Yvonna Russell: Delicious Diva Sasha Allen
The language of the Tea Party has consisted mostly of thinly-veiled animosity thrust toward the black man in the Oval Office who doesn't seem to know his place. The idea of "taking back America" and "returning America to its roots," can be translated to saying that America isn't a country that's supposed to be run by that " hoity-toity, high fallutin, black guy with the Muslim name."
So, what better way to celebrate new-found Republican power than to read the United States Constitution out loud in the chambers of Congress? Sure, we might bore the heck out of a few lawmakers and waste a day that could be spent doing something productive, but why aim for substance when symbolism is a far better marketing tool?
Most interesting is that those who seemed so enthusiastic about reading the Constitution were not so eager to read the parts of the document that made reference to slavery. They also skipped sections that reminded them that women were not allowed to vote, or that the country once considered black people to be three-fifths of a person. Their decision to overlook the political poison on which they've been feeding is reflective of their insistence that their attacks on Obama and black America have nothing to do with race. So, as the Right Wing seeks to restore its connection to the founding fathers of this nation, they are less than willing to admit that they've also inherited the crippling biases that plagued those who wrote the document they worship so much. In other words, they are saying "I inherited all the good genes from my father, but none of the bad ones."
Let's break it down in an honest way: The relentless pursuit of liberty and American freedoms that Tea Partiers, Birthers and Right Wingers claim to embrace came from the revolutionary spirit instilled by America's founders. America is one of a small number of countries in the world where all of us are free to express our discontent with political leaders without fear of significant retribution. At the same time, the lynch mob mentality that Tea Partiers have used to attack the first black president and paint him as an unqualified, bumbling, unAmerican buffoon was also inherited directly from those who once dragged black men out of their homes and burned them alive in front of their families. So, the Tea Partiers, Birthers and a large portion of the Right Wing represent some of the most beautiful traditions in American history, as well as some of the ugliest.
To members of the Republican Party: If you're going to read the Constitution out loud, read the entire thing and read it with full accountability. You cannot inherit the assets of an institution without also taking on its liabilities. Intelligent conservatives understand in the back of their minds, that America owes reparations to African Americans, that it has not treated us fairly for 400 years, and that the two-tiered society in which we live was created and sustained by traditions similar to the ones they are celebrating right now. If you are truly committed to making America great, you will honestly confront the sins of your father and make amends, rather than selectively altering language in order to pretend that your father was perfect. You can't make genuine progress on America's future by maintaining a dishonest and delusional view of its past. That's as illogical as Sarah Palin trying to become president.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. 
Comments: (56)
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By: thoththebuilder on 1/09/2011 1:27PM
It's funny to me how America's "White Guilt Complex" has turned to "White Denial Complex". Why shouldn't they leave out the texts relating to slavery? They have convienently excluded our accomplishments from their history books. When you speak to white people about racism, police brutality or any other negative racial issue most whites act as if they've contracted an instant case of indegestion.
The Black people they do acknowledge are only those that make them feel comfortable,(we only have ONE person in our American History that deserves a Holiday?)take for instance Crispus Attucks, before I studied our history on my own I thought he was the only Black Person that served in the revolutionary war!
If they are not in denial they pick and choose very carefully who they acknowledge. Anyone who is waiting for White America collectively to change this behavior is fooling themselves. My existence of a Black Man in this country became much easier when I held THIS truth to be self evident...
That all men are created equal in this country... IF you happen to be white or close enough to it. Thanks Doc for another great article, keep them coming.
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By: Cloudwalker on 1/09/2011 1:52PM
You DO have only one black person who has his own holiday. That's one more than any white man.
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By: The Truth on 1/09/2011 2:09PM
Slavery has ended in America
Racism has yet to succumb, but I will continue to do what I can.
Women can vote now. Reflect negatively if you will, but remember to go vote so it may never happen again.
To hold a person accountable for what others have done before them is one lesson we should learn to unlearn.
If you're 100% of anything, make it good.
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By: arriethom1 on 1/09/2011 9:53PM
Until America start to have an honest dialog about race in this country and truly acknowledge the atrocities rather than make it a footnote in American history, then this country will always be divided.
Unfortunately, I feel that we as African Americans will lose this part of history because we refuse to talk about it or educate our children about it.
Many of us think that white ice is colder than black ice. Until we start to show respect to each other regardless of our social or income status, then we as a whole will have very little progress.
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By: ARNEADER on 1/10/2011 2:06AM
Dr. Boyce, White people to care about whats fair, what's right or wrong. All white people care about are themselves...hell they will sell their mama...less but her in an old folks home.
