The 'Foundation' of the United States Exploited People of Color

In order for the systems of racism to be dismantled, the responsibility lies upon the shoulders of white people since we are the ones who have created, benefitted and continue to benefit from these systems of inequalities.

This is not a debate. White privilege exists and what is more, this country, The United States of America, functions within a white supremacist system. This is fact. Furthermore, when we debate the validity of these proven facts, we negate the experience of people of color by denying the realities that are, which only results in perpetuating white supremacy.

Note, if one is already experiencing resistance to the above mentioned realities, check in with that resistance. Where is it coming from and why? Don’t give into the defensiveness and keep reading.

It is time to move past denial and debate and enter acceptance and action.

These writings will be a historical evaluation of the origins of white supremacy in this country and they will each be tied back to events taking place today. This is not white guilt for what has happened in the past; rather, this is white study of the historical systems that were put in place that are still alive today that perpetuate the systems of white supremacy.

Before we begin, there are a couple of distinctions that need to be made:

1.     Racism – is a system of power that only white people can perpetuate because white people are in control of power in this country.

2.     Privilege – benefit(s) that one does not work for but are endowed with i.e. being born white, straight, male, physically and mentally able, etc.

White supremacy is not only limited to ‘white power’ that is often associated with skinheads, neo Nazis, the KKK and other racist groups white power groups. White supremacy is an all-encompassing term that refers to the white power that controls this country. Not all white people are racist and subscribe to racist ideologies; however, all white people live under and benefit from a white supremacist system because white people have been and still are in power in this country.

If one is to dismantle systems of white supremacy, then one must begin by looking at his or her privilege. Being white is a privilege in this country. Being white does not mean that one is inherently racist; but one must be aware of the privileges that come with simply being a white person.

If one is to dismantle systems, one must recognize that white supremacy permeates every ‘system’ i.e. education, corrections, business, housing, etc. within the United States. Dismantling racism must occur at every level within the white supremacist system and none can be overlooked.

Today’s topic: This Country was Founded on the Exploitation of People of Color

Today’s date is July 8^th, four days after this country celebrated it’s 240^th ‘Independence Day’. The day that North Americans celebrate the anniversary the colonists liberated themselves from the tyrannical British Empire by signing The Declaration of Independence. This day is honored as the day that represents America’s birth as a nation and is observed as a national holiday.

Let’s stop here. This land, this continent, was not unoccupied when the colonists arrived. There were millions of indigenous people that were already occupying this land for generations and in order for the colonists to escape from their tyrannical overlords, they had to displace those indigenous peoples.

Once again, language matters and the term ‘colonists’ needs to be unpacked. Colonists refers to ‘those that colonize’ which in term refers to ‘colonialization’ which is defined as ‘the act of bringing into subjugation’. And just in case anyone is unclear of what ‘subjugation’s means, the definition states: ‘the act, fact, or process of bringing under control; enslavement.’

To recap: whether directly or indirectly, it does not matter, because the colonists fled their homeland to occupy a ‘new’ land, which was already occupied, the white Europeans are defined as colonists and by definition, the act of colonizing a country in turn means the subjugation, or enslavement of, the indigenous population.

Questions?

Yes this all happened over two hundred and forty years ago so why does this matter? All of this matters today because white people need to know and understand that the values of freedom and equality that were written into the ‘founding’ documents of this country that are so cherished, were in reality only written for white men. Before we evaluate I must point out one more troubling word: ‘founded’.

This country, the United States of America, was not ‘founded’, it was stolen. As mentioned before, this continent was already occupied by millions of indigenous peoples who had established cultures, customs, religions and histories that existed long before the white Europeans happened upon the continent.

The word ‘founded’ is too nice as well as too misleading. This word suggests that this continent was empty or somehow waiting for the white Europeans to ‘discover’, occupy and then ‘create’ a country where there was none. Once again language matters. Language matters and I’m going to say it again, language matters!

When we consciously use the word ‘founded’, when we consciously instruct i.e. pass on knowledge with the word ‘founded’, we ignore what really happened. When we use the word ‘founded’, we minimize and ignore the experience of the indigenous peoples that were here prior to the white European colonists. Once again, the United States of America was not ‘founded’, it was stolen. Hear the difference?

This country was stolen from indigenous people who had their own systems, their own ways of life; ways of life that white Europeans did not value. As discussed in the last edition, white entitlement continues here after the ‘Age of Discovery’. White Europeans felt entitled to land that was already occupied. So much so, they had no problems displacing, enslaving and murdering millions of peoples that were already here.

Studying true history through a white supremacist lens is not white guilt. This is white responsibility. If systems of racism are to be dismantled, white people must take on white responsibility of understanding how and where these systems originated. For example, white entitlement, or the belief that white people can take customs and cultures from other people, can be seen today in instances of appropriating cultures as can be seen in team mascots, trending clothing store styles or in Halloween costumes.

As mentioned before, white entitlement began long before the ‘creation’ of the United States of America and if systems of racism are to be dismantled, white people must understand white entitlement and check their actions, their mentalities every day.

Let’s take this deeper. When the ‘founding fathers’ stole this land from indigenous people and created the United States of America, they championed the ‘freedoms’ and ‘liberties’ that had been denied to them from the British Empire. What they chose to ignore and what today’s history continues to neglect, is that these same men were demanding certain freedoms for themselves, were actively denying these basic liberties to populations of people who did not look like them.

