White History Month

Every year without fail, during Black History Month, black people catch flack for celebrating, accused of racism for focusing only on black history and accomplishments. Often it’s asked, “Why don’t we have a White History Month?” Well, I thought I’d share something I saw on Facebook, a list of things that should be highlighted during that month, if ever created:
1 Cherokee Trail of Tears
2 Japanese-American internment
3 Philippine-American War
4 Jim Crow
5 The genocide of Native Americans
6 Transatlantic slave trade
7 The Middle Passage
8 The history of White American racism
9 Black Codes
10 Slave patrols
11 Ku Klux Klan
12 The War on Drugs
13 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
14 How white racism grew out of slavery and genocide
15 How whites still benefit from slavery and genocide
16 White anti-racism
17 The Southern strategy
18 The rape of enslaved women
19 Madison Grant
20 The Indian Wars
21 Human zoos
22 How the Jews became white
23 White flight
24 Redlining/Gentrification
25 Proposition 14
26 Homestead Act
27 Tulsa Riots/Black Wall Street
28 Rosewood massacre
29 Tuskegee Experiment
30 Lynching
31 Hollywood stereotypes
32 Indian Appropriations Acts
33 Immigration Act of 1924
34 Sundown towns
35 Chinese Exclusion Act
36 Emmett Till
37 Vincent Chin
38 Islamophobia
39 Indian boarding schools
40 King Philip’s War
41 Bacon’s Rebellion
42 American slavery compared to Arab, Roman and Latin American slavery
43 History of the gun
44 History of the police
45 History of prisons
46 History of white suburbia
47 Lincoln’s racism and anti-racism
48 George Wallace Governor of Alabama
49 Cointelpro
50 Dotbusters
51 School tracking
52 Mass incarceration of black men
53 Boston school busing riots
54. Man made Ebola and A.I.D.S.
55  Church Bombings and fires in deep south to Blacks
56. Church Shootings
57. How the Irish and Italians became white
58. The Perpetuation of the idea of the “model minority”
59. Housing discrimination
60. Systematic placement of highways and building projects to create ghettos
61. Medical experimentation on poor PoC (people of color) especially Blacks (including surgical and gynecological experimentation)
62. History of Planned Parenthood
63. Forced Sterilization
64. Cutting children out of pregnant Black mothers as part of lynchings
65. Eurocentric beauty standard falsification
66. Erasure and eradication of all achievements of Ancient Africa and Kemet
67. White-washing of history and cultural practices of PoC
68. Media manipulation and bias
69. Perpetuation of the myth of reverse racism
70. The history of white cannibalism
71. White Fragility
72. Indian Removal Act
73. Red Summer of 1919
74. Compromise of 1877
75. The Assassination of Dr King

And a perspective about Black History Month from Zipporah LeGarde:

Black History Month, as well as other history months based on racial history, aren’t racist. BHM is no more racist than Breast Cancer Awareness month is discriminatory against other types of cancer. Racism is defined as privilege plus power, and something that uses racial lines to instill a hierarchy in society, usually with white on the top. So, from a sociological standpoint, only Euro-Americans can exercise racism, but racial minorities can only be prejudiced.

That being said, the purpose of these months is to highlight the contributions racial minorities have made to the fabric of America. Some of you believe we don’t “need” these months, bringing up what Morgan Freeman said (regardless of the fact most black and other minority intellectuals have written countless articles rebuffing his point of view. Sorry y’all, Freeman is an actor, not a race scholar, and doesn’t speak for the entire black race – we are not monolithic in our blackness). But you’re not looking at the larger picture. Tell me when, in school, you learned about a minority in history that wasn’t Harriet Tubman, MLK, George W. Carver, *maybe* Malcolm X, you see the point? And you *probably* learned about them during BMH.

Black History IS American History, and if our educational system made more of an effort to incorporate minorities (including women) into the story of how America came to be, it would then be unnecessary. But to say it’s racist not only is a gross misunderstanding of what racism actually is, but totally ignores the fact our educational system is highly Euro-centric. When you’re a racial, gender, or a member of other minority group, it means a lot to have positive models from your camp, to let you know you can achieve what they did, that you can be as successful.

