THE UNITED STATES CIVIL WAR: SLAVERY WAS THE GREAT DILEMMA

By Fahim A. Knight-El 

 

 
 

Thesis Statement: The American Civil War Possessed a Number of Political, Economic and Social Factors and Variables, that impacted the Causation of the Civil War, which has led to a Divergent of historical Opinions, Analysis and Interpretations being rendered by scholars.                               

                                                                                                                        Introduction

This research and analysis, will focus on some of the causes and affects of the American Civil War (1861-1865), which became the bloodiest and deadliest war within the  history of United States of America (approximately 540,000 to over 625,000 people lost their lives in this battle)[1] and evaluate and assess some of the historical variables that were germane to those who fought on the side of the Union and Confederate armies, in particular looking at how intertwined Chattel Slavery had become as a major part of the economic fiber of early Southern American life. Historian Kenneth Stampp called it the ‘Peculiar Institution’, he wrote about, the history of slavery in America, and he left little doubt, that the institution of slavery played a major and premiere role in fueling the American Civil War. Slavery (buying and selling of human cargo—for labor) was the free labor force that had created huge sums of wealth for large and small aristocratic plantation owners and property owners (which transitioned into generational wealth).[2] President Abraham Lincoln’s action during this time period and his political stance of attacking slavery was equalvent to devaluing a commodity (slaves and slave labor were considered to be valuable assets). Charles A. Beard who was an economic determinist and authored the book titled, An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States in 1913, maintained that the U.S. Constitution was essentially a document inspired to benefit and protect the economic interest of white male property and plantation owners.[3] Also, in order to understand, the complexity of the American Civil War, it was mandated that the writer, briefly review the history of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, as well as concisely survey early American Colonial history but only as historical frameworks with no in depth analysis intended, neither as a central argument of my thesis and research. 

It was cotton and other cash crops (rice, tobacco, rum, etc.), but cotton was considered the king of the cash crops, that allowed the South to become economically empowered, and the Elitist (planters class) had deep seated interest in keeping slave labor in tact (for them it was profit motive and capitalism incentive and slavery had become a way of life). Carl N. Degler in his book titled, Out of Our Past: The Forces that Shaped Modern American stated: “For two decades the southern people had been growing in the conviction that their culture, entwined about the institution of Negro slavery, made them a separate nation”. Jefferson Davis and other Confederate leaders knew and understood that the South could not easily relinquish their economic livelihood, and therefore, opposed the United States Government of essentially having no legal jurisdiction over the South and that the issue of slavery should be enforced and determined on the state governments levels without Union intervention.[4]
Historian Merrill Jenson, in his book titled, The New Nation, argued and stated: “The Civil War itself was the bloody climax of a social conflict in which the ultimate nature of the Constitution was argued again and again in seeking support for and arguments against antagonistic programs. But even the Civil War did not finally settle the constitutional issue. The stresses and strains that came with the rise of industrialism and finance capitalism produced demands for social and regulatory legislation. The passage of such legislation by the states involved the interpretation of the nature of the Constitution, for business interests regulated by statement governments denied their authority and appealed to the national courts. Those courts soon denied the power of regulation to state legislatures. The when regulatory laws were passed by the national government, the regulated interests evolved a ‘states right’ theory that limited the power of the central government, and the national courts once more agreed”.[5]

This argument would become one of the main impetuses for the Confederate states to attempt to secede in rebellion against the Union by declaring sovereignty from the United States Government in which other scholars would correctly argue that the various Constitutional Conventions had resolved and defined states rights in 1787 with the founding fathers framing the United States Constitution. David Herbert Donald in his book titled, Why The North Won the Civil War?, layout some possible causations factors and variables, thus, he stated: “For the most part attention {scholarly historiography} has been directed to the question of the causes of the war: was it states rights, was it slavery, was it Yankee abolitionists, or Southern fire-eaters, or was it national neurosis. . . .”[6]         
This writer, is of the opinion, that it was perhaps, a combination of all the above historical variables, because some of the historiography that this writer reviewed presented scholarly and empirical data defending the validity for all above said factors, but overwhelmingly historians and social scientist debated slavery as being the main and undeniable cause of the inciting the American Civil War. This writer finds validity and credibility in the slavery arguments put forth by historians Stampp, Beard, Jenson, and Degler as being the central theme of the Civil War. Yet, this writer thinks that the Confederates had a deep conviction to southern patriotism and pride in southern institutions and often these sentiments got overshadowed, because of the evilness and dehumanization affect slavery had on millions of human beings—this writer, thinks many in the Confederate South had internalized their racial politics as being rooted in a culture, which was believed by them to be as being American as baseball and apple pie.             

I think, as much as I appreciated Donald’s interpretation about the validity of all the above stated causation factors, that he attributed to the Civil War, but in my opinion, what possibly led to the Confederate downfall was that the North had just to much man power and economic resources and tactically and strategically used the question of slavery as a social and political disruption in order have the Southern Confederates distracted on two fronts. I think Davis and Lee thought that sense they were of the South and controlled the cotton commodity economy that this alone would have enticed, perhaps the British and French to intervene on the side of Confederate against the Union; however, this did not happen and U.S. imposed naval blockades all along the Eastern Seaboard, which furthered crippled the war efforts of the Confederates.

