A Concise History of Black-White Race Relations in the U.S.

[36Hypno]

I don't know what's wrong with this dude who compares the plight of native americans and caribeans to that of enslaved africans. Complaining?Here's why.

Native Americans were nearly wiped out in this country I understand. They were infected with disease their immune systems could not deal with and they wereforced off of their land. But they fought for their land. What happened to them was very sad and definitely is right there neck and neck with the plight of theafrican slaves. But how many native americans are there really left? They also were allowed to keep something that keeps them somewhat together still today,their culture.

African slaves were stripped of their culture and their entire identity. They were broken down as nothing more than cattle. Intelligence was rewarded withdeath. They were seen as animals plain and simple. Then a few hundred years later they were simply freed, and not because they earned it, because of politicalreasons (an issue for another conversation). So a people with really nothing in common but skin pigmentation, no hint of their own culture, newly freed aresupposed to move on and advance. Not even free at all really. Still treated as second class citizens, but made to do the worst of the worst labor. This countrywas built on their backs. Why do we complain? We complain because whenever the discussion is brought up it seems as if "well you people have enough rightwhy are we still talking about it." I mean when have we really ever? Why do the other minorities not complain? They or their ancestors came herevolountarily. Their being here is their own choice. With that they still have their CULTURE intact.

Kind of a rant but I hope you get it.

 

[waylon]

I'm not sayin its not the truth Im just sayin that cause you never know with niketalk whether something is going to be taken wrong or out of the context ofwhat the OP had in mind thats what i meant.

 

[cadillacflow]

Originally Posted by Rexanglorum


This cartoon is corect in the sense that blacks have been stepped on in this country's history. It is guilty of gross over simplification when it implies that whites as whole owe their prosperity to that fact.

Most Americans never were slave owners so the amount that directly owe their fortunes to the slavery is tiny compared to all white Americans. There were industries in free states that were completely or partially dependent on slavery but it is hard to tell if most of those firms would not have been viable without southern slavery. New England merchants and industrialists were very adaptable so the fact that they may have made clothes or shoes for southern slaves does not mean that they could have not made fortunes in other markets. Furthermore the GDP per capita in the US and even in New England was about 1000 thousand person in inflation adjusted dollars. Some of the most dramatic growth was after slavery. From the revolution to the end of the Civil War, US GDP per capita went from $500 to $1,000 and from the end of the Civil war to 1920, GDP per capita went from $1,000 to $8,000. The narrative that the entire economy of the North was based on slavery is some what difficult to the prove in the face of the facts.

Many like to cite MLK's argument that whites were able to take advantage of the homestead act when blacks could not. European immigrants were able to come to the West and enjoy cheap land and other advantages, which proved to be an economic spring board. This argument is correct but it does not help the narrative that all whites who prosper did so on the backs of blacks. It is shame that blacks were unable to be a part of this very successful program but it does not mean that hard work done by the European immigrants should go unnoticed, it was the families who cleared the woods, ploughed the fields and harvested the crops, not black slaves.

It is tiresome to see the depiction of white Americans as lazy and malevolent beings who can only thrive on the backs of black slaves and now Mexican immigrants. There is no denying that blacks and Native Americans have been hurt by the majority white society as well as government policy but it is absurd to deny that whites have not lifted a finger in creating their own wealth. Aside from a few wealthy descendants of the great Southern Planter families, most white wealth is the result of white work.

 

[joebonnano]

Originally Posted by Rexanglorum


This cartoon is corect in the sense that blacks have been stepped on in this country's history. It is guilty of gross over simplification when it implies that whites as whole owe their prosperity to that fact.

Most Americans never were slave owners so the amount that directly owe their fortunes to the slavery is tiny compared to all white Americans. There were industries in free states that were completely or partially dependent on slavery but it is hard to tell if most of those firms would not have been viable without southern slavery. New England merchants and industrialists were very adaptable so the fact that they may have made clothes or shoes for southern slaves does not mean that they could have not made fortunes in other markets. Furthermore the GDP per capita in the US and even in New England was about 1000 thousand person in inflation adjusted dollars. Some of the most dramatic growth was after slavery. From the revolution to the end of the Civil War, US GDP per capita went from $500 to $1,000 and from the end of the Civil war to 1920, GDP per capita went from $1,000 to $8,000. The narrative that the entire economy of the North was based on slavery is some what difficult to the prove in the face of the facts.

