Category Archives: AMERICAN HISTORY

African-American History, AMERICAN HISTORY, RACE

This Land Is My Land: Reflections On Patriotism and Black America

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As a historian whose studies have focused on the African-American experience, Independence Day has always been a date that causes tremendous reflection on my status within this nation. My perspective is heavily influenced by the undeniable contributions of my ancestors to the founding, development, and operation of this nation shared with the populace that James Baldwin termed his white countrymen. Of course, this matter is problematized by the long history of racial attacks from marauding whites whose foremost priority was placing a selfish claim on America.

I do not doubt that if most of my white countrymen were given a truth serum, they would state America belongs solely to them. Despite a mountain of evidence displaying the indispensable contributions of Blacks, most whites will never be convinced otherwise. Unfortunately, most of my Black countrymen agree with their counterparts that this is a white land they do not want to claim even a tiny portion of.

This refusal of Blacks to claim a sizable portion of this nation that is as much their birthright as their white countrymen provides a keen insight into the general psyche of far too many Blacks. For some inexplicable reason, most Blacks have tended to behave as if this is a white man’s land, allowing them to dictate their status in the land for which Crispus Attucks and the Massachusetts 54th died. Simply put, my Black countrymen have been far too willing to be subservient to a white population whose priority is to rule.

Brother Malcolm once stated, “Only a fool would allow his oppressor to educate his children.” I want to slightly alter our dear Brother’s statement: “Only a fool would allow his oppressor to tell him when and where he enters this place called America.” Blacks must begin to cease being so reactionary to the political positions and definitions provided to them by their historical oppressors.

Do we not have the mind to think for ourselves?

Must we wait until whites have spoken on or defined an issue before our position is established?

I wonder if the response to the above questions conveys an unwillingness to assert Black independent thought.

The presence of independent Black thought is crucial to understanding that America is as much your land as the whites and any attempts to control Black America’s economics, education, and politics. We must learn to evaluate the issues facing the Race and develop plans to address the myriad problems facing us in the present with a mind of preventing them from shadowing us into the future.

So, sing the following with me. “This land is my land; this land is your land…”

James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D.

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2023

 

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African-American Males, African-American Men, AMERICAN HISTORY, Black Males, Black Men, RACE

Why The Labeling of Darrell E. Brooks as a Terrorist Reveals White America’s Hypocrisy (Yet Again)

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It seems that I am wrestling with the meaning of life, particularly what is and what isn’t a reasonable expectation for myself and those around me. I have concluded that the elements/qualities of love, forgiveness, kindness, sympathy, empathy, and the need for consistency reign supreme in my value system.

Some combination of the above values/qualities guides my denunciation of Darrell E. Brooks’ decision to drive his vehicle into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin. I am sure that you already know that this decision resulted in the deaths of 5 people and the injuring of 40. Predictably, this one decision by an individual black man has led opponents of Civil Rights and racial equality to retrieve a broad paintbrush that they will wield in a desperate attempt to tarnish Black America in general and black activists in particular.

Those opportunists seeking to discredit all efforts to secure racial equality refer to this single event as an occurrence of black terrorism. Consider me bewildered by the claims of some of my white countrymen that America, better yet, White America, has been under attack by black terrorists since its creation.

The very assertion that blacks have been terroristic in a nation built on their enslavement is quite possibly the most absurd assertion I have ever heard. The above charge is yet another attempt at rallying naïve whites around a race issue such as critical race theory seized, formed, and propagated much like a consumer good.

As mentioned above, I have decided to double down on love, forgiveness, kindness, sympathy, empathy, and the need for consistency. Therefore, whites rush to use the term black terrorism while ignoring the volumes of terrorist attacks perpetrated by their ancestors, and even the present generation of whites disturbs me. Let us be clear on this matter. It is White America that has consistently bred and socialized domestic terrorists to maintain their monopolies and privileges.

If we can agree that, at their core, terrorist attacks are unjust actions executed against American citizens by some enemy, we can move forward with this discussion. Unfortunately for this nation, the basic definition relegates many of the Founding Fathers to a lengthy list of domestic terrorists. Consider Thomas Jefferson, the individual whose pen stated that “All men are created equal” for a moment. No reasonable argument removes Jefferson, a significant slaveholder and whose Notes on the State of Virginia proves his racial bigotry, from the terrorist list.

This nation’s centuries-long historical record would be barren if it were not for the actions of white terrorists who dedicated their lives to harming their fellow countrymen at every turn. The activities of Thomas Jefferson that predate the founding of this nation were carried forward nearly two hundred years later by Federal Bureau of Investigation Director J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover’s entire career reminds one of former slaveholders’ attempts to re-enslave blacks despite the 13th Amendment.

It would be best if you didn’t think that only the Founding Fathers or high-ranking political officials such as J. Edgar Hoover, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump can be domestic terrorists. In actuality, your local banker, who arbitrarily denies blacks mortgages, also falls into this category. School boards that approve white-washed curriculums that damage the minds of all American children are terrorists as well. When one thinks about it, it takes significant effort to be white in America and not fall under the terrorist umbrella in some shape or fashion.

My gripe with those rushing to denounce Darrell E. Brooks is their failure to hold whites responsible for similar evil. Far too frequently, well-meaning, dare I say, non-racist whites remain silent when in the presence of terrorists who look like them.

I guess that whites have yet to learn that the hatred guiding Darrell E. Brooks is a direct result of the consequences of the hate that they have doled out. Although it may be challenging to comprehend and accept, the presence of “black terrorism” will never cease until this nation’s original terrorists stop their many attacks.

James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D.

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2021