Friday, February 27, 1998
Black history now
HISTORY: Honestly confronting painful past of slavery is only
way to progress
By Michelle Navarro
Daily Bruin Staff
we are told over and over again
to forget about it
get over it
get on with it
stop
rehashing ancient history
I respond by saying
No
this is not ancient history
No
I cannot just get over it
No
I cannot and I will not forget
Slavery
In a corner of a display case, outside of the Center for
African-American Studies Library, sits this anonymous piece, typed
on rectangles of purple paper. In this corner lies a written
testimony of the pain still caused by this era of history, over 130
years later.
The poem addresses the frustration of African Americans, who are
often requested to forget slavery, to forget the oppression, to
forget the past. Should it be heeded? Can people be asked to forget
history?
"That would be the worst thing," said Ellen Dubois, a professor
in the history department. "It would be amnesia, not knowing who
you are or where you came from."
Perhaps those making the call to forget are ignorant of the
shocking history, or, like Sidney Lemelle said, it is a reflection
of America’s fear of facing and admitting its corrupt past.
"This country needs to admit that the foundation of it is
racist," said Lemelle, a visiting associate professor in the Center
for African-American Studies. He also went on to explain that the
masking and sugar-coating of the past are all a part of what he
called the "construction of American mythology."
In younger years, children are taught that Abraham Lincoln freed
the slaves and was the good guy, that Thomas Jefferson was as good
as the presidents get, and that so many people fought for the
rights of slaves.
What they neglect to inform the young, growing minds was that
although Abraham Lincoln freed African Americans from their roles
as slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, he actually
said in the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 that he was "not
in favor of negro citizenship" and that had his home state,
Illinois, had the power to make them citizens, he "should be
opposed."
And, in what has been called one of the great contradictions in
history, Thomas Jefferson, as an author of the Declaration of
Independence, believed that "all men are created equal," yet at the
same time he owned slaves and even fathered a few slave
children.
As for all those people who fought on behalf of slaves, a good
majority of them were against slavery because they felt it was
morally wrong. However, they were also "anti-Black." Their fight
was to end the institution of slavery, but that was it. It did not
mean they were ready to accept the freed people as their
equals.
Some Philadelphia Quaker meetings, though devoted to the
anti-slavery cause, maintained segregated seating for black people
in their churches.
It is impossible for one newspaper article to go back and try to
recapture the grim and alarming life that existed for slaves and
accurately do it justice. However, many do not know the truth or
realize the atrocity of what happened in the "land of the free"
back in the 19th century.
"’Amistad’ is a perfect example," Lemelle said. "People go see
it and say ,’Oh my God, I didn’t know it was that bad.’ It’s a
debate that this country has never come to grips with."
To those who are educated about all that occurred, it’s
difficult to ignore. Haunting images and narratives have been
passed down, and live in everything from movies like "Amistad" to
the poem posted in the basement of Haines Hall.
What happened to a whole race, displaced from their native
country beginning as early as 1517, because of their darker skin
color and because of the greed of Southern plantation owners,
cannot be forgotten because it still affects the minds of
descendants today.
Slaves were property; they couldn’t get married, they were sold
and torn from their families, they were beaten often to the brink
of death, they were raped to "breed" more slaves once the
international slave trade was abolished, they were over-worked and
malnourished – the list could go on.
Although the institution of slavery was abolished by the 13th
Amendment in 1865, it still lurks – not just in memory, but also in
the economic and social problems of the present times.
"We won liberation, but that’s not what we have in the new
society," said Jihad Saleh, a fifth-year political science and
sociology student with a minor in African-American studies. "They
didn’t ask us if we wanted to be citizens, if we wanted to have
political power over economic power."
In a lecture concerning post-Civil War reconstruction, Dubois
mentioned how although slaves had been given freedom and the chance
to own their own property to live a self-sufficient life, in
reality less than 10 percent actually owned any property.
Another student felt the African-American situation was unique
from all the other instances of immigration in America’s history,
mainly because of the fact that they did not come to the United
States by choice. From the beginning, oppression dripped into every
aspect of their lives.
"You can see the effects just in terms of the way the
African-American community is structured and the problems they
have," said Chad Williams, a fourth-year African-American history
student and African Student Union chair. "It can be traced back to
slavery. We were not allowed to develop as a community."
Socially, the era left a problem that is still being dealt with
today, racism.
"The vestiges continue," Lemelle said. "Slavery was maintained
through physical force and coercive force by society. One way they
did that was through racism."
Lemelle explained that by equating a black man with an ignorant
and inferior slave, the pro-slavery society was able to justify its
actions and at the same time instill the deep roots of racism.
"Racism is just built into the fabric of this country," Dubois
said. "It’s not something that will ever disappear. It was built
into the structure of American history."
Reconstruction is still happening. It was only 30 years ago that
our country saw the civil rights movement. But that doesn’t mean
the fight or the struggle is over, so forgetting the past is out of
the question.
"In an ideal world that would be fine," Lemelle said, "I would
say yeah, let’s forget about it. But that doesn’t wipe it out. It’s
not simply a Black and White issue – it affected the poor European
immigrants, the Indians, the Chinese and obviously the
Mexicans."
History creates a ripple effect that reaches far into the depths
of time. It defines what is today, it is a reminder, and it is a
chance to look back and learn.
"In my mind there is a faint glimmer of hope (for the future),"
Lemelle said. "But I’m not too optimistic, partly because of those
people who say ‘forget about it.’"
The end of the journey to social unity and equality that began
with the 13th Amendment may be at the door or a mile away. But
ignoring the past would be a step in the wrong direction.