Also, the rise of the abolitionist movement such as the Quakers of Pennsylvania, John Brown (1800-1859) and Fredrick Douglas (1818-1895) who brought attention to the question of slavery as a moral and ethical contradiction (August 10, 1863 - The president meets with abolitionist Frederick Douglass). Their activism was impacting the Union or the United States Government to be more politically and if necessary militarily proactive in ending Chattel Slavery and it was their pressure that led to the inevitable, which was the gradual dismantling the system of Chattel slavery. Also slave rebellions and slave insurrections were becoming heightened throughout the South. The U.S. Courts would play a huge role in defining slaves (free slaves, runaway slaves and free territory (Missouri Compromise in 1850 and the Dred Scott Decision in 1857).[7]
                                     
                                                         Brief Pre Civil War Background and the African Connection

The American Civil War (1861-1865) has to be viewed and interpreted from various historical events and proceedings, and must be placed in its proper historical context relative to the African slave labor correlation and dilemma, it would be remised to overlook how this came about. This writer, will briefly addressed the African slave trade in order to give a succinct understanding of how and why the black labor force became to be so important within the Confederate and Southern economy. With the advent of Chattel slavery, which predated the bloodiest war in American history by two hundred forty-two years (242) and it did not come to an end until 1865. Most historians have traced the beginning of the African Slave Trade to about the 1440s where the Portuguese ventured into West Africa and brought twenty Africans back to Lisbon, Portugal who served as indentured servants. This would eventually lead to the Spanish, Portuguese and the Catholic Church (Pope Alexander VI and Bishop Bartholomew Las Casas who played major religious roles by sanctioning slavery) and later other European powers ventured into African Slave Trade, which eventually initiated the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Middle Passage.[8]

It was in1619 that the British brought 20 Africans slaves (or Indentured Servants) to Jamestown, Virginia, which led to the inception of Chattel Slavery being introduced in the so-called “New World” as it pertained to the British colonies.[9] The Spanish and the Portuguese had signed various agreements relative to dividing the world up between two European nations pursuant to the signing of the Papal Bull of Demarcation and the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 in which Spain would take most of lands in the New World with the exception of Brazil given to Portugal. This would eventually lead to ten to fifty million Africans being brought to the New World as slaves.[10]

Claud Anderson in his book titled, Black Labor, White Wealth stated: “Black slavery was, purely and simply, racial and economic exploitation, that caused economic revolutions and entrenched disparities between blacks and whites. Economically poor, non-industrialized nations of Europe, like Spain, Portugal, Germany, and England, commercialized human exploitation and suffering for the primary purpose of looting gold, silver and precious commodities in Africa and the New World. Old forms of mercantilism were converted to new capitalism. Banking, currency, and marketing reforms were created. Africa became a warren for the commercial hunting of strong ebony bodies. Subsequently, skin color became a sign of degradation for its wearer and a sign of wealth for its owner”.[11]  
                                                                                       European Settlers Enter the New World
The new European settlers who arrived in the 15^th century to the New World and landed on the eastern seaboard had many challenges relative to making adjustments to a new and unfamiliar geographical territory and landscape. They were concerned about survival as it pertained to their quest for food, clothing and shelter (in observance of the first law of survival, which is self-preservation, this became their main priority).[12] Some historians maintained that the Native Americans had arrived to North America some 16,000 years before the European Settlers arrival. The Europeans initially tried to enslave the Native Americans, but it was very difficult, because the Natives knew the land and territories, which gave them strategic and tactical advantages over the Europeans enslavers relative to exploiting escape routes.[13]

Also, they were not accustomed to working long unbearable hours under the hot sun and many Native Americans died from sickness and diseases from being in contact with the Europeans. Nevertheless, if it were not for the alliances and treaties that took place between the Native Americans and the European Settlers, which allowed for the early Settlers to survive; because of their keen knowledge of agriculture and agrarian society —planting, cropping and taught them how to grow food and which crops to plant based on the planting season, the gathering of food was essential to the early settlers survival. The Native Americans taught them about how important it was to rotate crops and if were not for these early alliances with the Native Americans such as the Creeks, Yamasees, Seminoles, etc., that attributed to the early settlers’ survival. [14]

