Political Correctness, Segregation & Capitalism PART 6

These internalized, often unconscious, beliefs are especially problematic in the middle and lower-middle class because we are working hard. We hear again and again from white liberals and conservatives alike: “I’ve worked hard for everything I have.” And this is often true. Capitalism keeps us all working very hard. Working hard for what we have, however, makes us blind to all that has been unfairly taken from others and given freely to us as if we deserved it.

Let’s start with The Homestead Act of 1862. Knowing possession is nine tenths of the law, the US government practically gave away land--which they had stolen from Native peoples--to citizens and non-citizens who “had never borne arms against the U.S. government.” So when we hear stories of our Euorpean ancestors coming to this country “with nothing” and flourishing, it’s important to know that often that miraculous progress was only possible because of stolen land they got for free.

If your ancestors resided in the south as mine did, it is likely that their wealth was generated from slave labor. Even if they were not slave-holders, ALL people in this country profited from slave labor. Millions of hours of free labor generated very tangible wealth in this country. If you are white, this means your ancestors, and therefore you, profited from this wealth. If you are Black, this means that your ancestors, and therefore you, were denied this wealth despite having created it. Money, and poverty, are passed down generationally. Despite capitalism’s insistence that we are all on even footing, we are clearly not.

This is true for multiple non-white racial groups who were enticed here to work yet never allowed to profit from it. Read about The Bracero Program and the Chinese railroad workers and the Chinese Exclusion Act. What about all the Japanese families who lost businesses, homes, and all their possessions when they were put in internment camps during WWII?

There is a common theme throughout this country’s history: white folks profit from the exploitation of Black and Brown people. However comforting it may be to think, “that was a long time ago. I don’t have anything to do with it,” this is simply not true. It may not have been our personal decision to profit from other people, but that is what happened.The only question is, what are we going to do about it now?