Race blog is back

Glad you are back if only for two days a week. Better luck this time around. I ask only one thing of you, if the topics
become hotly contested, please do not shut down. Blogging is not easy because of the asinine comments people will send
you. But you have been given a venue to give a perspective which some think they understand, but really don't get it.
Also, we must hear it even if heated disagreements via honest discourse occurs.

Happy Blogging

Congrats on your award Ms.Mitchell,great time to start back your blog on race.A dialogue is necessary ,those who think racism dont exist are probably the culprits themselves,keep up the great work......Peace

Its obvious that a dialogue on race in America is long overdue. Yet, it seems that just having a dialogue in itself is going to be tough work. The whole country is walking on eggshells now and instead of free speech, people are only free to say what is politically correct. Shaq talks stuff about Kobe and gets his volunteer sheriff's badge revoked. Northwestern yanks Rev. Wright's honorary degree after his sermons are maligned by the media. And now Wilmette cancels "Ragtime" because of the use of the "N" word?? So Black people aren't supposed to tell our stories cuz of who might be offended? That's ludicrious.

Actually, from a scientific basis, there is no thing such as "race". Race was a term coined by Darwin at the turn of the century to attempt to scientifically categorize differences he saw when he traveled around the world, and esp. to the Galapagos islands. Scientists cannot legitimately make any subcategories among our species, homo sapiens, simply because you can't make scientific categories out of hair color, type, eye color, etc. Our DNA is 99.5% the same. In fact, there are more differences in DNA between a miniature poodle and a standard size poodle, and you know how difficult it is to figure out which is which when it's a large "miniature" poodle or a smaller standard.

So when you talk about "race" you're talking pretty much our own imaginations.

Like the Easter Bunny and Fairies. But kids can see and talk to fairies and fairies make them laugh, so fairies are more likely to be real than race.

That's why the term now preferred is "identity group". If you think you're black, you are, if you think you're white you are, and then there are the Asians and redskins or yellowskins, whatever that is, etc.

I personally know "black" European Americans and "white" African Americans. Plenty of them.

As you can tell, my background's in science, I don't understand what all the fuss is about, because all of our chemical and structural make up is pretty much the same.

We think---therefore we are?

Joanne Marie you forgot to mention to whites that if they checked their own DNA it would come back to a common ancestor in Africa ..a black woman.I told this to some whites ,a few acted as though they wanted to jump out the window but the goofiest response I had was from one white guy who said that over the generations the "black"has worn off or
there could be
that some magical way that
he could fly off to some
alternate reality or
he could wash his DNA of his african ancestry,the media always "forgets" these scientific facts or relegates them to the back pages for fear of mass suicides from Caucasians.They reluctantly would have to come to the shocking reality eventually that they have been prejudiced and homicidically violent against their own "families".Talk about irony.Dont shoot the messenger cousins, the scientific studies were done by "caucasian"scientists.Me myself, I always felt we were one race,"THE HUMAN RACE"!

Bravo, Joanne. And, the same to other commenters, who have clearly identified the fallacy that is race. Time for Mary and a whole host of race-baiters to pass away into the history books. I pray for that.

This is for an interesting article you published comparing African Americans Great Tragedy with the Jewish holocaust. I just wanted to make a few points. Thank you.

Some in this post will have us believe that American slavery cannot be compared with the Jewish holocaust. I disagree. Rather it is the holocaust that should not be compared with African Americans in bondage in the United States. We know that six million Jews were exterminated. However, do you want me to believe that in the course of kidnapping Africans that millions were not lost as a result of lack of food, water, and unsanitary conditions. The holocaust lasted years while American slavery endured for centuries. During that time, white men raped my ancestors, sold families, whipped grown men (in the presence of their families), lynched black men, inculcated in fair skin blacks that they were better than the "darkies" that were "fully" black. We were stripped of our native tongues, culture, and religion. What can be more immoral than separating a person from his or her religion, knowledge of family lineage, and historical accomplishments, while attempting to convince the person that his or her ancestral heritage is backwards? Let's get serious.

The holocaust does not compare with black slavery in the U.S. I acknowledge that the holocaust was awful; however, slavery in the US was the Great Tragedy. Some of you still feel the need to distance yourselves from blacks; reasoning that slavery could not be as terrible and horrific as the holocaust. (Dare these uncivilized and immoral people compare their history to mine?) The only way to justify such a point is to acknowledge that blacks were docile, happy to serve, brutes, and savages and thus less than human, so what they endured were not really that tragic. (After all, they have a natural disposition to serve and entertain.) Of course, I beg to differ. These same people probably believe if given a situation where five white children were in danger and ten black children were in equal danger, that (if only one group could be saved) it would be better to save the five children—attributing more worth to them. These are the same people who argue it is irresponsible to compare the Jewish holocaust with African American slavery. They probably see no racism in their conclusion, as a fish does not notice the water. And remember we are told these are our “friends.” These are the same “friends” that told Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr to wait a while longer before demanding equal treatment before the state. Never mind that his ancestors have been waiting for centuries.

