(ThyBlackMan.com) We as blacks and whites who love what the American Constitution stands for which is liberty, freedom and justice for all United States citizens and foreigners who make it to our shores, appear to be in the majority in this country. We believe in our system of equity and laws and feel they should be applied to everyone equally. For the most part, the aforementioned view was not that of the white men who wrote the Constitution; otherwise, it would not have been necessary later to address the issues of black citizenship and black voting rights with the XIV (14th) and XIV (15th) Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. Additionally, it would not have been necessary to address the issues of women and their right to vote with XIX (19th) Amendment.
Those white men who sit down and put the Constitution together endeavored to put together an instrument of authority needed to control “their aberrant behavior” in what was a relatively small nation with a relatively small number of people. However, as the country grew, both in area and population, the majority white population came to see the Constitution as an instrument of governance not for a few, but for all who called this country home. It was President Abraham Lincoln who gave this democracy and its Constitution the force of law (the lawful use of force to enforce Constitutional rights) and legitimacy. The citizens of the United States who at that time had the right to vote (primarily white men) elected him President and Commander-in-Chief.
Lincoln, as President would not allow the Southern states bent on using slavery as the main part of their economic system, to break the agreement which we call our Constitution and secede or formally withdraw from the union we call the United States of America. For this, he lost his life. Moreover, the largest number of American lives ever lost in war were lost in the Civil War over the issue of succession. We, as Americans were
determined and that includes African Americans too, because African Americans died in the Civil War, to be one united country governed by one Constitution. Like or not, it is the Constitution we have today.
However, the Civil War, the Constitution and the force of law did nothing to change the minds and hearts of those who harbor feelings of racial intolerance. Some folks erroneously believe that the color of person’s skin determines their character. It is so foolish! What makes it so foolish and stupid is that no one, and I mean no one, not even the racist, has any role or control in determining into which racial group anyone is born. Thank God, for He has retained this authority to Himself and He apparently feels no urgency to tell us why we are the color we are and why we were placed where we are.
Therefore, let me say this at the outset, and I want to make it perfectly clear. Based on my interaction with people, all whites and all blacks do not practice racism. It’s the truth. Otherwise, we would not have the Constitution and system of governance we have today.
Nevertheless, there are a goodly number of whites and I make this observation because they are in the majority, who do practice racism. Think about it. There was and still are conscious decisions being made by some whites to discriminate against blacks. A major example of racially covert discrimination was the predatory loan schemes carried out by major banks, savings and loans and mortgage companies, prior to the 2008 Downturn. The banks and mortgage companies targeted black people with these loan schemes.
Predatory lending, or as it has evolved to be called sub prime lending, was the major the reason this country suffered the Great Recession of 2008. Conscious decisions were made with the awareness of what consequences might result. Many in the banking and mortgage industries set out to deprive blacks of their homes. How do we know this; they have paid fines in the billions of dollars to the federal government! If there were no evidence at all to indicate this was done, do you for one instance think these banks, savings and loans and mortgage companies would have capitulated and parted with billions of dollars in fines to the federal government?
There are conscious decisions made every day by individuals in businesses and in personnel offices of corporations across this country that result in depriving blacks of equal employment opportunities. How do we know this? We know this because laws have been enacted to address this issue. In 1972, President Richard Nixon, “a Republican,” signed the Equal Employment Opportunity Act into law on March 25th.
The objective of this Act was to give some teeth or enforcement authority to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission when it came to enforcing the rights guaranteed under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Act required that no one be rejected from employment based on race, color, sex, religion or national origin. This Act gave the Commission the power to bring lawsuits in federal district courts to enforce the rights of petitioners.
We know the Act failed to eradicate racial discrimination when it comes to employment, because African Americans today are experiencing rates of double-digit unemployment in every single state in the union. Businesses and corporations are aware of the consequences of their actions when it comes to not hiring blacks. If this were not the situation, we would see different rates of unemployment for blacks say in Orlando versus Newark; or different rates in Los Angles versus Atlanta. However, it is the same all over the country; blacks are experiencing double-digit unemployment rates everywhere at the same time.
We, as African Americans must come to realize that those who are covertly practicing racism against us see us as a unit or single group. We are not individuals to them, because the suppression in job hiring is taking place on a collective basis. This is what you call system wide racism or as some like to euphemistically call it systemic racism. That means racism in hiring blacks for jobs is common to all corporations and businesses in America.
When it comes to the killing of black men, we certainly do not want to see police departments across this country practicing systemic racism or allow systemic racism to go unchecked. Just as the employment and housing foreclosure numbers are indicative of a trend, the recent countrywide killings of African Americans suggest a possible trend too. The trend and number of these killings are moving in the wrong direction, upward. This is why each killing of black youngsters and black men under suspicious circumstances must be vigorously contested.
However, blacks and others who believe in equality and the rule of law under our Constitution do not have to be losers in this new battle, as there is an answer. Job creation and the issue of wealth is at the heart of the problem. Download the book now, “The Fix This Time” and get the specifics of how to fight back through the creation of jobs and wealth in African American communities across this country. The book outlines the details of how blacks can tap the one place where black wealth is tied up and that is the trust fund of Social Security (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MI3PD2M).
Staff Writer; James Davis
More information about JD and his Deficit Neutral Stimulus Plan Can be founded at http://www.sslumpsum.com.
One may also pick up this “brother” latest book which is entitled; Hey…God’s Talking To You The Study Book.