(ThyBlackMan.com) Inter-racial sexual liaisons have always been “the elephant in the room” during any discussion of America. Nonetheless, most Whites seek to avoid the topic as it serves as irrefutable evidence of their ancestor’s foremost shame. Black men deny the referenced incidents of inter-racial sex if for no other reason than it carries with it a stinging reminder of their continuing inability to protect their mother, aunts, sisters, and daughters from the clutches of the wicked insatiable sexual appetites of White men; desires that were best expressed via the sexual assault and rape of Black women and girls.
One of the most avoided aspects of American slavery by those who wish to mute the era and its impact on contemporary racial animosity “by any means necessary” is the sexual nature of the peculiar institution. Despite Whites’ never-ending denials regarding America’s history of sexual exploitation of Black men, women, and children, the varying hues of “Blacks” tells an undeniable story. One cannot look at this nation’s storied past and offer a reasonable denial that inter-racial sex is as American as Apple Pie or Baseball. As painful as it may be for Whites to accept, the historical record leaves no doubt that inter-racial sex is a staple of America’s social and cultural diet. Amazingly, this portion of U.S. History has been muted in school curriculums.
This muting serves as yet another reason for angst among inquisitive students who openly question why such information has never been shared during prior instruction. I poke at my student’s anger with a substandard educational curriculum by revealing that Thomas Jefferson, one of this nation’s Founding Fathers was a slave owner and serial rapist. His victim? A pretty Negro gal named Sally Hemmings who was also his wife’s half-sister.
Hemings’ exploitation by Thomas Jefferson, her owner, represents the ironies surrounding inter-racial sex on the North American Continent from colonial society to the present moment. As expected, many Whites argue that the Jefferson /Hemings “relationship” was a consensual relationship, while Black women vehemently disagree via an argument that denigrates Jefferson to the level of a serial rapist. Most White Americans agree that the subject of inter-racial sex is a taboo that should be avoided at all costs, even if it moves us a step closer to solving the voluminous problems flowing from Race. Predictably, while Whites seek to avoid the topic, many Blacks are eager to remind Whites of this nation’s sins, regardless of when their ancestors arrived.
The volatility of inter-racial sex makes Ancestry DNA’s commercial titled “Inseparable” all the more bizarre. In the recently pulled advertisement for the company, a White man and Black woman are captured having a forbidden intimate moment during the Slave era. This “precious moment” culminates with the man saying,
“Abigail, we can escape to the North. (He pulls a gold ring out of his pocket) There’s a place we can be together, across the border. Will you leave with me?”
Although there is much that can be said regarding the highly unusual scene of a White man “courting” a Black woman in this manner. There are larger issues that should be addressed that extend forgettable statements regarding how rare it is to have enslaved Black women treated in such an “honorable” manner by White men during any moment, let alone during the slave era. Put simply; there is more meat on the bone regarding this issue.
The most fertile areas are found in a reputable company like Ancestry DNA not having a single person who understands the voluminous cloud of trouble it was bound to create with this “commercial.” I am not only awestruck that Ancestry DNA handles substantive racial matters so clumsily, but also left to wonder how they have managed to stay afloat.
The most logical question that answers why such mistakes can be repeatedly made by profitable companies is that a politically disorganized and economically inefficient Black America has no means of issuing any semblance of retribution. There is no more revealing moment of Black powerlessness than during these moments where economic sanctions should be applied against companies like Ancestry DNA, Black American leaders head to airwaves to cry foul and a few Black consumers will pour into the streets with sympathetic Whites to beg for some acknowledgment.
I am sure that you agree that it is late in the game for such foolishness and inefficiency. This is yet another example of the drastic need for Blacks to mobilize their politico-economic currency to be dispensed against their opponents at opportune moments. As Frederick Douglass once stated, “Power concedes nothing without a demand, it never has and it never will.”
Staff Writer; Dr. James Thomas Jones III
Official website; http://www.ManhoodRaceCulture.com
One may also connect with this brother via Twitter; DrJamestJones.