Many like to cite MLK's argument that whites were able to take advantage of the homestead act when blacks could not. European immigrants were able to come to the West and enjoy cheap land and other advantages, which proved to be an economic spring board. This argument is correct but it does not help the narrative that all whites who prosper did so on the backs of blacks. It is shame that blacks were unable to be a part of this very successful program but it does not mean that hard work done by the European immigrants should go unnoticed, it was the families who cleared the woods, ploughed the fields and harvested the crops, not black slaves.

It is tiresome to see the depiction of white Americans as lazy and malevolent beings who can only thrive on the backs of black slaves and now Mexican immigrants. There is no denying that blacks and Native Americans have been hurt by the majority white society as well as government policy but it is absurd to deny that whites have not lifted a finger in creating their own wealth. Aside from a few wealthy descendants of the great Southern Planter families, most white wealth is the result of white work.

Yes, but white priviledge is something that a) cannot be measured, and b) most DEFINITELY exists as a direct result of past transgressions.
Of course most whites do not feel they benefit directly from the past transgressions of forefathers, theycan't SEE it. However the practices of institutional racism and glass ceilings are very apparent, even with a black president.

The "good ol' boy" networks are still alive and kicking. When you say things like:

Aside from a few wealthy descendants of the great Southern Planter families, most white wealth is the result of white work.

It makes it seem as though you disagree with the fact that 10% of the people control 90% of the money in thiscountry, if not less. I would say that a good number of them were not benefactors of "good, old fashioned, hard work"… at least not the kind thatdidn't step on the backs of both blacks and, to a lesser extent, immigrants.

Race riots in the late 19[sup]th[/sup] and early 20[sup]th[/sup] centuries have illustrated the use of blacksas both a cheap labor source, AND a way to hold down other minorities. Yes, I said it, and here's why: Post-reconstruction era was a boom for industry andcommerce. Labor was needed to fit supply and demand placed on these new companies and industry, and European immigrants were more than eager to work… as wereblack folk. Shrewd businessmen saw this as a way to build their own wealth, while pitting the immigrants and blacks against each other. The bid would always goto the lowest common denominator.

While I agree this is a generalization, I will not agree that is oversimplifies things. It only tells it butfrom one perspective. If it were, say, supposed to be a concise history of "The history of the United States" then yes, I'd say that it would beoff base for speaking in but one light. However it specifically says "Black/White", and I see it as being powerful in its own right.

By the way, I posted this like three years ago. Seriously. It's been in my "Poignant" comicfolder for a LONG time. We spoke about it at length on NT for like 8 pages. I see it going further this time… considering how different things are today thanjust that short time ago…

 

[lnmymind]

 

[the takeover]

This guy said Native Americans don't complain as much as us?

How many of them are left TO complain?

 

[nothingbefore]

& to think other planets have life that looks just like us human but diff shades of color

yet we fight on this planet we are lucky to enjoying life on ...sad


:cops a spaceship:

 

[BaltimoreLove]

Originally Posted by ittakesalittlebitmore

Originally Posted by PeterJamesThe3rd

Anyway back to the topic... the white man has wrong a lot of people... Asian, native American Caribbean, black ect...

the difference is black people complain about it the most... but didn't even get it the worse... when was the last time you heard a Indian say.. dam the white man took all my land and is keeping me down... never...

get over it....

why do white people like you feel the need to control peoples responses everytime??
How can you get over something that still persists and doesnt affect you?

Im far from white.. my people got done much worse +*#@ my native people don't exist...... we got over it and bettered ourselves...

, it's PAINFULLY obvious you know absolutely ZERO native americans....

assuming i don't know myself... does my mother or father count?

