Lady Liberty Speaks The “Truth” About Critical Race Theory

White lies hide in plain sight

Rome Is Not Home

Conversations regarding Critical Race Theory abound; especially among white-wing politicians. I think it much ado about nothing by people that are about nothing, and it is of little import to me in and of itself. What is important is the truth, which all humans should seek because to not know the truth is to live a lie. Perhaps there exists an intersection between Critical Race Theory and the truth, or are they distinctively different paths leading to different places? One need look no further than “America’s” most iconic symbol, the Statue of Liberty, to ponder the potential quandary.

In Ralph Ellison’s classic novel Invisible Man the narrator says, “I am not complaining, nor am I protesting either.” When Black People in the United States present the facts about their existence in the United States, they are often categorized as complaining or protesting. Any mildly intelligent Black Person in the United States should well know that complaints and, especially, protests are both half-witted and fruitless; for the evidence of history does not lie, though history itself may.

I am not one given to fool’s errands, so my mission is neither that of complainant nor protestant. My mission, just as was that of the Invisible Man, is to find my identity. The only way to do that, is to find the truth. As a finder of fact, if that truth is buried under centuries of ruin and rubble, I must exhume it; no matter the sickly-sweet stench of rot presented resultant of its excavation.

Few will argue against the fact that the Statue of Liberty is the image that comes to mind when one thinks of the United States of Amerika. The ubiquitous icon appears on everything from postage stamps and movie logos, to U.S. currency. To appear on U.S. currency is a rare thing of utmost significance, and it is my hope that the reader may pause at the thought.

Rome Was Built In A Day

I was taught of “Lady Liberty” from the time of my earliest academic memories. I am certain that by the time I reached second grade that I knew the poem The New Colossus by rote, and that it was intrinsically tied to the statue. It’s most poignant passage being “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

These words are emblazoned upon the bronze plaque located in the pedestal of the statue of liberty. Dispensing with the fact that those very words, by definition, exclude my ancestors (both Alkebulanian and Original American) and, thusly, me and my descendants, there is another story the pedestal tells that is not so well known. That imposed, and willful, ignorance is not an accident anymore than is its concealment.

The robed Roman goddess known as the Statue of Liberty holds a torch above her head with her right hand. In her left hand, she holds a tablet inscribed with the date of July, 4, 1776 (the date of the U.S. Declaration of Independence). I learned these things as a child. However, I would be well into my 30’s, married and had children myself before I learned that the French sculptor of the statue (Bartholdi) initially designed the Roman goddess holding chains in her left hand. The chains represented the enslavement and alleged “emancipation” of Black People in the United States.

Apparently, there was quite a row between the artist and his U.S. financiers that demanded that the chains be removed from the left hand of the Roman goddess. Bartholdi was forced to acquiesce to their demands and, thusly, we have the version we have today. But, Bartholdi did not completely capitulate because the chains are still there. They simply were buried, like the history of Black People in the United States, at the base of the statue and the only way to see them is from an aerial view of the statue. The chains, like Black People in the United States, are invisible; unless one looks real hard from a helicopter.

I attended very elite schools and I am neither bragging nor complaining, because I was from a blue-collar family that lived in the ghetto; a notorious Crip-Set known in Los Angeles as “the Rollin’ 60’s.” My parents, for whatever reasons (and they were many) decided that they would sacrifice for me to have a good academic foundation. I was often the only Black Person in the United States in many of my academic environments and even attended classes with four of The Brady Bunch kids, as well as other celebrity children.

I can not help but muse about how I would have felt differently about myself if it had been taught to me that the Statue of Liberty is actually about slavery, in large part. The antithesis of those hallowed and lofty words from The New Colossus. All the greater, I wonder how my European-Amerikan counterparts would have felt not only about me, but themselves. The information is readily available, would such a disclosure, especially in the formative years, been Critical Race Theory, the truth, or both?

Academic Subterfuge

Black Children in the United States are often stereotyped and equated with substandard academic performance. Not only European-Amerikans, but Asian-Amerikans, Latino-Amerikans, Arab-Amerikans and, yes, other Black People in the United States, are stunned when they encounter a well-performing black student. If I ask the average person in the United States to name a famous Black Person in the United States, I am willing to bet diamonds to doughnuts that they name an athlete or entertainer; no one in an academic or intellectual realm. The only exceptions to this might be Martin Luther King or Barack Obama.

The world’s first university is located in Africa; I was never taught that, hoity-toity education notwithstanding. I was a grown man before I became aware of that fact. Most people, including so-called African-Amerikans, cannot name ten countries in Alkebulan (aka “Africa”) though there are, now, 54. The 54 resultant of European exploitation and violence. Because, you see, initially there were just ten.

The Negro Act of 1740 legally codified the crime of teaching Black People in the United States to read and/or write, it also made it legal to murder them; something never assigned to any other people in the United States, ever. I can not help but muse about how I would have felt differently about myself if these facts had been taught to me, especially in my formative, most impressionable years. All the greater, I wonder how my European-Amerikan counterparts would have felt not only about me, but themselves. The information is readily available, would such a disclosure, especially in the formative years, been Critical Race Theory, the truth, or both?

Rapist Reverence

I often have mentioned the “founding father” Thomas Jefferson’s repeated rape of a 14-year-old black child when he was a 47-year-old man. Am I to think he was in love with this child who had no rights whatsoever? This is something that even my most ardent European-Amerikan acquaintances get very angry about, never stopping to think that if it makes them angry, how must I feel (especially being a man with all female children).

I was taught about Thomas Jefferson signing the Declaration of Independence, but none of my stellar instructors ever told me that the preamble “all men are created equal” specifically excluded those that look like me, my parents and my children. I can not help but muse about how I would have felt differently about myself if these facts had been taught to me, especially in my formative, most impressionable years. All the greater, I wonder how my European-Amerikan counterparts would have felt not only about me, but themselves. The information is readily available, would such a disclosure, especially in the formative years, been Critical Race Theory, the truth, or both?

The New Zoo Revue

Black People in the United States were officially equated with animals; something no other ethnic group has experienced in the history of the United States. Black Women in the United States were referenced as a “Nigress” on the auction-block (think Tigress or Lioness). Black Men in the United States were referenced as a “Buck.” A Buck is a zoological term meaning the male of a horned animal.

This was never taught to me as a child and, akin to the previous examples, I was a grown man before I learned these stark facts and can not help but muse about how I would have felt differently about myself if these facts had been taught to me, especially in my formative, most impressionable years. All the greater, I wonder how my European-Amerikan counterparts would have felt not only about me, but themselves. The information is readily available, would such a disclosure, especially in the formative years, been Critical Race Theory, the truth, or both?

I recently ran into an old professional acquaintance and he said to me “Goddammit, Kenyatta, you look like a million Bucks!”

I guess so.