The Declaration of Independence, as prophetic and poetic as it may sound, is a lie. The ‘truths’ that are written in this document were written for straight white men, and straight white men alone. This document was not written for the indigenous people that the white Europeans were already displacing, enslaving and murdering nor were they written for the millions of kidnapped, displaced and enslaved Africans that the white Europeans were exploiting and benefitting off of in more than one way.

As noble as the ‘founding principles’ of this country may seem, the reality is that these liberties were never meant for everyone. If they were, there would not have been slavery. Period. The foundational belief that promoted slavery was that Africans were not human; instead, they were subhuman meaning they were below human i.e. property i.e. not equal to the white man.

One cannot argue that the United States of America promises the freedom of equality to everyone and then systematically enslaves an entire population of people. What is more, Africans did not come to this land freely-they were forcibly removed from their country, from their society, from their culture, which means that white Europeans not only removed them from their native lands, but then brought them to a new land and systematically dehumanized and disenfranchised the entire population.

Similar to this is the United States of America cannot claim that this is the land of the free when this land was stolen in the first place. Furthermore, because entire populations of indigenous people were displaced, murdered and enslaved on their land is further proof that freedom was only a right meant from white Europeans. If the white Europeans believed in freedom for ALL peoples, they would have gone back to Europe and left the indigenous populations alone. If freedom and equality were meant to extend to he indigenous populations, there would have been no displacement, no enslavement and no genocide.

We can’t change what happened centuries ago so why talk about it? Though we cannot change history, we can rewrite it. We can change the lies and fallacies we teach and thus promote, which in turn perpetuate white entitlement. We cannot preach one thing, i.e. equality and practice the complete opposite i.e. racism. This is called cognitive dissonance. We believe we are one thing but in actuality, we act in the complete opposite way. If we, white north Americans, truly believe in equality, then we will acknowledge our privilege, acknowledge the inequalities, acknowledge the truth and then move to actually ACT upon change. To act is a verb which means to do something.

Food for thought: if all men were truly equal today it would not revolutionary that we voted our first African-American president after two hundred years. If we truly believed that all men were equal, white murderers and rapists would not be excused as ‘mentally ill’ while murderers of color would be explained as ‘thugs’, ‘drug dealers’ or ‘gang bangers’. If all men were equal the news would not cover white criminals with school photos and use mug shots for suspected criminals of color. If all men are truly equal, white 2^nd amendment enthusiasts would be the first to defend black men’s legal right to open-carry rather than using his same right to justify his killing by a white police officer. If all men are truly equal, police officers would calmly deescalate all offenders committing crimes, resisting arrest, peacefully protesting, playing with a toy gun, selling cigarettes or CDs, obeying traffic stop regulations, running away with his hands up screaming ‘don’t shoot’ without any deaths occurring.

Yes no one wants to be pegged as racist or a bigot or even as privileged. No one wants to take the blame. No one wants to take responsibility. This is part of the problem. Not all white people are racist; but all white people benefit from white supremacist systems that do not equally benefit people of color. White people have privilege. Period. This country was founded by and for white people and the systems that were put in place were put in place by white people. The very foundation of this country ignored people of color and two hundred plus years later, these systems continue to protect white people while persecute people of color. No matter the laws that have been written, people of color have never been and still not are equal and free in this country because of white supremacy. This was the very ‘foundation’ of this country.

To my fellow white people: don’t want to be labeled a bigot, racist or ignorant? Then don’t be one. Don’t believe the racist systems that are present in this country and call out the racist status quo. Do you research and do so without exploiting people of color by demanding to hear about their most personal and difficult experiences pertaining to racism in this country. (FYI you can become aware without re-oppressing someone). Research the racial disparities that are occurring daily in this country and act and speak out against these disparities. You have power. Use it.

Next, check you privilege. You will always be privileged because of the color of your skin and that will never change. Reflect: do you respond with ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’ in the face of authority? Is your voice heard? Do you answer first or do you allow someone else to answer before you? Even if you want to speak do you ever hold your tongue and allow everyone else to speak without your input? How much physical space do you take up? Do you wait for people to walk in front of you or do you go first? Do you move to make physical room for other people? Do you notice authority figures eyes following you as you shop in a store? How many times have you been pulled over while driving without being given reason for being stopped? Have you had the talk with your kids yet about ‘how to not get shot’ or ‘how to respond to police when they begin to question you’? Do you bow your head and drop your eyes in the presence of authority? Notice how many times you get stopped by cops walking down the street or talking with your group of friends while in public.

Last but certainly not least, listen. It is time for white people to stop talking and to start listening. We have been talking, creating, mandating, ordaining, ordering, the list goes on for millennia and it is time for us to stop talking and to start listening. This is part of your privilege. You have been heard in your life. People of color have been not. You may feel like you are losing privilege because you are no longer being heard-sit with that uncomfortability. What does that feel like? Imagine if this was your reality, every day of your life. Are you angry? Resentful? It does not feel good. Deal with it.

Create space for others by sitting down and shutting up. Share as much of your privilege as you can. Begin by becoming aware of your white privilege and move on by dismantling the white entitlement you have been directly and indirectly taught from the white supremacist systems of the United States.

Dismantling racism starts with you. It starts with this.

Next Edition: Manifest Destiny