Anjuan Simmons: What President Barack Obama Would Mean to Me
Kevin D. Hendricks
· 1 year ago
Good words. I'm pretty excited about the possibility of a historic president, too.
As great as it would be if the U.S. elects a black man (or even a woman), I think the last 8 years have shown us that winning an election doesn't mean much for where the country is willing to go. All you need is 51% (or less) of the vote to win, and that leaves a lot of people who disagree.
But that's a minor quibble.
Anjuan
· 1 year ago
Thanks, Kevin! I hope that we can somehow move away from being such a divided country. I think this will come when we abandon the obsolete views that prop up the illusion of differences between people. I think that many Americans have very similar interests, hopes, and dreams. I also hope that Obama gets far more than 51% of the popular vote!
Nelson
· 1 year ago
The fact that Mr. Obama is even running for president would have been unthinkable as little as fifty years ago. The fact that he could win is wonderful. If he does, I hope and pray he will be a good president on many levels. We as a nation have come a long way and have a long road ahead. Maybe he can help light the way. Pax, N.
APGifts
· 7 months ago
.
Since mention was made of the topic of 'house and 'field' slave -- I just wanted to note that -- actually --- this false concept that so many people have -- that the lighter-complexioned chattel slaves “had it easier” or “thought they were better” than the darker-complexioned slaves – and / or “relaxed in the big house” while the darker-complexioned slaves “suffered in the fields” -- is very much like the infamous ‘Willie Lynch Letter’ Hoax) all VERY MUCH AN URBAN MYTH (and is one which, in nearly every way that’s possible, completely defies the true historical recorded account.
The historical record shows that those enslaved people who were of a lighter-complexion (i.e. mulatto-lineage) and that were found on the continental United States during the antebellum (chattel slavery) era were actually treated MUCH, MUCH WORSE than were those enslaved people who were of a darker-complexion.
In fact, record shows that most of the White people (specially the White women) tended to look upon the lighter-complexioned slaves as being mere 'mongrels of miscegenation' (resulting largely from the rapes caused by overseers); in their disgust at the sight of these slaves -- insisted that they be "banished to the fields"; and also then purposefully reserved most of the 'big house' positions (ex. mammy, cook, driver, etc) for the darker-complexioned slaves --- who most of the White people perceived as being "more loyal, docile, less competitive" -- and, equally important, of a skin tone which could never cause them to be mistaken for 'white' or a possible member of the plantation owners' own family.
And this maltreatment was generally even much more so the case if the lighter-complexioned enslaved person was 'suspected' (by a wife, sister or daughter -- who ran “the big house”, while a ‘male’ family member ran “the plantation”) of possibly being the offspring of a plantation owner (or his son, father or brother).
In addition, the few lighter-complexioned enslaved people that were actually permitted to do any work within the house were – as punishment for having the lowly status of “mongrel” and in order to make sure they did not become “too uppity” -- kept under much more severe supervision (by both the White women who ran the plantation household and also by the darker-complexioned enslaved people) and under much more severe work detail than were most of the (more trusted) darker-complexioned enslaved people.
Books by Deborah Gray White; Paula Giddings; J. California Cooper; bell hooks’, etc. expose the truth about the urban-myth and show that the lighter slaves received NO special treatment and were (as mere "mongrels of miscegenation") usually treated much worse than were darker-complexioned slaves.
Hope this information is helpful & that everyone has a great day. :D
APGifts, thanks for your comments. You have inspired me to do more research into the specifics of how light skinned slaves were truly treated compared to darker skinned slaves. While my point did not address that specifically, I do have some fact checking to do. Thanks!
-Anjuan
APGifts
· 7 months ago
Hi Anjuan,
You are more than welcomed and please do feel free to contact me directly at soaptalk@hotmail.com, if I can be of any help in recommending resources which may be of help or interest for your research.
All Comments
As great as it would be if the U.S. elects a black man (or even a woman), I think the last 8 years have shown us that winning an election doesn't mean much for where the country is willing to go. All you need is 51% (or less) of the vote to win, and that leaves a lot of people who disagree.
But that's a minor quibble.
Pax,
N.
Since mention was made of the topic of 'house
and 'field' slave -- I just wanted to note
that -- actually --- this false concept
that so many people have -- that the
lighter-complexioned chattel slaves
“had it easier” or “thought they were
better” than the darker-complexioned slaves
– and / or “relaxed in the big house” while
the darker-complexioned slaves “suffered in
the fields” -- is very much like the infamous
‘Willie Lynch Letter’ Hoax) all VERY MUCH AN
URBAN MYTH (and is one which, in nearly every
way that’s possible, completely defies
the true historical recorded account.
The historical record shows that
those enslaved people who were of a
lighter-complexion (i.e. mulatto-lineage)
and that were found on the continental
United States during the antebellum
(chattel slavery) era were actually treated
MUCH, MUCH WORSE than were those enslaved
people who were of a darker-complexion.
In fact, record shows that most of the White
people (specially the White women) tended to
look upon the lighter-complexioned slaves
as being mere 'mongrels of miscegenation'
(resulting largely from the rapes caused
by overseers); in their disgust at the sight
of these slaves -- insisted that they be
"banished to the fields"; and also then
purposefully reserved most of the 'big
house' positions (ex. mammy, cook, driver,
etc) for the darker-complexioned slaves ---
who most of the White people perceived as
being "more loyal, docile, less competitive"
-- and, equally important, of a skin tone
which could never cause them to be mistaken
for 'white' or a possible member of
the plantation owners' own family.
And this maltreatment was generally
even much more so the case if the
lighter-complexioned enslaved person
was 'suspected' (by a wife, sister or
daughter -- who ran “the big house”,
while a ‘male’ family member ran “the
plantation”) of possibly being the
offspring of a plantation owner
(or his son, father or brother).
In addition, the few lighter-complexioned
enslaved people that were actually permitted
to do any work within the house were – as
punishment for having the lowly status of
“mongrel” and in order to make sure they
did not become “too uppity” -- kept under
much more severe supervision (by both the
White women who ran the plantation household
and also by the darker-complexioned enslaved
people) and under much more severe work
detail than were most of the (more trusted)
darker-complexioned enslaved people.
Books by Deborah Gray White; Paula Giddings;
J. California Cooper; bell hooks’, etc.
expose the truth about the urban-myth and
show that the lighter slaves received NO
special treatment and were (as mere "mongrels
of miscegenation") usually treated much
worse than were darker-complexioned slaves.
Hope this information is helpful
& that everyone has a great day. :D
-- AP (soaptalk@hotmail.com)
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-Anjuan
You are more than welcomed and please
do feel free to contact me directly at
soaptalk@hotmail.com, if I can be of any
help in recommending resources which may
be of help or interest for your research.
Have a nice day.
-- AP