Prometheus 6

Losing What We Never Had: White Privilege and the Deferred Dreams of Black America, Part 1
by BAR contributing editor Dr. Edward Rhymes

"An oppressed people without total recall of their history of exploitation cannot craft a new history of liberation." - Manning Marable

As the current field of Democratic and Republican presidential candidates jockey for position, I believe that it is important for Black folk to examine and critically-deconstruct where we have been and where we find ourselves today. It seems that every four years we see our struggle and needs ignored, minimized or denied - additionally, 2000 and 2004 should have shown us that even our votes are under attack.

Even a cursory view of American history (current events as well) will yield numerous examples that attest to the injustices visited upon the daughters and sons of Africa. The present administration has, through its policies, shown indifference and contempt for its most vulnerable citizens (the poor and people of color). The Supreme Court seems poised to rollback the already-meager gains made a generation ago, thus making the already-precarious position of the vast majority of Blacks even more unstable. However, we should have seen this coming; we should have been better students of history. If we were, we would have known that whenever any ground is gained, or perceived to be gained, there is a societal resistance by the dominant culture. We would have also known that our "rights," historically and presently, have never been all that secure.

In this writing I will be outlining and detailing America's history as it relates to white privilege and Black progress. The sections that address Jamestown, Reconstruction and Plessy vs. Ferguson are directly excerpted from my book When Racism Is Law & Prejudice is Policy. Particular attention should be paid to (what I call) the "triple p" paradigm. In the maintenance of injustice and inequality there are three interdependent dynamics that work in a seemingly never-ending circle. Individual perception(s) generates public opinion which creates and supports governmental policies. The longer the inequitable policies stay in place, the more they create conditions which seem to justify the prejudicial perceptions (these perceptions, by and large, are created by another "p": propaganda). For example: the poor quality and lack of resources of inner-city public education=students lose interest in education and fail or drop out=Blacks don't value education.