In 1984 Ronald Reagan ran a re-election campaign ad entitled ‘Morning in America.’ In his first election in 1980, the former President implored, “Let’s make America great again;” sound familiar? Strikingly for black Americans, we were not included as part of his morning wake-up ritual or making America great again. Reagan could wax rhapsodic unlike another former president who sounds more like he is leading a Klan rally for red-hatted sycophants. Reagan’s ads were filled with less-than-colorful American men, rising with the sun, kissing the wife goodbye, and tapping little Jimmy on the head as he headed off to work. Reagan’s depiction of perfection was of a hueless world devoid of blacks and browns.
On the eve of the day we celebrate the nation’s birth, the Supreme Court has moved us closer to a nightmarish halcyon age, neither idyllic nor golden. Women, for some, are little more than incubators, and gays, lesbians, and transgender men and women are being pushed into the shadows. There are 102 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States, spread out over 19 states, 14 located in the South. It was not a need to self-segregate that created these institutions; it was a necessity. Despite the alternative view of facts and history by Republicans like South Carolina Senator Tim Scott or former Vice President Mike Pence, life is no colorblind bowl of cherries for black and brown students in the United States. One only has to look at the enrollment figures for black and brown students—before and after—in the states where Affirmative Action was banned.
Republicans and conservatives love the slippery slope argument. The debate over same-sex marriage got so unhinged that bestiality, as an eventual likelihood, was an example used against same-sex marriage, along with man and boy matrimony. In reality, one should be more afraid of a straight Uncle or the Father at your local Catholic church. The Supreme Court decided a case in favor of a plaintiff who had never been asked or approached to provide a service to a gay couple. Ms. Lorie Smith claimed infringement on her religious rights, and the Court—in its zeal, ruled on free speech. Smith, on whose behalf the case was filed, is either mistaken or lying when she says a man named “Stewart” asked for her services as a web designer for his impending same-sex marriage. Stewart, whose identity was hidden for his safety, reportedly has been married (to a woman) for 15 years, has a child, and denies ever asking Ms. Smith for her services.
Even more disturbing was that the case was filed preemptively because Ms. Smith was not offering wedding web designer services when the suit was started. What happens if another Ms. Smith refuses services to an interracial couple based on some archaic interpretation of the Bible, as did Judge Leon Bazile in the Loving v. Virginia case stating, [if] “Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents … The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.”
Tomorrow, while scarfing down a couple of cold dogs and an undercooked piece of barbecued chicken, when the fireworks light the sky, remember that enslaved Africans were in perpetual mourning in America and could not understand the fuss. Happy Fourth, Cheers!
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