Reverse Racism: DEBUNKED

Racism consists of both prejudice & discrimination based on social perceptions of biological differences between peoples. It often takes the form of social actions, practices or beliefs, or political systems that consider different races to be ranked as inherently superior or inferior to each other, based on presumed shared inheritable traits, abilities, or qualities.

Prejudice is a feeling of dislike towards a racial or ethnic group & discrimination is action taken to harm those whom you have prejudices against. The only persons on the planet who suffer from institutionalized prejudices are people of color (PoC), i.e. those of African descent, indigenous peoples, ‘Mexicans‘ & Asians (including those that are mixed with one or more of these ethnic groups), under the guise of white supremacy.

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Historically & including modern society, all of these groups have been oppressed based solely on their race/ethnicity by those who had the power & strong enough desire to do so: white people. Via laws, social norms, ideals & customs, discrimination has been institutionalized & has been able to continue by shared beliefs in white supremacy, which rationalizes racist actions & mindsets. White privilege is the fact that all white people benefit from the ongoing legacy of practiced racism (whether they are personally racist or not). Those who do not believe that white privilege exists are those who have failed to grasp a full understanding of it, or consciously dismissed the concept. White people often tell black people not to attribute slavery to their current situations & positions despite the fact that slavery & the following systematic racism is how whites got into theirs!

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Reverse racism does not exist because PoC do not have any institutions in operation that specifically work against whites that they are able to benefit from, nor is there any historical evidence to suggest that any attempts to do so by PoC have ever been made. The reverse racism theory was concocted as a weak defense for white supremacist ideals. The reverse of racism would be NO racism at all, would it not? Some PoC are indeed prejudiced against whites, but even that is mainly based on generation after generation of them living under the institutionalized racism that is white supremacy. It’s not like racism, which is irrational & oppressive.

None of us asked to be born, nor did we get to choose our race. We are not responsible for the actions of our ancestors, but today’s whites do hold responsibility for allowing white supremacy to continue. If you’re not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. So just living comfortably within white privilege without actively attempting to put systematic racism to an end makes you no better or different than your predecessors who crafted it.

Being able to enjoy the benefits of white privilege does not mean that all white peoples lives are, or have the capability of being ‘perfect’ – everyone has problems. That doesn’t mean that the benefits can’t be reaped in the other various layers of a white persons life. Having an inherit unfair advantage doesn’t mean you’ll always win. There are lots of minorities who are doing far better than many whites. Whites can face oppression too via sexism & homophobia (just like straight black men are able to benefit from straight & male privileges), but they cannot face oppression based on their race alone because again, there isn’t any racism being institutionalized against them (not even the Irish). There’s really no debating who is being oppressed more (& in much harsher ways) than who; that is crystal clear…

Programs like welfare & Affirmative Action, or the NAACP (which was actually established & controlled by white Jews) were enacted to help people overcome the obstacle of institutionalized racism (not to expand racial inequalities or seek preferential treatment), but they have not succeeded in eliminating white supremacy & about 40% of welfare recipients are whites & that’s who welfare was originally erected to help, not PoC. Also, white women have been the largest benefactors of Affirmative Action.

There is no doubt in my mind that many whites are actually more than happy to pay into the welfare system, which many times has the tendency to cause it’s recipients to become apathetic. This retains them in low income neighborhoods, which keeps them out of many predominately white, economically sound communities. It also gives them a way to play victim & complain that their hard work & taxes are ‘taking care of’ welfare recipients. Quoting Dick Gregory, regarding the term neighborhood: a hood is something you put over something else that you don’t want anybody to see. They’d much rather PoC be in the slums & out of their sight, than living just as well as them & their children playing with & procreating with their sons & daughters.

