If you were to go to an American school and asked, when did slavery ended in the United States?  Most students would probably say after the Civil War. They would say this because most American text books say as much. American text books for students below the 8th are more likely to begin this period of American history with Reconstruction. The period when one form of slavery was substituted for another: sharecropping.

According to Douglas Blackmon, a native Mississippian and Wall Street reporter  who works in the Atlanta bureau slavery, work for no wages, continued in America long after Reconstruction. In Slavery by Another Name, Mr. Blackmon writes about the peculiar American institution in its new form which lasted well up until World War II. While Americans were courageously  freeing Jews from Nazi concentration camps in Europe, America had her own prison camps which were full of black men. Just as the Japanese had been sent to camps on the west coast, blacks were sent to prisons in south. According to Mr. Blackmon,  a black man could simply be  "kidnapped" or charged for a minor  fracture of the law,  put in prison and sold to a heavy industrial company like Sloss-Sheffield mine in Coalburg, Alabama. 

In an interview with Tavis Smiley,  he explained that the North was complicit in holding black people in bondage despite the passage of the 13th Amendment. Mr. Blackmon said that 19th century white Americans grew tired of the effort it took move black people out of slavery during Reconstruction and into citizenship. This is difficult to believe because many black men fought in the Civil War, World I and World II.  It is difficult to believe that black men would fight even though they knew they weren't absolutely free. When they fought and came home they could, through not fault of their own, end up a slave. With his book, Mr. Blackmon, a white southern man, is trying explain some of the problems America and Americans are having coming to grips with some of most unpleasant issues in the country. Some of these issues similar to slavery were seemingly left in 19th century but in reality they are the ghost that still haunt American history in the 20th and 21st centuries. Perhaps this may  even explain the ever growing prison industry in the United States.

I was moving around the web and I came across this article by Noam Sheiber which is also featured on the front page of TPM. It is a good question. After reading the article, I could image myself attending a church like Trinity because they have a progressive ministry. Trinity reminds me of Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. Glide is the church featured in the film "Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith. The mission of Glide and churches like Trinity are to provide services to those most in need in our country. I know that Glide provides a daily meal, counseling, HIV services housing and drug treatment services just to name a few. The most famous program at Glide is the free Thanksgiving dinner. The good people line up severals hours before doors open.

 I remember going to Glide and hearing Cecil Williams ( who starred in The Pursuit of Happyness as himself ) deliver the word much like Rev. Wright does from his pulpit. It is a rollercoaster ride. Williams, who is now retired, practiced what he preached with a fierce intensity. According to the article, it seems like Rev. Wright did the the same outreach Williams did at Gilde. I loved the congregation because every ethnic group sat in the pews and heard the same message. It is always so crowded on Sundays. They welcome anyone; even a poor wretch like me. The half dozen times that I went to Glide, were some the of the most uplifting spiritual moments in my life. Rev. Wright and Cecil Williams are two tremendous people in the lives of people who are most forgotten in our society.

So I can see why Sen. Obama may have been attracted to Trinity. I am attracted to churches like these even though I consider myself agnostic.

I was moving around the web and I came across this article by Noam Sheiber which is also featured on the front page of TPM.  It is a good question. After reading the article, I could image myself attending a church like Trinity because they have a progressive ministry. Trinity reminds me of Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. Glide is the church featured in the film "Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith. The mission of Glide and churches like Trinity are to provide services to those most in need in our country.  I know that Glide provides a daily meal, counseling, HIV services housing and drug treatment services just to name a few. The most famous program at Glide is the free Thanksgiving dinner. The good people line up severals hours before doors open.

 I remember going to Glide and hearing Cecil Williams ( who starred in The Pursuit of Happyness as himself ) deliver the word much like Rev. Wright does from his pulpit. It is a rollercoaster ride. Williams, who is now retired, practiced what he preached with a fierce intensity. According to the article, it seems like Rev. Wright did the the same outreach Williams did and Gilde.  I loved the congregation because every ethnic group sat in the pews and heard the same message. It is always so crowded on Sundays. They welcome anyone; even a poor wretch like me.  The half dozen times that I went to Glide, were some the of the most uplifting spiritual moments in my life.  Rev. Wright and Cecil Williams are two tremendous people in the lives of people who are most forgotten in our society.

So I can see why Sen. Obama may have been attracted to Trinity. I am attracted to churches like these even though I consider myself agnostic.


 

Like Bionic Soy, I saw the full unedited, unparsed broadcast of Rev. Wright from the National Press Club on C-SPAN. I also saw the edited, parsed and tell us what to think version on MSNBC as well.

I will admit that Rev. Wright is difficult to swallow in sound-bites or through the eyes and words of the talking heads.  However when viewed in full, he is on point. He talks about reconciliation between white and black people. The backdrop he chooses to use is historical and sometimes biblical . Most Americans don't realize that his church was part and parcel of the Underground Railroad. He talked about the role of white Americans in the Underground Railroad.  He, also in his address at the National Press Club, talked about the role his church played a role in founding the Historical Black Colleges and Universities; these churches included white Americans. After watching MSNBC, I didn't see that mentioned.  He says what really needs to be said. He is talking to us like we are grown ups. He isn't pandering to the fears we might have from learning the truth about our country.

How do I know he is telling the truth? Prior to viewing his speeches at the NAACP dinner, at National Press Club I was doing genealogical research. I have been doing genealogy for about 8 years now. I know he is telling the truth.  He, for example, he mentioned the Black Codes. My family ran into Ohio's Black Codes. I know my family had to face the Black Codes because I have records like U.S. Census schedules to prove it.  The State of Ohio enacted laws to limit the movement of people of color. I believe people of color had to post a $500 (in 1800 dollars) surety bond to enter the former Northwest Territory. Jeremiah Wright didn't write the Black Codes he just shined a light on them (google Ohio and Black Codes).

Furthermore, I have records (records not written by me) from the State Library of Virginia which further confirm the painful history of black people in the United States. I have records from the Historical Society of Albemarle County, Virgina (Thomas Jefferson's home county) and from the Charlottesville Courthouse which prove what Rev. Wright is trying to say. If more information is needed please look up the American Colonization Society. Virginia offered a statement of "profound regret" for the treat and mistreat of people of color but this only the first step in a long process.

Like Rev. Wright said, this is bigger than Sen.Obama, Sen. Clinton or Sen. McCain.

p.s. If you need references, I am willing to offer them.

I didn't believe it when I saw it. Ed Rendell singing Louis Farrakhan's praises. Will Youtube be the undoing of big media corporations?