By Max Eternity, Truthout | InterviewAny
National "Conversation About Race"
Must Include Black Radical Tradition
By Adam Hudson, Truthout | News AnalysisFlag Controversies and Race
Politics in a Civil War Town By Graham Stinnett, Truthout | News
Analysis
Show Comments