And they tell us that they are caring and compassionate. However, they refuse to live next to us or even attend the same school, even if the education institution is a few blocks away from their home. We worship the same god, yet they keep us at arms length. They believe they are complimenting us by musing you don not act black or you talk so proper. They do not understand that such remarks are condescending. As if being black was something one would naturally want to avoid if provided the opportunity. Moreover, they want us to believe that we are living so comfortable being treated “special” by the state. They lament over affirmative action programs in all its forms, as I do. I wish these entitlement programs would end as well; however, I suspect that white women would forcibly object to ending a program that has been so generous to them. Additionally, we are denied employment opportunities because we do not have a certain correct name. We have terrible encounters with law enforcement and those that enjoy a delightful relationship with this group cannot understand why we mistrust them. Yes, blacks are making out in this country just well. The school I attended on the south side of Chicago was just as strong academically as any other school in the city, sure.

The argument that black slaves are dead and many Jews were alive when they received compensation for their suffering so black descendants of slaves ought to stop trying to seek restitution is outlandish. When white parents die and pass along their wealth to their children and grandchildren, nothing is wrong. However, in trying to obtain my own ancestors earned income, I am told to just forget about it. I will not allow the labor provided by my ancestors to remain unpaid. Just as many of you believe that you are entitled to your parents' and grandparents' property, I too feel the same way about my ancestors. Yes, my ancestors may be dead; however, the entity that enslaved them remains. (I just assume that the U.S. government is holding my entitlement until formally requested.)

And to those "new comers" who claim to be "innocent", arguing that they have not benefitted from slavery. Well, you have. When those "new comers" came over, sure, they worked in harsh conditions. Nevertheless "free" blacks still did not enjoy one fifth of the freedoms enjoyed by these Europeans. These new immigrants could work hard to overcome their poverty in the U.S., while my ancestors were hindered in their pursuit of happiness. These ethnic whites were allowed to prosper and the U.S. government encouraged it with the G.I. Bill, federal subsidized housing loans, redlining and other welfare programs. Few blacks were allowed to enjoy those welfare programs offered to whites. Moreover, the property that white ancestors were allowed to purchase was used to afford their children a college education and provide these newly graduates with assistance in obtaining their own homes. Additionally, my ancestors did not receive the same kind of assistance from this government and had little to give their children. Thus, the home of your parents that you will surely inherit (that has remained in the family for generations) and use to put your own children in school will not happen for many blacks. I guess it is just a coincidence that as blacks begin to achieve some independence that those programs that were instituted after WWII were allowed to diminish. Today’s GI Bill does not offer half the value that it once offered in the 1940s through 1970s.

(Yeah, I am aware that people from Ireland, for instance, were once called the N-word of Europe. Yet, in time, this label was removed and they were allowed to enjoy the benefits this country offers.) Anyone who refuses to acknowledge the hell blacks have went through in this country is a Slavery Denier. The question is often asked why can’t you people pull yourselves up by your own bootstraps. After all, many ethnic whites, Asians, Hispanics, and surprisingly black immigrants have come to this country and succeeded. Yes, that is true. However, these people come to the U.S. having not had ancestors so recently in slavery, nor have any government treated them unequal based solely on their race. We often forget how domesticating slavery was, and that all too often newly freed blacks could only pass onto their progeny detrimental traits acquired during slavery. Additionally, up until recently, many whites enjoyed entertainment that portrayed blacks in a negative image. Let’s not forget the minstrel shows of the early twentieth century performed by Irishmen, nor the racist cartoons that portrayed blacks as buffoons, docile, lazy, childlike, and black children as animals. The blatant racist film Birth of A Nation also portrayed blacks in a damaging image. This film’s purpose was to illustrate that blacks did not know how to behave upon acquiring their freedom. Without the “helpful” guidance of “benevolent” whites, blacks became savages, indulged every fantasy, and—of course—lusted after white women. And some still wonder why blacks have not achieved all that this country has to offer. Well, slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation had a harmful effect upon blacks in the U.S. (However, we are continually told to forget about it. This coming from people who have “worked” hard to acquire the things they have.) Those images portrayed by white men who colored their face black and exaggerated certain facial features still exists in this society and have been forced upon the rest of the world. And the generalizations made about blacks have been sadly taken as truth by the majority society and some blacks themselves. No race in modern history has been represented in such an unflattering manner, if not in all of history. And some of you wonder why some blacks are behaving in a certain pathological manner. Study U.S. history.

What a softy. Opening up a blog on race, but having a racist view on every article you publish.

No problem though. YOu are black and protected completely now. You can say, do, act anyway you want and get away with it.

Sadly you are driving the wedge and divide deeper and ignoring the obvious problem. Culture in the black community has been ever growing violent, government dependent, and losing family values, with each generation for the last 40 years.