Living with Historic Racism!

The Hippocratic Oath for the Medical Profession says: “Do no harm!” This may well be a great beginning for the discussion of Historic Racism in the United States. The North American Continent seems to have always suffered in one way or the other from Historic Racism. When the first explorers discovered Mexico, the Aztecs were the first victims of Spanish Conquistadors giving them venereal diseases, small pox and executing whoever they thought might be a problem for their bad behavior. In California Father Serra brought forth the wisdom of the Catholic Church and the proliferation perhaps of the inadvertent demise, abuse or incarceration of many of our the Indigenous Native California populations.

During the great expansion of the Trans-Continental railroad which was completed in May of 1869, just after the end of the Civil War, it was the Chinese immigrants that were recruited and who died, suffered and were abused because we had to replace the Black folks that had all been freed. Reconstruction ended very quickly after Lincoln was shot and so did true freedom for the Black Slave population. Southern Laws were changed to make sure black folks never got their 40 Acres and Mule….that Lincoln had promised.

Today marks a Presidential Proclamation by President Biden on our apologies for the Incarceration of our Japanese population during World War II by FDR Ten separate quasi-prison camps were set up in California which included the infamous Manzanar, in between the Owens Valleys and the Sierra Nevada/Inyo Mountains. Two-thirds of those taken to all these camps were born in the United States. Others were grand-parents and first generation immigrants.

Entrenched racism is part of the American story of Manifest Destiny, and the taking of Native American lands through wars and extermination. Through broken treaties and illegal incursions into Tribal lands. Through slavery and using cheap labor for our great agricultural society and then disposing of the evidence when it became inconvenient. The Calfiornia Bracero programs then Farm Workers from Mexico and of course the great history of even the “The Grapes of Wrath” and the terrible misuse of the Oakie Populations and Dust Bowl folks until World War II.

Within this story of course is that of the misuse and abuse of women and children in general and with minorities in particular. We forget that women were not even given the right to vote until August 18th, 1920. We forget that Black men were only given the right to vote as 3/5 of a vote after the Civil War in 1869-70 with the passage of the 15th Amendment! Only Landowners, of all citizens by the way were to be allowed in many locations around our country, to vote until the middle of the 20th Century.

Today, many folk are afraid of coming out with the true history of our country. They demean the concept by applying names like CRT or Critical Race Theory….saying this should not be taught to children. Saying it demeans our culture. Saying it is wrong. Some may recall that a German Immigrant, Richard Hauptmann was convicted of the 1932 “Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping” case. Or that Sacco – Vanzetti were accused and convicted of a controversial killing of a paymaster at a Shoe Manufacturer back in 1920. Both of these cases were never proven without a shadow of doubt. Should children in school be taught a true or abbreviated history of our country? Should they be taught: “My country right or wrong!”? Or should they be taught that being a bully, brutality, mean spirited conduct and anger of their fellow man or woman must be expected in our dog eat dog world?

There is little doubt that times have changed. It is no longer cool to call someone “Shorty”, “Fatso”, “Sissy”, “Dummy”, “Fag” or “Retard”. It no longer cool to demean people that are not like your momma. The recent news reports of ill behavior by an elected official regarding remarks they made about race or the inference of race in a demeaning manner needs to be addressed. Apologies should be forth coming for any inadvertent remarks that may have been said “yesterday”, “last year”, “several years ago”, or at a bar when they were drunk…….if you were elected to represent ALL THE PEOPLE! If you don’t feel comfortable with that fix…..no problem – RESIGN!

To make the point simply: “It ain’t cool” – George Strait said that!

Coming to grips with our Historic Racism and Living with it should be the first step to Redemption. You cannot identify the disease until you look for it clearly. The time has come to admit it and understand that times and social mores in fact change or must change!