People and Property are not Created Equal
Enslaved Africans did not immigrate to the 13 Colonies; they were imported as property.
“America is a land of immigrants”. This statement is commonly made and accepted because it is true - as it relates to people. It’s like the statement in the Declaration of Independence that says, “We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal”. That statement is also true - as it relates to people. But both of these statements mask a truth that is important to know in order to understand American history. Property is imported. People Immigrate. People and Property are not created equal. It is more important today than ever that we understand these truths in order to understand our racial division. And don’t be surprised if you don’t know this. It hasn’t been taught.
The Africans, imported into America 150 years before the United States of America became a country, were property. People immigrate. Property is imported. And “all men are created equal” was declared concerning white men that owned property. By definition property are not people and therefore cannot be equal with men. The irony here is that the “people” that were imported as property were the foundation of the birth, growth and survival of the United States of America.
It is no wonder if you find what I am saying to be confusing. Just imagine how one must tie one’s mind and will and emotions into knots to accept this kind of thinking about another person or about oneself. Now recall that this has been going on in the hearts and minds of all Americans for hundreds of years – for longer than our country is old. There’s much more to all of this than that. But if you get just that much you will start to understand how important it is for us to get our thinking right about our history.
Our national history has been twisted from the beginning to account for the evil of the labor system of racial slavery. It has been twisted to account for its aftermath. It has been twisted to support the ideal of the land of the free and the home of the brave. It has been so twisted that a black man as bright and educated as Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson could refer to African slaves as “involuntary immigrants”. But understanding in this area eludes most people because our language has become lax. Very few people know the truth about American history, Unpaid Labor Contribution, and racial slavery however bright and educated they may be.
Understanding the place of Unpaid Labor Contribution in American history will change our thinking. It will lead to healing. It will complete the truth of “...all men are created equal.”