Black and White: Land, Labor, and Politics in the SouthFortune, Timothy Thomas
History
Black and White: Land, Labor, and Politics in the South
Fortune, Timothy Thomas
African Americans -- Southern States; Southern States -- Economic conditions; United States -- Race relations
The books which have been written in this country--the books which
have molded and controlled intelligent public opinion--during the
past one hundred and fifty years have been written by white men, in
justification of the white man's domineering selfishness, cruelty and
tyranny. Beginning with Thomas Jefferson's _Notes on Virginia_, down
to the present time, the same key has been struck, the same song as
been sung, with here and there a rare exception--as in the case of
Mrs. Stowe's _Uncle Tom's Cabin_, Judge Tourgee's _A Fool's Errand_,
Dr. Haygood's _Our Brother in Black_, and some others of less note.
The white man's story has been told over and over again, until the
reader actually tires of the monotonous repetition, so like the
ten-cent novels in which the white hunter always triumphs over the red
man. The honest reader has longed in vain for a glimpse at the other
side of the picture so studiously turned to the wall.
Even in books written expressly to picture the black man's side of the
story, the author has been compelled to palliate, by interjecting
extenuating, often irrelevant circumstances, the ferocity and
insatiate lust of greed of his race. He has been unable to tell the
story as it was, because his nature, his love of race, his inborn,
prejudices and narrowness made him a lurking coward.
And so it has been with the newspapers, which have ever been the
obsequious reflex of distempered public opinion, siding always with
the strong and powerful; so that in 1831, when the "Liberator"
(published in Boston by the intrepid and patriotic Garrison) made its
appearance, it was a lone David among a swarm of Goliaths, any one of
which was willing and anxious to serve the cause of the devil by
crushing the little angel in the service of the Lord. So it is to-day.
The great newspapers, which should plead the cause of the oppressed
and the down-trodden, which should be the palladiums of the people's
rights, are all on the side of the oppressor, or by silence preserve a
dignified but ignominious neutrality. Day after day they weave a false
picture of facts--facts which must measurably influence the future
historian of the times in the composition of impartial history. The
wrongs of the masses are referred to sneeringly or apologetically.
The vast army of laborers--men, women, and even tender children--find
no favor in the eyes of these Knights of the Quill. The Negro and the
Indian, the footballs of slippery politicians and the helpless victims
of sharpers and thieves, are wantonly misrepresented--held up to the
eyes of the world as beings incapable of imbibing the distorted
civilization in the midst of which they live and have their being.
They are placed in the attic, only to be aired when somebody wants an
"issue" or an "appropriation."
There are no "Liberators" to-day, and the William Lloyd Garrisons have
nearly all of them gone the way of all the world.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account