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By: gary on 1/10/2011 5:41AM
If you read, or have ever read, the Constitution, you will note that there have been 27 Amendments. The amended parts have been lined out as they are no longer a part of our living Constitution. hence, you do not read them. You read the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. We were smart enough to see the errors of our forefathers and changed the Constitution accordingly. Does it make you feel better that Congress read what you already know, and that which one doesn't read? The purpose of this entire exercise was to draw our leadership back to the Constitution and its principles. Slavery was a horrible institution which no longer exists. Read about it, hate it and understand it, but to dwell on it retards our growth.
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By: Dj on 1/10/2011 9:07AM
You are so right thoththebuilder. The pen is "mighter then the sword", at lease as it applies to the 21th century, there are so many way's of writing history and some people are willing to omit and just plain lie about history.One that some of their family members played part's in. This is shameful. It is almost like they know that what happened was morally wrong, so they will just omit it.
Other country's are going ahead with education, jobs, health care and many very important issue's. While America has lost it's soul. The issue's of Black, White. Brown and Red is causing our country to fall short, we are falling apart from the inside out.
We must teach each other to LOVE one another and not from a religious point , but from the human
factor.
We have the leadership to overcome anything, but the willingness for some people to take leadership from people that are different in color or religious belief is a problem. America doesn't need to police the world, we need to police ourselves, this a must do NOW.
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By: kirok on 1/12/2011 7:09AM
@thoththebuilder,
As a white guy, I can tell you that the problem is that white folks are tired of having the fact rammed down our throats. We are tired of hearing the whining from black folks, and not all mind you, but people like you who use it as a cructch. I mean for God sakes. White people know about slavery and how it was very wrong. It was a time in our countries history that was terrible. For you also to write your opinion about Black accomplishments in American history, and the lack of acknowledgment by whites, I find without merit. Blacks celebrate Black Histoy month in Feb. It is a month where the same accomplishments by African Americans that you claim white people don't acknowledge are professed. Do you think if Vets of WW2 constantly bashed the Japanese for Pearl Harbor and the start of WW2, that it would bring justice or closer. I can tell you by experience that the Japanese of today know that what they did in WW2 was wrong. Yet we don't beat them down constantly. The same applys to Whites. We already know it was a terrible time in our history, but to constanly having it reminded of it is not getting you any further ahead. In fact, when someone tries to remind me of the fact of slavery and your opinion in general, it makes me go on the defensive. I didn't take part in slavery, and 99.9% of White Americans didn't either. So stop trying to levy on us this guilt complex about slavery, because my friend you wake up every morning just like me a free man. You could be waking up under a dictatorship in shackles like some people do in this world. Stop your whining.
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By: westfall on 1/09/2011 2:20PM
Excellent article. @cloudwalker - you're joking about no white man having his own holiday, right?
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By: James Ward on 1/10/2011 12:59AM
That's one of the WORST articles that Boyce..the "race-hustler" has submitted - and it's FULL of LIES!
1) The title of his article is a LIE. Republicans didn't pretend that slavery never happened. That's Boyce..the "race-hustler's" interpretation of things. Several Democrats volunteered and participated in the reading of the constitution (without complaint)..as did Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords, who read the first amendment. I guess Boyce, the "race-hustler" is accusing the critically injured congresswoman of participating in "his perceived"
slight against blacks as well? That's showing real CLASS Boyce!
2) Boyce, the "race-hustler" leads one to believe that the three-fifths clause was a slight against the humanity of blacks..but, as the "race-hustler" should know, the three-fifths clause was applied by anti-slavery proponents to prevent the slave states from gaining more pro-slavery representatives in Congress. So the three-fifths clause benefited blacks. But, the TRUTH of that doesn't further the "race-hustler's" agenda - so Boyce LIED concerning it.
3) Lastly..Boyce, the "race-hustler" implies that Republicans are guilty of "dragging black men out of their homes and burning them alive in front of their families" - this is the most egregious LIE of all.
The "race-hustler" is aware that the Republican Party fought and legislated AGAINST slavery..and that it WAS his beloved DEMOCRATS that FOUGHT, BLED and DIED to keep slavery legal. It was also the "race-hustler's" beloved DEMOCRATS (and their KU KLUX KLAN..which was established to terrorize blacks and to prevent the newly freed slaves from voting Republican) that DRAGGED BLACK MEN FROM THEIR HOMES AND BURNED THEM ALIVE IN FRONT OF THEIR FAMILIES!
I believe that Boyce, the "race-hustler" is aware of the last fact, but again..it DOESN'T fit into his political agenda. Though, it's entirely possible that Boyce, the "race-hustler" is so SELF-DILUTED and infused with an IRRATIONAL HATRED of anything Republican..that he actually believes the crap and outright LIES that litter this article.
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