Black Lives Matter Occasionally

The plight of Blacks in America began in the 1500s with the African slave trade.  When African Kings warred and prisoners were taken they were sold as slaves by these African Kings to Portuguese slave traders to transport by boat and sell to plantation owners in America.  The “New World” required labor to do agricultural work. Slavery had been practiced for millennia to deal with defeated populations.

Some conquerors simply killed their captives to avoid later having themselves and their families become victims of revenge. Others chose to enslave captives to provide labor. A few conquerors integrated the conquered populations to become subject of their conquerors. Since 5000 BC, slaves were created and sold and some could win their freedom and citizenship based on their abilities.

In America, millions of American Indians died from small pox; they had no immunity and were infected through contact with goods traded by Europeans (who did have immunity).  In South America, the Portuguese enslaved South American Indians.  In North America, as plantations were created, African slaves were bought to do agricultural work on these plantations.

When the United States was founded in the New England States in the 1770s, plantation slavery was an integral part of the economy and slaves were listed as assets of the owners.  There were no tractors and no 401Ks.  But the US Declaration of Independence stated that “all men are created equal” and the Founders knew that slavery would need to be abolished.  The 1800s saw the beginning of the Industrial Revolution with the use of the Steam Engine to replace wind and water wheel energy to develop railroads and factory equipment.  By the 1850s, there were no steam-driven tractors and agriculture remained manual except for Ox, Mule and Horse powered plows and wagons.

The Civil War (1861-1865) resulted in freeing all African Slaves in the US and was the first time “Black Lives Mattered” in the US on a large scale.  Black soldiers fought for the US in the Civil War, as they had done in the Revolutionary War and Wars of Expansion. 

Slaves had been freed prior to “Emancipation”, but not many.  Freed slaves moved out of the agricultural states to pursue other jobs.  Some remained and became share-croppers and learned other trades.  Some saved their money and were able to buy land. Black colleges were founded and home-schooling provided basic reading and math skills.

After 1865, Black Lives Mattered except for KKK crimes and Jim Crow Laws in the Southern States.  Racial discrimination forced blacks to develop their own economy providing goods and services to Black Communities.

Black Americans tended to live together in groups. Blacks elected their own Black politicians and created banks, insurance companies, restaurants, retail stores, construction and manufacturing firms.  Black colleges produced Black physicians, dentists, veterinarians, teachers, college professors and lawyers.  Black families built churches and schools. Blacks served in World War I, World War II and were finally integrated into the US Military.

Integration in the 1960s promised to allow Blacks in all States access to education and travel that was not readily available everywhere, but the price they would pay would be steep. Their solid black economy and the stability of black families would be the price.  The Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s produced the War on Poverty that provided welfare income to single moms, but marriage became a disqualifier. The Women’s Movement in the 1970s produced “Abortion Rights”.  Blacks suffered disproportionate representation in Welfare and Abortion, Unemployment, Imprisonment, Drug Use and Crime.  

Inflation in the 1970s began the decimation of the US Middle Class.  The off-shoring of manufacturing in the 1990s further decimated the US Middle Class.  Excessive low wage illegal immigration soaked up low wage jobs beginning in the 1980s and replaced teenagers, who could have learned how to work.  Mexican illegals replaced US citizens in all construction jobs.  Public Education stopped concentrating on reading, math and useful information needed to function.

We have seen the decline of the Black Economy as Large US Companies off-shored their manufacturing and Franchise Giants have replaced Black grocery, retail stores and restaurants with Big Company chains.

By 2016, we had enough and elected Trump.  He used corporate tax reduction and the elimination of unnecessary regulations and tariffs to give US companies a chance to bring back jobs to the US.  Trump began to finally close the Mexican border and restrict welfare immigrants from bringing drugs and taking US jobs. Trump is reducing “refugee” immigration and wants immigration based on merit and need, so that US citizens will have most jobs available to them.

Trump brought Black Unemployment down to 3.5% and as we add manufacturing jobs to US factories he will do it again.  Trump increased oil and gas production to make the US energy independent and he restarted steel and aluminum manufacturing.  China’s willful failure to contain the Covid19 pandemic has given Trump a needed excuse to bring back pharmaceuticals, ingredient mining, auto and electronics manufacturing to the US and out of China. Trump believes that the US should produce what it consumes.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader