Black History Month gives cause to pause and reflect upon African American History in the United States. It's a history that many would rather ignore, because it is an ugly mark on these United States.
The country's hypocrisy began when "The Founding Fathers" drafted language about equality and freedom while owning and benefiting from slaves. In those times slaves held the same status as livestock; without human characteristics. Few saw slavery as an affront to the United States' Founding Principles.
Beyond slavery, the United States has offered little or no liberty or justice for all. Even the Northern states have their share of examples where African Americans were dehumanized (read Ronald Takaki's books for examples) contrary to current mythology.
There is a common perception today that things are much better, and that we have reached parity in our society. Many Americans feel that everyone is treated as an individual without prejudices and stereotypes. These same people feel that anyone that says otherwise is negative, stuck in the past and plain un-American.
Some signposts exist that can be used to measure equality in our country. We can look at the distribution of wealth, who is getting educated, who are victims of crime and who are our leaders. African Americans should have equal representation in all these categories if there is true parity.
However, let me share a word of caution about the aforementioned signposts. You have to view them in a certain light. You have to rid yourself of lenses given to us by society that rationalizes causes and effects for conditions in our society. Wearing those lenses causes a denial that conditions of oppression and colonization exist.
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We have heard rationalizations for the lack of equity, which most often places blame on African Americans, but we have to dispute them. The lack of African American CEOs in Fortune 500 companies is not due to an inability to pull up from their bootstraps. The alarming number of African Americans dropping out of school is not due to laziness or lack of intelligence. The high number of African Americans in prisons is not due to a lack of social mores.
Be critical of your environment and ask if these signposts are remnants of blacks being treated as property and less than human. Do so before deciding that advocates of social justice are whining. Consider the possibility that the cry for justice and equality are instead a criticism of our falling short of the ideals of which our country was founded.
