Erasing Black History 

A Searing Conversation on Race

By Dave Devereaux

The single most poignant question that any black person can ask today should be: What has occurred to make white leaders such as Ron DeSantis feel the need to eviscerate Black or African American culture? It’s not like the black race has threatened society with rebellion or insurrection. We have simply tried to obtain all that is guaranteed to us as citizens in a Constitution that seems to bear different interpretations daily by the individual. It is almost as if someone pissed off DeSantis, right-wing leaders of Congress and the Supreme Court. Daily, we face some fresh nuance that threatens to remove a right that has been granted in the past yet now is being looked at differently. 

As I reported in a previous article, black people do not sit around talking about critical race theory or wokeness. The entire political focus on these is laughable to us as they have never been topics of discussion or complaint. The real joke is how these white politicians use them as if they are viruses that need a vaccine to be eradicated. Whoever their speechwriters are, they should do a little more research about the origin and roots of these topics before they become campaign tropes. It makes them look ignorant to black people, at least the ones I know. To declare that Florida is where woke comes to die is just plain stupid. 

For Your Consideration: https://www.reelurbannews.com/the-assault-on-black-history-and-culture/

The entire idea of eliminating portions of history is nothing new, as we have never been given our complete story. The only problem for the black race is the absence of documentation or record of our contributions which were covered up or outright lied about. Whites took credit for much of what was discovered or created by black people, always maintaining the idea that blacks were not intelligent enough to create such things. Rather than giving credit where it is due, they continue to financially benefit from the tireless efforts of our ancestors and refuse to admit any wrongdoing in this matter. 

All the while, blacks continue to persevere and thrive. Essays such as The 1619 Project opened a Pandora’s box of information that had previously been whitewashed and manipulated by mainstream historians. Pulitzer Prize recipient Nikole Hannah-Jones along with the New York Times exposed history that many did not want to be told. My summation is that many white politicians and historians, being descendants of those involved in this coverup, do not want their family’s names to be exposed or tarnished. Thus they began a campaign to discredit. However, the information was out in the public domain and remains a key element for reference today. Along with having garnered Nikole Hannah-Jones the coveted Pulitzer Prize, this exposure seems to be intimidating those same factions. 

Blacks are the most resilient of all races. Despite the horrendous treatment we have received throughout the generations, we thrive. What may be most perplexing is the idea of how hate creeps in with the deepening of melanin. Every other race has a prejudice toward blacks. There is not one that I have come across in my life that does not express some “white ideal” prejudice toward black people. No other term such as the contemptuous “nigger” has been used to denigrate more effectively. Yet, blacks have turned the word into a noun and sometimes an adjective to lessen the sting of such words. But that exploration is another topic in itself. 

All of this brings me back to my initial premise of why, all of a sudden, blacks are a focal point of politicians who by most terms should be worried about America’s standing on the world stage, yet they are creating a minstrel show of their prejudiced behaviors. Ron DeSantis is a threat with his new laws affecting migrants, the Don’t Say Gay rhetoric, the refusal to allow an AP African American Studies program in Florida schools, banning books from school libraries, the banning of Critical Race Theory, which by the way was never a thing, and his absolute ignorance of “wokeness.” 

Floridians were duped into voting this man into office as Governor, not once, but twice. Yet, now he poses as a contender for President of the United States. Sounds very much like Stalin and his efforts to own and rule the USSR. First, the alienation of groups, such as blacks and gays, and then the takeover of any social idea that does not sit well with his vision of America. The question is do we as a nation want to go down that road? That precipice is deep and long and the outcome may be tragic without any way of return. 

As blacks continue to unfold our own history and discover even more horrors, we should focus on ourselves. We have to start supporting our own businesses, developing our own schools, respecting our neighborhoods and looking out for one another because we have experienced the white man’s refusal to do so. We have to start seeing each other first. While in no way do I claim to be a racist, I do feel the need to protect my race. The Ron DeSanitis’s, Donald Trumps, or even Joe Bidens never will, no matter our education or assimilation into mainstream American culture. Any reader who does not agree with me, I wholeheartedly understand, because many don’t want to look this closely for fear of seeing their reflection in that window.