 

[cadillacflow]

Originally Posted by PeterJamesThe3rd

, it's PAINFULLY obvious you know absolutely ZERO native americans....

assuming i don't know myself... does my mother or father count?

 

[0cks]

I would think Native Americans are still kinda mad about what went down. The government does plenty for them, but their condition isn't that great either.Alcoholism is a problem and Native Americans really haven't integrated with the rest of the country. I guess they are content. But the country still owesthem a lot.

 

[BaltimoreLove]

Originally Posted by eNPHAN

Originally Posted by PeterJamesThe3rd

Originally Posted by ittakesalittlebitmore

Originally Posted by PeterJamesThe3rd

Anyway back to the topic... the white man has wrong a lot of people... Asian, native American Caribbean, black ect...

the difference is black people complain about it the most... but didn't even get it the worse... when was the last time you heard a Indian say.. dam the white man took all my land and is keeping me down... never...

get over it....

why do white people like you feel the need to control peoples responses everytime??
How can you get over something that still persists and doesnt affect you?

Im far from white.. my people got done much worse +*#@ my native people don't exist...... we got over it and bettered ourselves...

, it's PAINFULLY obvious you know absolutely ZERO native americans....

assuming i don't know myself... does my mother or father count?

, well, the small number of native americans EYE have met certainly weren't "over it"

congrats to you though, perfectly assimilating...

Because i'm not going to sit here and blame the white man for all my problems im assimilating? right...

If life gave you a bad hand play harder and smarter... just because people have the upperhand over you right now doesn't mean its going to stay likethat... if you play the game well you can win... but sitting down all day feeling sorry for yourself wont do anything....

you remind me of the boy that complains because nice guys don't get there fair share of women... you can complain all day or you can do something about it, I did something about it...

no disrespect to black people... ya had it hard... now take those learning experiences and make them work for you...

 

[BaltimoreLove]

Originally Posted by 0cks

I would think Native Americans are still kinda mad about what went down. The government does plenty for them, but their condition isn't that great either. Alcoholism is a problem and Native Americans really haven't integrated with the rest of the country. I guess they are content. But the country still owes them a lot.

Of course it hurts us to know how badly our people were taken advantage of... I'm native American but not from the continental united statesso we really don't get any type of assistance...

my people were the first to go when Columbus got to the Caribbean islands.... They took all of our gold. murdered and rapped the women and put the men intoslavery... what ever the white man didn't kill small pox and other diseases took the rest.... the small percent of men left committed mass suicide...

our religion, rituals customs foods. ect all gone... we became a meting pot for alot of other cultures though...

 

[gordon gekko 979]

jesus christ, it's 2009, get over it. slavery was awful, but stop making excuses please. if we want todiscuss issues, why don't we discuss how democrats glamorize being a single black mother? huh? or how about how when a black man is intelligent he'slabeled as being "white" by his fellow black peers? or how black woman encourage black men to act like thugs by only dating them, and letting theintelligent brothers hanging ? Lets discuss these true issues, not BULL &*% excuses

 

[0cks]

Originally Posted by PeterJamesThe3rd

Originally Posted by 0cks

I would think Native Americans are still kinda mad about what went down. The government does plenty for them, but their condition isn't that great either. Alcoholism is a problem and Native Americans really haven't integrated with the rest of the country. I guess they are content. But the country still owes them a lot.

Of course it hurts us to know how badly our people were taken advantage of... I'm native American but not from the continental united states so we really don't get any type of assistance...

my people were the first to go when Columbus got to the Caribbean islands.... They took all of our gold. murdered and rapped the women and put the men into slavery... what ever the white man didn't kill small pox and other diseases took the rest.... the small percent of men left committed mass suicide...

our religion, rituals customs foods. ect all gone... we became a meting pot for alot of other cultures though...

Oh...

Did not know that you were from the Caribbean. No wonder why you have "gotten over it". Spanish conquerers did not wipe your people out on purpose.They just married all your females. I thought you were Native American from the US.

