Hello Meltingpot Readers,
This morning I hardly feel like writing. My heart is so heavy and my mind is so distracted by these horrible acts of violence that have taken place in the last few days. Two Black people were gunned down at a grocery store in Kentucky. Eleven people were executed while worshipping at their synagogue in Pittsburgh and pipe bombs arrived on the doorsteps of high-ranking democratic leaders and at CNN headquarters.
As a Black woman, a journalist, a liberal leaning voter, and the close friend and neighbor to many Jewish people, I feel personally under attack. I feel scared for the lives of all those I love and hold dear. One of the victims in the Kentucky shooting, in fact, was the cousin of a good friend of mine. This country feels like it’s on the brink of another civil war, where the two sides would be divided by race, religion and ethnicity.
Interestingly, I’ve seen people respond to last week’s tragedy by saying America is better than this or that they are surprised we have descended into this place of racial hatred. On the other hand, I’ve seen people give the equivalent of an online eye roll at the naiveté of such thinking, and then take to reminding folks that America has always trafficked in racial violence and that what we are witnessing is not surprising given our shameful history.
THE DIVIDED STATES OF AMERICA IS ONLY A MYTH
If you’ve been a faithful reader of this blog, then you know I have an axe to grind with anyone who believes this country has always been a segregated nation. The truth is, segregation has always been the government’s (or white male power structure’s) response to a nation that was becoming too integrated. In the 17th century, when Blacks and whites started marrying in greater numbers, anti-miscegenation laws were drafted. When the Chinese community became too large in California in the 19th century, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was enacted. In the early 20th century when Maine’s government wanted to convert an island inhabited by a Mixed-race community into a resort area, they evicted all of the people from the island and destroyed any evidence of their existence.
Integrated communities, interracial relationships, and a dependence on immigration is our true legacy as a nation, but segregation is what we have been force-fed by our leaders because it keeps them in power and keeps us distrustful of one another.
CHOOSE LOVE, NOT HATE
It’s so much easier to believe that America has never been the mythical meltingpot described in early 20th century literature. We can just stay hunkered down with our own tribes and be about our business. Except recent events say we can’t. They will come for us because we’re too dark, too ethnic, too different. They will come for us because we speak with accents, we love across color lines and we worship a God by a different name. Trust, they will come unless we do something to stop them. We need to radically resist the lies we’ve been fed that America was built on hate.
AMERICAN HISTORY IS A DIVERSE HISTORY
Sometimes, in order to see a way forward, we have to look back. Too often we look back and fixate only on the racial violence and discrimination. When we do that, we are condemning ourselves to stay mired in pain. More importantly, we are literally playing into the hands of the white men who want to stay in power. As long as we refuse to acknowledge that we are more powerful together, Black, Brown, Asian, Christian, Jewish, immigrant, native-born, then they will win. They will keep us fighting amongst each other, hoarding our resources for ourselves and not speaking up when harm is done to another. And they will win.
In some ways, this is a civil war. It is a war between the civil and the uncivil. A war between those who respect and appreciate diversity and those who fear difference. Those who fear difference, who use fear to inflame their hatred, are weak and ignorant. They truly believe in a superiority based on lies. And let know, anyone is susceptible to that level of thinking, of believing that those who are different are a natural enemy.
I say, look back at history and remind yourself that we are a nation that gravitated towards diversity until it was interrupted by fear mongers and power brokers. What would happen if we didn’t let them win? What would happen if we stood up for one another and against hate in whatever form? We would win.
Here are five resources to begin your own journey of seeing where Americans of different ethnic backgrounds did get along. Maybe you know these stories already. Maybe you just need a refresher to remind yourself that we can do better, that we’ve done better when times were even harder than this. And feel free to pass this list along, or better yet, add on to it in the comments below.
1. The Story of Maine’s Malaga Island: An interactive website.
2. The True Story of the Melungeons of Kentucky: They were not descendents of Portuguese explorers, but rather, descendants of marriages between Free Black men and their white wives.
3. The Unexamined History of Black and Irish Families in 19th Century New York City: A lengthy article written by Virginia Ferris.
4. Father Divine and the International Peace Movement: A thorough article about this interracial religious movement led by a Black man married to a white woman.
5. Multicultural Roots in Revolutionary America: A short article that highlights the diversity in America from its earliest days of existence.
I appreciate you, dear readers and I want this blog to be a source of comfort and community when the world has gone mad. Thank you for being here.
Peace!
Comments
2 responses to “American History Is Not Defined by Hate”
Wonderful post. Thanks for the information. I will be looking into all that you suggested.
Angela,
Thank you! I hope the information inspires and informs!