I was supposed to post the first Sunday in July… I didn’t…obviously. I’ll explain why at a later date… upon request of course.  With out further ado...

 

Deep Thought: What’s been on my mind lately?

 

Lately I have been struck with an strong appetite for knowledge.  Over the past week or so I’ve been reading just about anything I could, that had to do with black history, in my free time and since I don’t have a job and I only have school twice a week I have a lot of free time to enlighten myself .  Most of it was just a lot of mini biographies of people like Frederick Douglass, Huey Newton, and Marcus Garvey.  I have read over 25 of them because I feel like I need to know as much as possible because you can’t pose a big threat in an argument if you don’t have your facts straight.  That thinking led me to read up on the Emancipation Proclamation, 13^th Amendment, the William Lynch Letter and the history of slavery in America.  After reading a number of articles and books I started to think:

 

When will slavery end?

 

Most people believe that the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in 1865 but that is about as true and saying Thomas Edison single handedly made the working light bulb.  The truth of the matter is that the EP only freed slaves in states that were in rebellion against the Union January 1, 1863.  With that said there was still legal slavery in Missouri, Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky and Tennessee among other places.  The 13^th Amendment officially abolished slavery in 1865.  The last slaves where set free June 19^th 1865, that’s where Juneteenth comes from. 

 

I guess you are reading this like slavery is over what are you saying man?  What I am saying is, even though slavery in terms of physical bondage is no longer in existence our minds are still mentally enslaved.  You can click the back button or go to another link but all that is doing is justifying your denial.  What was done to our forefathers in slavery has been passed down to us and now exists whether you or anybody else wants to admit it or not. 

 

In 1712, a slave owner by the name of William Lynch came to America to give other slave owners advice on how to keep their slaves submissive.  He proposed that if you exploit the differences among the slaves, such and skin hue and age, and turn them against each other then they will in return hate and not trust each other.  By doing this they will trust and depend solely on the master and not each other thus creating a “me first” attitude among slaves.  I’m not trying to bore you with historic facts but if you don’t know the history of what I am about to talk about you won’t understand what I am saying.

 

Harriet Tubman once said, “If I could’ve convinced more slaves that they were slaves, I could’ve freed thousands more.” 

 

That statement shows the psychological damage done to blacks who were enslaved and as a result blacks today have inherited the same damage.  I believe you only see what others want you to see until you decide to step outside of your comfort zone and research the matter for yourself.  With that said many people who read this blog along with hundreds of thousands of others don’t see the symbolism that is placed in front of there face or they do see it and deny it exists.  Hopefully the illustration that I will draw up for you will pry you eyes open enough for you to see some light in the darkness.  See if you can follow my pencil:

 

This day in age it is clear to see that blacks still have the “me first” attitude.  It is also clear to see that there is a lack of loyalty amongst the black population.  Blacks who have been fortunate enough to prosper economically have been criticized for not giving back to the race whether it is donating to the United Negro College Fund or helping fund a community center or high school which they graduated from.  How obligated do they feel to give back?  We live in a world where we care more about our personal progress than the progress of our people.  We have been conditioned to believe that as long as we are alright so is everything else.  And why shouldn’t we?  It seems that our brothers and sisters of color are more interested in pulling us down so we achieve as much or less then they do instead of giving us a helping hand.  Why would we rather have a white lawyer handle our cases? Why would we rather go to a white doctor? Why do we look to whites to solve our problems?  Why don’t we support our blacks who are trying to make a name for themselves?  In some cases it’s not because they are less qualified to handle your situation.  Theoretically speaking it could be because you don’t want to see someone who has been through what you have been through to be more successful than you.

 

Now take that and think about what I have told you about the William Lynch letter.  If you can’t make the connection I am afraid that your mind has been damaged to the point of no repair.  Or maybe you need a little more guidance.

 

So when will slavery end?

 

When William Lynch gave his speech in 1712 he told the slave owners that his method should work up to 300 years.  So according to him our slavery will continue until the year 2012.  Even though the slavery has been abolished for 140 years this year, the mental aspect of slavery has not been.  Are you going to wait until the year 2012 to free yourself?  It’s your decision.

 

K. Blazes 

I know you wrote this a long time ago but I just thought I'd say something. I recently went to the Million Man March which changed into the Millions Mores Movement and I was speachless. I was standing among 2 million African Americans. The love that people showed each other is undescribeable. I met Dr. Ben Chavis.If you dont know who he is then you must look him up. He is an amazing person. I met him at a black leadership conference.Im in Black history club i hold two positions. President and Public Relations. If you have any ideas about our history or information you want to share with me let me know. Im glad im not the only one concerned about my people. Britani :)