RealityCheck

Reality Check: The U.S. Constitution and the Exclusion of African Americans

A Critical Reflection on the Black Experience in America At this pivotal moment in history, it’s essential for African Americans to take a clear-eyed look at their collective journey. Despite generations of progress, the persistent struggle against systemic barriers has led to a deep sense of generational fatigue. Just as Black communities gain momentum in shaping American society, opposing forces …

Juneteenth: A Commemoration to Slavery’s Formal Finality

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.  Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – which had become official January …

Pig Law

Pig Laws, A Modern Day Name for Slavery

Black Codes and Pig Laws August 2020 Immediately after the Civil War ended, Southern states enacted “black codes” that allowed African Americans certain rights, such as legalized marriage, ownership of property, and limited access to the courts, but denied them the rights to testify against whites, to serve on juries or in state militias, vote, or start a job without …

Judah P. Benjamin, Confederacy’s Second-In-Command

The Jewish second-in-command of the Southern Confederacy during the Civil War was once a United States senator. August 2020 Judah Philip Benjamin was born August 6, 1811 on the island of St. Croix in the Danish West Indies (the present-day Virgin Islands) to Jewish parents. At the time of his birth, Benjamin’s family was in transit from England to America. …

Fourth of July Buffoonery

July 2020 To Americans willing to turn a blind eye, for others that allow their silence as an affirmation, and further, those that have participated in the misguidance of the buffoon elected president, the present manifestations of malfeasance politics is chilling. Make no mistake, this present era of blatant racism and state sponsored fascism is evident to those that require …

Juneteenth: A Commemoration to Slavery’s Formal Finality

JUNE 2020 Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.  Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – which had become …