 

[joebonnano]

Originally Posted by Gordon Gekko 979


jesus christ, it's 2009, get over it. slavery was awful, but stop making excuses please. if we want to discuss issues, why don't we discuss how democrats glamorize being a single black mother? huh? or how about how when a black man is intelligent he's labeled as being "white" by his fellow black peers? or how black woman encourage black men to act like thugs by only dating them, and letting the intelligent brothers hanging ? Lets discuss these true issues, not BULL &*% excuses

How do you get over something that's never been readily admitted to and apologized for, save ONE president... and he got lambasted for it.

I won't enter the Native American discussion part of this, but I WOULD like to know if PeterJames could see that a group as readily oppressed as his has asignificantly harder time than say, a decendant of Irish immigrants who weren't stereotypically "Irish" (Red hair, etc). Now, compound that withthe fact that Native American Genocide was and is something that America has apologized for many times over, as well as provided scholarship opportunity foranyone who can prove they are what they say they are, and you have at least a means to see where America has tried to atone for its egregious mistakes.

I'm not a proponent of reparations per se, but I know as well as anyone that my girl won't begin to start to forgive or forget until I admit wrongdoingwholeheartedly and show remorse, not wait years down the line and basically say "why you bringin up old +$+@?"

If the relationship between blacks and whites was already built on the notion that whites are superior and use blacks and viewed them as nothing more thananimals, then that is the backdrop of our entire history together. So if this cartoon is in any way making a generalization of that fact, simply saying"It's 2009, get over it" is REALLY oversimplifying things...

 

[emkay]

Dumb cartoon because it only applies to a small percentage of whites. What about the millions of European immigrants that came over here in the early 20thcentury with little or nothing? They made it on their own.

 

[teamjordan79]

Dumb cartoon because it only applies to a small percentage of whites. What about the millions of European immigrants that came over here in the early 20th century with little or nothing? They made it on their own.


word and if u look deeper into history, some europeans were slaves too at one point (thats were the term comes from: slavs/slavic people). Not to mentionserfdom and other types of forced labor.

Cartoons like this are just adding fuel to the fire

 

[whiterails]

Originally Posted by eNPHAN

Originally Posted by PeterJamesThe3rd

Originally Posted by ittakesalittlebitmore

Originally Posted by PeterJamesThe3rd

Anyway back to the topic... the white man has wrong a lot of people... Asian, native American Caribbean, black ect...

the difference is black people complain about it the most... but didn't even get it the worse... when was the last time you heard a Indian say.. dam the white man took all my land and is keeping me down... never...

get over it....

why do white people like you feel the need to control peoples responses everytime??
How can you get over something that still persists and doesnt affect you?

Im far from white.. my people got done much worse +*#@ my native people don't exist...... we got over it and bettered ourselves...

, it's PAINFULLY obvious you know absolutely ZERO native americans....

assuming i don't know myself... does my mother or father count?

, well, the small number of native americans EYE have met certainly weren't "over it"

congrats to you though, perfectly assimilating...

That is so not assimilating, and that is SUCH a dirtbag thing to say. Do you actually look down on successful blacks who don't complain? Or just Natives?

 

[whiterails]

double

 

[r33p04s]

the ignorance is abundant in this thread

 

[kix4kix]

Originally Posted by emkay

Dumb cartoon because it only applies to a small percentage of whites. What about the millions of European immigrants that came over here in the early 20th century with little or nothing? They made it on their own.

Of course they did, with an equal education, rights, as well as several other amenities blacks went without. That logic is flawed SORRY.

 

[mytsharp]

Like I said in another thread.

I don't know why you dudes even bother to discuss race OR religion with some of these people online.

It's like talking to a brick wall that doesn't believe in Jesus.

My-T.

 

[lamarownsem]

Apologies do not need to be given by descendants of those that owe the apology.

 

[in yo nostril]

Originally Posted by kix4kix

Originally Posted by emkay

Dumb cartoon because it only applies to a small percentage of whites. What about the millions of European immigrants that came over here in the early 20th century with little or nothing? They made it on their own.

Of course they did, with an equal education, rights, as well as several other amenities blacks went without. That logic is flawed SORRY.

you're right. no white people were ever $%@@ on in america or anything.

 

[r33p04s]