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Jan. 27, 2017
Opinion: Reconstruction Will Provide Substantive, Lasting ProgressAt last! The war that nearly tore apart this nearly century-old republic has passed. We can finally repair the scorched remnants of our republic and the racial tensions that led to them once and for all. The path forward must be delicate in addressing the enormous human toll of the Civil War, yet firm in stopping future oppression of those always meant to be free.
In this regard, I wholeheartedly endorse Reconstruction and believe its provisions will stand the test of timelast for centuries to come. Firstly, Because ofowing to our formerly enslaved status, we black people have not had any time to build a body of collective wealth or social stature. Whites have had all the time in the world to develop vast pools of wealth, the laws we follow today, and the strange idea that they could legally own people. It would be misguided, if not moronic, to forget that American black people are at a societal disadvantage and have institutions stacked against them.
The Freedmen’s Bureau is but one of the institutions that must exist for the general welfare of disadvantaged people. These welfare institutions must be maintained and funded consistently, and those who request its services must be treated with respect. Additionally, the vote, over which we fought the Revolutionary War, must be ensured for blacks. As with the Freedmen’s Bureau, this right should be unencumbered. Given the high black population of the South, if all of us voted, the South cwould willwould become a bastion of racial progress.
Additionally, after having had a steady hand of leadership forwarding social progress, the worst thing that could happen to our movement would be an opposing political movement fomenting racism and xenophobia. There are many disgruntled-ex Confederates looking for a taste of the good –old days. Let’s refrain from electing xenophobic demagogues too, eh?
