In February 2020, I was asked to contribute an opinion piece for the PVAMU website. I submitted an essay describing what I called an Uncomfortable Truth of Black History Month. That “truth” focused on the black community’s continual efforts to prove it is worthy of recognition as contributors to American society. Even more so, I argued, it is time the black community finally acknowledges that the subliminal need for acceptance is based on the lingering affects of slavery and the unspoken reality that the Founding Fathers never intended to give citizen ship to any descendant from the African continent.
Sadly, there are many, many other uncomfortable truths this country, and especially the black community, must one day confront if we ever intend to tear down the vestiges of racism and hate that continues to permeate this Republic.
The following are merely two. The first involves June 19, or Juneteenth. This is the day celebrated and often referred to as Black Independence Day. The story is a familiar one, at least in the black community. On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and informed the slaves they were free. Of course this announcement came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. The uncomfortable truth surrounding Juneteenth is that many outside the black community are completely oblivious to its significance. Your president said as much.
In an interview days before his most recent Klan rally in Tulsa, he admitted to not knowing what Juneteenth was and that a black Secret Service agent told him what Juneteenth was/is. Then your President had the audacity to claim that because he rescheduled his Klan rally from June 19 to June 20 he now made the day “famous.” This makes me want to vomit.
Certainly, no group should not be held responsible for the ignorance of one of its members. But, I’m struggling with the arrogance of this. It’s no secret that this Republic is diverse. So, one would think that after nearly four years of claiming the title of “President” one would have even a miniscule understanding of those things that are important to every cultural group in said Republic. Not only did he not know, but he now claims to have made the day significant just because he now knows. That may be the definition of unadulterated narcissism.
There is certainly a cross-section of the Republic that obviously believes the proper role of people of color is to serve and entertain whites. This was obvious with the reactions to Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling protest. The talking heads on FOX News deftly pivoted from the issue of continued police brutality in cases involving men of color to loyalty to the American Flag. The recent Sport’s Illustrated interview (June 21, 2020) of former NFL player Burgess Owens is a perfect example of vilifying those whose speak truth to ultimate power while ignoring the root cause of the initial protest action.
So, to these individuals, Juneteenth is just another made-up event to remind white folks they were wrong for slavery. “After all,” they ask, “hasn’t fifty years of affirmative action made up for slavery?” The answer is a resounding “hell no!” Now that the Klan rally in Tulsa is over, I believe your President will move on to the next sound bite and continue to misinterpret history as he’s continuously done since his inauguration.
The other uncomfortable truth is also related to Juneteenth: the Emancipation Proclamation. It’s time the black community comes to grips with the Great Emancipator and his role in black history. For generations historians have grappled with Lincoln’s views on slavery. Some contend he was morally opposed to slavery, others that he was ambivalent, and still others that he would do anything to “save” the Union, including repatriating blacks outside the US. What is undebatable is the fact that Lincoln did not free those slaves in states still under US control. The Emancipation Proclamation states that slaves held by those stated in rebellion were free. Those states in rebellion formed the Confederate States of America and selected their own President. As a result, Lincoln had no authority to free their slaves.
This is why it’s significant to memorialize the actions of Granger in Galveston in 1865. Only after the defeat of the Confederate States did Lincoln’s previous edict have the force of law. So even, if Texas’ slaves were aware of the Emancipation Proclamation, their owners would not have complied anyway. Their President, Jefferson Davis, was wholly committed to slavery (or at the very least black inferiority) as was every other Confederate officer, soldier, and citizen.
However, Lincoln did have control over several slave states in 1863. These “border states” maintained the vile system of slavery throughout the Civil War. Lincoln was concerned that immediate emancipation of slaves might push them into joining the ranks of the Confederacy, further weakening the Union. Those slaves Lincoln could have freed, he didn’t.
So, what did the Emancipation Proclamation accomplish in 1863? It kept foreign countries from internationally recognizing the Confederate States of America as a sovereign entity. Without foreign support in 1863, the Civil War turned into a war of attrition. In other words, the South ran out of supplies to continue fighting. This gave rise to the Lost Cause mythology. The South never publicly acknowledged they were wrong for committing treason against the US; nor did they then, or even today, believe slavery was morally repugnant.
So the uncomfortable truth about the Emancipation Proclamation is that Lincoln saw it as a means to end the war, not because he was so morally opposed to slavery. I’m not trying to rewrite history. But I’m also tired of history being misinterpreted.
This republic is in the midst of the deadly pandemic. But we are also in the midst of a political cycle where citizens are given the opportunity to vote. With an egotist occupying the White House and partisanship dictating the rule of law, I expect the next few months to be eventful, and not in a positive way. I hate being the bearer of bad news. But there are some uncomfortable truths we can no longer ignore.
Later.