Well Miriam, you think wrong on this one.
I fully understand the hurt and rage along with the hopelessness felt
by Black Americans. And indeed, all people of color who find
themselves imprisoned in the Bilges of our cities and towns.
Do I really "feel" what they feel? Probably not. But if I don't have
the ability to understand what people of Color face in this bigoted,
racist, White Elitist nation, then I'd better turn in my brain and
move into the old folks home.
What I do not understand is how so many White Working/Lower Class
Americans can be so brain dead that they are able to be led by the ear
and pumped up to blame, hate and attack other Working, Lower Class
Americans purely on the basis of their color or the way they dress, or
how they do or do not worship, or whom they choose to marry.
I do understand why many of our Working Class People take jobs such as
Police or Military. Jobs that are set up to protect and defend the
very oppressors of those being employed. They have made a conscious
decision to support the Master's life style in exchange for his money
and His favor. They have been bought and paid for, and cannot be
counted on to support their fellow Working Class brothers and sisters,
even though they are little better off. But to see a White truck
driver, or a White logger, or any White laborer curse and lash out at
People who look or act differently is totally beyond my
understanding. While I do recognize that they have been exposed to
years of intense propaganda, so have all Americans. Why do some of us
see through the smoke and mirrors while others buy into the hate and
lies?
Anyway, understanding or not, if we don't get past labeling those who
are some different than we are, and begin to respect our differences
and work together, despite those differences, work together to win the
struggle with those who have controlled our lives for generations, we
are condemned to continue being used and being turned against one
another.
Certainly if I had been Bernie Sanders, confronted by folks crying,
"Black Lives Matter!", I would have not tried to say, "Yes, but all
lives matter". That is not the focus of those calling out, "Black
lives matter!" Of course All lives matter. But Bernie would have
been far wiser to have said, "Yes. Black lives do matter. And as
president, I promise to work to make certain that Black lives do
really matter".
Later he could speak to the need for all working class people's lives
to matter.
In the past I've touched on the fact that I seldom use the term,
"Middle Class", because I believe it is a handle or label devised by
the Ruling Class to further divide and confuse us. Any of us working
class members who are skilled at our jobs, whether we studied to
become skilled, or learned on the job,we are brothers and sisters
under the thumb of those who over profit by our labor. Getting past
the false labels would be a giant leap forward in our struggle to
build a People's government. But so long as some of us feel that we
are better than other people, we will simply be trading one Master
Race for another.
Carl Jarvis
On 4/24/16, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I think that perhaps you underestimate the hurt and rage that people of
color justifiably feel. Perhaps the reason that some folks kept saying that
Bernie wasn't responsive enough to Black Lives Matter, was that he was
talking about the same thing that you're talking about, and he wasn't
verbalizing an understanding of the sharpness and the continued
immediateness of the pain. You know what happens to us as blind people
when
we are away from our familiar surroundings and the people who know us, the
things that happen when we're out there in a world filled with sighted
strangers. You know about all of the slights, the thoughtless things that
people say and do, all of the things that we overlook, about all of the
times when we attempt to explain or decide that it isn't wortwhile to try
to
explain. But the people who make us uncomfortable, don't hate hus, or
despise us. If you're a black man, the people who make you uncomfortable
really do feel emnity toward you and you know it. They really do suspect
you
of criminal intent. Remember many months ago when I said my younger
daughter was homeless? She's black and she was answering ads for apartment
rentals in Suffolk County. These were apartments in private homes. I knew
about a young white woman who was looking for exactly the same kind of
apartment at the same time. She found one within about 2 weeks. My daughter
found apartments, but when she looked at them and expressed interest, the
owners never called her back.Guess why. All of the apartments were in
houses
owned by white people, located in all white neighborhoods. The miracle was
that she did eventually find an apartment because the owner was black. She
was divorced and had children. Her ex husband was white and the
neighborhood
was white. But because she was black, she was willing to rent to my
daughter. If you are an African American person who is aware of your
people's history, if you experience the constant large and small reminders
of your inferior status due to your race, if you see what is happening to
your brothers and sisters, you're going to feel some separateness from
other
working people who are not targets of racial oppression.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Sunday, April 24, 2016 10:06 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Harriet Tubman and the Monetization of Black
History
Miriam,
Understood. Certainly there is some difference, both in comfort level and
regarding freedom of movement, between myself, as a White man, even as an
older White, Blind man, and a Black Slave, whether that slave worked the
fieldss in the old South, or turns out products in today's prison work
shops. But still, we are all part of the Working Class, even those who
have been put aside and have no hope of working.
We still can have our distinctions, if only we could agree that we have a
common adversary. Why can't we accept our unique differences, and still
mount a united front against our long time Masters?
Carl Jarvis
On 4/24/16, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Carl,sale."
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
How very true. And, since Anderson is focused on Harriet Tubman, Isuch products.
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
We American Consumers have been conditioned to believe that ourgadgets we own.
happiness and our success are measured by how many new and improved
God forbid that we are wearing last years styles or driving an oldaverage.
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 wereported:
aspire 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
Times.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
bills.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
average.Plus, these Southern states (especially Alabama andcase.
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 wereported:
aspire 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
Times.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
bills.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
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
