After all of these years and all we have been through together, we think
its appropriate for us to show our gratitude for all you have done for us.
We have chastised you, criticized you, punished you, and in some cases even
apologized to you, but we have never formally nor publicly thanked you for
your never ending allegiance and support to our cause. This is our open
letter of thanks to a unique people, a forgiving people, a steadfast people,
and a brave people: Black Americans.
We will always be in debt to you for your labor. You built this country and
were responsible for the great wealth we still enjoy today. Upon your backs,
laden with the stripes we sometimes had to apply for disciplinary reasons,
you carried our nation. We thank you for that. We thank you for your
diligence and tenacity. Even when we refused to allow you to even walk in
our shadows, you followed close behind, believing that someday we would come
to accept you and treat you like men and women.
Your strength in the face of adversity cannot be understated. You are truly
a great people, and we thank you so much. We publicly acknowledge Black
people for raising our children, attending to our sick, and preparing our
meals while we were occupied with the trappings of the good life. Even
during the times when we found pleasure in your women and enjoyment in
seeing one of your men lynched, maimed and burned, some of you continued to
watch over us and our belongings. We simply cannot thank you enough. Your
bravery on the battlefield, despite being classified as three-fifths of a
man, was and still is outstanding and beyond the call of duty. We often
watched in awe as you went about your prescribed chores and assignments,
sometimes laboring in the hot sun for 12 hours, to assist us in realizing
our dreams of wealth and good fortune. You were always there, and we thank
you.
Now that we control at least 90 percent of all of the resources and wealth
of this nation, we have Black people to thank the most. You were there when
it all began, and you are still with us today, protecting us from those
Black people who have the temerity to speak out against our past
transgressions. How can we thank you for your dedication? You warned us
about Denmark Vessey. You let us know about Gabriel Prossers plans; you
called our attention to Nat Turner. And you even sounded the alarm when old
John Brown came calling on Harpers Ferry. Some of you still warn us today.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Now, as we look out upon our enormous
wealth, and as we assess our tremendous control of the resources of this
country, we can only think of the sacrifices you and your families made to
make all of this possible. You are indeed fantastic, and we will forever be
in your debt. To think of how you have looked out for us for hundreds of
years and to see you still doing the same thing today, is simply amazing.
Thank you for continuing to bring 95 percent of what you earn to our
businesses. That is so gracious of you. Thanks for buying our Hilfigers,
Karans, Nikes, and all of the other brands you so adore. Your purchase of
these products really makes us feel that we are at least giving something
back to you for your patronage.
After all, in the past, the brands we put on you were quite painful, but
those of today can be proudly worn because they give you as sense of
self-esteem, right? But its the least we can do for a people who have
treated us so well. Your super-rich athletes, entertainers, intellectuals,
and business persons (both legal and illegal) exchange most of their money
for our cars, jewelry, homes, and clothing. What a windfall they have
provided for us! The less fortunate among you spend all they have at our
neighborhood stores, enabling us to open even more stores. Sure, they
complain about us, but they never do anything to hurt us economically. You
are a very special people. Thank you. Oh yes, allow us to thank you for not
bogging yourselves down with the business of doing business with your own
people. We can take care of that for you. Please dont even trouble
yourselves with it. Yes, you were very successful at it after slavery ended
and even as recently as 1960, but you know what happened when you began to
build your own communities and do business with one another. Some of the
"lower ones" of our kind burned you out time and time again. So, why bother?
In todays business environment, your own people will not support you
anyway. You just keep doing business with us. Its safer that way. Besides,
everything you need, we make anyway, even Kente cloth. You just continue to
dance, sing, fight, get high, go to prison, back bite, envy and distrust and
hate one another. Have yourselves a good time, and this time well take care
of you.
Its the least we can do, considering all youve done for us. Heck, you
deserve it, Black people. For your labor, which created our wealth, for you
resisting the messages of trouble-making Blacks like Washington, Delaney,
Garvey, Bethune, Tubman and Truth, for fighting and dying on our
battlefields, we thank you. For allowing us to move into your neighborhoods,
we will forever be grateful to you. For your unceasing desire to be near us
and for hardly ever following through on you threats due to our lack of
reciprocity and equity-we thank you so much. We also appreciate your
acquiescence to our political agendas, for abdicating your own economic
self-sufficiency, and for working so diligently for the economic well-being
of our people. You are real troopers. And, even though the 13th, 14th and
15th Amendments were written for you and many of your relatives died for the
rights described therein, you did not resist when we changed those Black
rights to civil rights and allowed virtually every other group to take
advantage of them as well. Black people, you are something else!
Your dependence upon us to do the right thing is beyond our imagination,
irrespective of what we do to you and the many promises we have made and
broken. But, this time we will make it right, we promise. Trust us.
Tell you what.You dont need your own hotels.You can continue to stay in
ours. You have no need for supermarkets when you can shop at ours 24 hours a
day. Why should you even think about owning more banks? You have plenty now.
And, dont waste your energies trying to break into manufacturing. Youve
worked hard enough in our fields. Relax, have a party. Well sell you
everything you need. And when you die, well even bury you at a discount.
Now hows that for gratitude? Finally, the best part. You went beyond the
pale and turned your children over to us for their education. With what we
have taught them, its likely they will continue in a mode similar to the
one you have followed for the past 45 years. When Mr. Lynch walked the banks
of the James River in 1712 and said he would make you a slave for 300 years,
little did we realize the truth in his prediction. Just 13 more years and
his promise will come to fruition. But with two generations of your children
gone through our education systems, we can look forward to at least another
50 years of prosperity. Wow!
Things could not be better-and its all because of you. For all you have
done, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Black Americans. Youre
the best friends any group of people could ever have!
Sincerely,
All other Americans.
Taken from the Philadelphia New Observer, November 18, 1998.
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