It may sound presumptuous and even pretentious when I claim that my life has been aligned with the history of racism, both good and bad, in modern America, but I make no apologies. What happened in my younger years as a privileged white man growing up in America, the events which changed my life, and the way I viewed my country, and the people of my nation shaped me into the man I am today.
Some of my education, in reality, was based on historical events, but most on personal experience. I was lucky to take a path that offered me both insight and personal experience which enlightened me and placed me into a position where injustice was not acceptable.
Many former presidents were openly racist, including our 45th. None were more so than the 15th, James Buchanan.
During his inaugural address, Buchanan promised to protect the rights of men to own slaves. He strongly supported the Supreme Court’s decision on Dred Scott’s effort to gain freedom.
Chief Justice, Roger Taney, wrote the majority opinion.
Taney became best known for writing the final majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which said that all people of African descent, free or enslaved, were not United States citizens and therefore had no right to sue in federal court. In addition, he wrote that the Fifth Amendment protected slave owner rights because enslaved workers were their legal property.
The decision also argued that the Missouri Compromise legislation — passed to balance the power between slave and non-slave states— was unconstitutional. In effect, this meant that Congress had no power to prevent the spread of slavery. This was in 1856.
The first president I remember was Dwight Eisenhower. I watched the Republican Convention in 1956, at the age of 10, and was hooked on politics. “Ike” was the first president to make an effort to end segregation in the South.
In 1957, Ike ordered the integration of Arkansas’ public schools. In September, nine Black students were escorted by federal officials to all-white Central High School. Governor Orval Faubus called out the National Guard and blocked their entrance.
The ongoing confrontation between the President and Faubus nearly resulted in a second, bloody Civil War.
While I was in my first year of high school, John F. Kennedy was elected President. He was personally interested in the civil rights movement. However, his assassination on November 22, 1963, halted the momentum to end racism in the South.
To his credit, President Lyndon B. Johnson continued President Kennedy’s efforts. In 1964, my senior year in high school, he signed the Civil Rights Act.
For the next 53 years, although it was agonizingly slow, progress was made to ensure equality for all Americans thanks to the efforts of men and women who believed and followed the principles of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Along came the illegitimate presidency of Donald Trump on January 20, 2017.
Not only does the Trump Klan have a long history of belief in white supremacy, but knowing they had a new and powerful leader, millions of racists and Neo-Nazis came out of the darkness and became a force in our nation’s political system.
Many Republican politicians no longer felt it necessary to hide the truth and vehemently supported the racist in the White House. Trump and his party moved our nation into a time 60 years in our past, when racism, misogyny, and homophobia were the norm.
Real Americans will continue to fight for the Constitutional rights of all Americans. Loving your country means loving everyone, the government excluded.
Op-ed by James Turnage
My nine novels are available on Amazon’s Kindle
Sources:
History: Orval Faubus Blocks Little Rock High School Integration
History: Dred Scott Case
History: James Buchanan Bought and Freed Slaves—But Not For the Reason You Might Think
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Kordite’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Geoff Livingston’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
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