Lost: Trapped on the Wrong Side of History

Did you know all southerners aren’t racist? A southerner is telling you that, and that too, all northerners are (& were) not pacifistic abolitionists.? It’s true, sadly, and has always been so.. in this episode, you’re directed to remember: the injustices of the past lay in the eye of the beholder. Where were YOU taught about slavery? In the North? Or South? What were you told about segregation? Did you know it existed in both the North & the South? Even in hatred, literal dissension, this country banded together (once again) as Americans, against one peoples: FREED African American men, women, & especially children. Today, many refuse to take ownership for the color of their skin. There are generations alive to this day, who participated in, encouraged, or even idly stood by… spectating as their fellow “American” was beaten, whipped, shot, dragged, & hanged. The same generations who deny that racism has ever been or remains today, systemic. But we’re not all on the right side. Figuratively, the beholder always sees differently; we call that “being [an] American.” And physically, many of us… consider ourselves trapped: on the wrong side of history. Our past will not define us, but in adulthood we make a conscious decision to remain there. SOUTH: Where the past made/makes us family to “slave owners,” or fodder for the ignorant: call it a cookie, rather. NORTH: Where most believe the historical majority didn’t want slavery in America; where racism is passive-aggression at its finest. And then there’s the rest of us: those who know history, hate our history, embarrassed by our history, and refuse… REFUSE to perpetrate the lie(s) that the slavery of American history does not live and breathe today. We refuse to permit bigotry into office, we refuse to accept ignorance in our leadership, & we refuse to stop fighting for reparation. We, both colored and non, refuse to further a narrative that says we are not accountable for our forefathers beliefs and actions. We instead, believe that acknowledgment is the ONLY preventative measure against NATIONAL genocide. **Episode cover art collected from a Google search of “skin history,” and credit is given to the author (Lynn M. Thomas) of the book, “Beneath the Surface”**