Claiming to be “colorblind” (to not recognize people by their race at all) is actually quite disrespectful & also an act of racism. It prevents people from acknowledging & being sympathetic to all the struggles of PoC, erasing their cultures, history & personal experiences. Pretending that we’re all equal now because Obama is POTUS & Oprah is a billionaire & that just not talking about race at all will make racism magically go away, is a less than half-assed attempt to rid the world of racial injustices. Different ethnic backgrounds & cultures are real & do exist, so to be colorblind (albeit well intentioned) & overlook them is to deny part of a persons identity & is passively racist. Diversity is not the root of racism, white supremacy is.

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So if you’re white & reading this, now fully aware of your privilege & that reverse racism is nothing more than a myth & you are genuinely a decent person, you will use your privileges to help put an end to white supremacy. This requires reeducating other whites who are in denial & actively pursing other ways to stop racial injustices from continuing. Without such efforts, true equality will never exist!

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor ~ Desmond Tutu

Map: The Africa without Ebola

(Anthony England / @EbolaPhone)

By Adam Taylor November 3

Ebola is a frightening, unpredictable disease. Nearly 5,000 West Africans have died from the current outbreak with more than 13,000 people thought infected.

However, so far the problem remains largely limited to Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Two other countries, Nigeria and Senegal, have had cases, yet are now Ebola-free. The DR Congo had an outbreak of a different strain of Ebola that now looks like it might be contained. And while there has been one case of the disease in Mali, the patient died and no others have been confirmed at the time of writing — though that may well change.

Despite clear geographical limits to the Ebola outbreak, many Americans seem confused. How else could you explain the recent Ebola scare that kept two children who had moved from Rwanda to New Jersey from attending school, despite the fact the East African country is Ebola-free (and further from West Africa than New Jersey is to Texas)? Or the resignation of a teacher in Kentucky due to a backlash to her traveling to Kenya? Or the significant cancellation of tourist trips to places like Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa?

These countries are nowhere near the West African countries where Ebola is actually a problem. Frustrated by this, Anthony England, a British chemist who earned a doctorate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has spent a significant amount of time in sub-Saharan Africa, decided to make a map to help explain what countries currently have Ebola cases and which don’t. You can see the map above.

England has some relevant back story here as well: “I used to run scientific conferences in West Africa, to make leading scientific researchers, and problem solvers in general, in the West all the more aware of the pressing concerns of the developing world,” he explains in an e-mail. While his company, Mangosteen, ultimately wound down almost 10 years ago, he now sees the Ebola outbreak as proof that the West needs to pay more attention to what happens in Africa.

“In the case of this Ebola outbreak, a problem which does not yet have a scientific solution and which started in a village in the developing world is actually visiting New York City and the West,” he writes. “Eventually the rich world will realize that it makes no sense to leave one part of the world struggling in poverty with such terrible national infrastructures. Before it’s done, this Ebola outbreak might teach them all that.”

Ultimately, it was frustration that led England to make the map and share it on his Twitter account, which he uses to post information about Ebola. It has since spread around the Internet, with his initial post retweeted hundreds of times.

“Ignorance & misinformation is a big problem with Ebola. So a clueless Kentucky school causing the resignation of a teacher because she spent time in Kenya is just idiocy,” he writes, “And that idiocy leads to fear which leads to people like Chris Christie implementing nonsensical anti-science quarantine restrictions. Ebola in the U.S. is becoming a farce.”

Of course, there are some caveats to the map. England’s decision to not include Mali or the DR Congo, despite the fact neither have been declared free of Ebola, has caused some thoughtful criticism. England writes that he understands the criticism, but his point still stands: “There are only 3 problem countries, and the world needs to know that,” he explains. It’s a fair point. Africa is a vast, under-covered continent and Westerners often have trouble understanding its geography. To put Africa’s size into perspective, this map was created by Kai Krause.

 

Disturbia…..

MASS HYSTERIA

— other names include collective hysteria, group hysteria, or collective obsessional behavior — in sociology & psychology refers to collective delusions of threats to society that spread rapidly through rumors & fear. In medicine the term is used to describe the spontaneous manifestation of the same or similar hysterical physical symptoms by more than one person.

A common manifestation of mass hysteria occurs when a group of people believe they are suffering from a similar disease or ailment. Sometimes referred to as mass psychogenic illness or epidemic hysteria.

Now, just a few days ago, the POTUS signed an executive order that allows for quarantining of persons who symptoms of certain communicable diseases. It lists them as follows, directly from the White House website:

Severe acute respiratory syndromes, which are diseases that are associated with fever and signs and symptoms of pneumonia or other respiratory illness, are capable of being transmitted from person to person, and that either are causing, or have the potential to cause, a pandemic, or, upon infection, are highly likely to cause mortality or serious morbidity if not properly controlled.  This subsection does not apply to influenza.

Everyone is aware of the Ebola crisis happening in West Africa, and the worries Americans have about the doctor who was recently brought back home to Atlanta for treatment, which was aired for all to see, with him dressed in a protective suit. I’m not trying to downplay the seriousness of Ebola; I do believe that it’s real and happening, but I do not believe it’s as serious a threat to society as the media is making it out to be. It’s getting tons of coverage, there are images floating all over the internet of charts showing the symptoms over the days of progression without treatment. Being constantly bombarded with these images is causing a certain level of panic amongst Americans. As I mentioned above, it is very possible for people in a panic to convince themselves they are really sick, even if they aren’t & yet still display similar symptoms.

I’d really hate to see hundreds of thousands of people scaring themselves silly over this & end up being needlessly quarantined under this executive order. What could happen is, people who just think they are sick will be quarantined with people who actually are & then end getting it anyways. Eating healthy, staying clean, not worrying & getting plenty of sunshine (the Ebola virus is killed by UV ray exposure) should keep you in the clear. Take care of yourselves, and each other!

 

 

 

 

Black Friday

Did you know that there is no such thing as a black panther? Only melinated or melanistic leopards in Asia & Africa & jaguars in the Americas, their dark coats making them less conspicuous to predators & is a foraging advantage during night hunting.. (I wonder if the founders of the Black Panther Party knew this & that’s why they chose it?) Studies reported in New Scientist [2003] links melanism to beneficial mutations resulting in elevated disease resistance, finding it to be higher in melanistic cats than those with ‘normal’ color coats..

There are two types of melanin in the human body: Integumental Melanin & Neuromelanin. Integumental Melanin is skin melanin & Neuromelanin is internal melanin that exists in our brain, central nervous system & internal organs. Each cell in the human body has a brain & that brain is melanin. Melanin is measured by the amount of Neuromelanin we produce, the type that allows higher potentials, mentally, spiritually & physically. It is important for us to know that the color of our skin does not always determine the levels of melanin that exists internally. Some ‘races’ produce high levels of skin melanin but only very little Neuromelanin. It is also important to know that melanin, which is essentially black, does take on different shades of colors in nature. Nappy & curly hair people of African descent have the highest levels of Neuromelanin regardless of the shade of our skin. Note: there are many Alkebulan people who have become victims of pineal calcification mainly because of poor diet. Pineal calcification stagnates the production of melanin & the utilization of it.

Interesting how darkness & blackness has been found to be beneficial in so many different ways, yet it is always associated with evil… The black cat is bad luck if it crosses your path. Black magic is evil & white magic is good. Devils food cake is black & angel food cake is white. Restaurants are always boasting about using the white meat of the chicken, the driest & most flavorless part (sometimes even charging more for it), instead of the dark meat, which is juicier, more nutritious & flavorful. The black sheep is the disgrace of the family. If you notice, many of Disney’s villains have darker skin hues, colors or darker fur. Historical bubonic plagues have been called the black death. Being black balled is a negative vote for acceptance. Black market, blacklisted, etc, etc. Even improper English has been associated with black people: Ebonics. A disease that didn’t originate from Africa, nor African people: Ebola.

Racist propaganda exists in many forms & has been imbedded in the psyche of society for hundreds of years. Human beings are not naturally racist, they are conditioned to be so! Let’s undo this hurtful, harmful conditioning & treat each other with regard to our characters, not our colors!!!