Some historians maintain that the early settlers’ alliances with the Native Americans was pragmatic and beneficial to their ultimate survival in the ‘New Word’ and some even believe that the Lost Colony that was sent by Sir Walter Raleigh to Roanoke Island (now part of North Carolina) in 1587 who disappeared either died due to starvation and/or were massacred by warring Native American tribes. The geography of the eastern seaboard and the landscape were very dense with woods and forest (possessing hot summers and mild winters). However, the British had economic interest relative to seeking valuable natural resources (initially the fur trade was lucrative because of the abundance North American animal skins) and to further empowering the financial coffers of King James of England and Queen Elizabeth of England. The venturing into the so-called New World was motivated by the economic projections that there were possibility of gold and silver to be found and this was most the important variable to the Europeans explorers and colonists motivations throughout the Americas—from Vasco Núñez de Balboa, Ponce Da Leon, Amerigo Vespucci, Magellan, Desoto, etc., the European explorations were rooted in economic interest.[15]
The settlers were motivated to create a homestead and this would involve clearing off land in order to pursue agriculture and farming and develop these territories into livable homesteads. Slavery would play a huge role in the development of America from clearing off land, agriculture, to building railroads, etc. and creating infrastructure.
                                                                                                           The Advent of Chattel Slavery
Some historians argue that the first African slaves arrived to North America on a Slave Ship piloted my Sir John Hawkins of Lubeke in 1555 and it was this event, which led to chattel slavery, but most historians agree that the first slaves arrived to Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 (some argue that they were initially viewed as indentured servants). Nevertheless, the exploitation of black human labor made its way on the scene in North America. W.E.B Dubois in his book titled, The Suppression of the African Slave Trade 1638-1870, maintained that anywhere from 10-20 millions Africans where brought to America as slaves and millions died in Africa and crossing the Atlantic Ocean and on the plantations.[16] Slavery flourished throughout America, in particular in Southern agriculture states and in the white plantation owners mind they had one main and essential interest, which was maintaining slavery—the foundation of the Confederate Southern economy.             
                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                           The Civil War 
James McPherson in an article titled: “A Brief Overview of the American Civil War: A Defining Time In Our Nation’s History” stated: “The event that triggered war came at Fort Sumter in Charleston Bay on April 12, 1861. Claiming this United States Fort as their own, the Confederate army on that day opened fire on the federal garrison and forced it to lower the American flag in surrender. Lincoln called out the militia to suppress this ‘insurrection’. Four more slave states seceded and joined the Confederacy. By the end of 1861 nearly a million armed men confronted each other along a line stretching 1200 miles from Virginia to Missouri. Several Battles had already taken place—near Manassas Junction in Virginia, in the mountains of western Virginia where Union victories’ paved the way for the new state of West Virginia, at Wilson’s Creek in Missouri, at Cape Hatteras in North Carolina, and Port Royal in South Carolina where the Union navy established a base for a blockade to shut off the Confederacy’s access to the outside world”.[17] 

There were a number of key battles that was fought between1861-1865 pitting the Confederates and Union troops against each other, although, this research will not focused primarily on that aspect of the Civil War, nevertheless these conflicts cannot be entirely omitted. For example, First Battle of Bull Run in Virginia, between Washington, D.C., and Richmond (July 21, 1861); the Battle of Shiloh (April 1962); the Battle of Antietam (September 7, 1862), the Siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) etc. And there were many more Civil War battles fought between the Union troops and the Confederate troops. But this research was geared towards giving attention to, why did the United States Civil War break out in 1861?

So this writer believes that the Civil War (1861-1865) was inevitable and it was going to happen whether, it was Lincoln or some other social or political phenomenon (the quest for black freedom was starting to rise as a social antagonistic contradiction inside of America). However, Lincoln was extremely intelligent, he knew that, if he so-called freed slaves in the South, this would serve, as a strategic and tactical political maneuver employed, as an objective of weakening the South (he knew and understood this was a serious point of contention). Although, the South in theory had already succeeded from the Union and Lincoln had no jurisdiction and/or power or authority over the governance of the South—yet, both sides, the North and South used the black slave as a political football. President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1963 stated: “all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part of the State, the people whereof shall be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free”.[18]

Lincoln's motive was to cripple the South economically and simultaneously incite blacks to become disrupted, which would ultimately affect an agriculture based economy that functioned and prospered off slave labor. The aristocratic white property owners incited poor white Confederates by imparting a false sense of white pride, which was rooted in the ideology of white supremacy and that they had a mandate from God to ensure that Black slaves would forever remain their property who were considered unequal to whites according to the language written in the U.S. Constitution, blacks were considered 3/5 of a human being. The Confederates built a racist patriotic theme of why they were going to war—to so-called defend their sovereignty from Union infringement on the southern institution of slavery and this gave them the right to secede from the Union, which was based on their interpretation of states right.[19]

But beneath this argument and rationale, was their effort of maintaining slavery, which was rooted in racism and economics. The Confederates in the South felt that the Civil War was the only route left to challenging the federal government and their centralization of authority and control over Southern slave states, and the North simultaneously would use the Civil War to keep the United States from becoming potentially twenty independent and splintered nations. The North fought the war to rein the Southern states back into the Union and the question of slavery was a mere secondary causation factor (the first being preserving the Union) but would have primary implications on why both sides had a vested interest in the question of slavery.

Jefferson Davis and Robert Lee, the faces of the Confederate South had declared that the South would secede from the Union before they would capitulate and give up slavery. The South viewed slavery strictly as an economic necessity (many revisionist scholars have always questioned the moral ineptness of this evil institution) and these wealthy white plantation owners were not willing to cripple their profitable economic enterprise by giving up their labor force without a fight. Some African Americans view Abraham Lincoln as a national hero, because he so-called freed the slaves on September 22, 1962 with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation (but actually it would ultimately be the Thirteen Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865 that truly abolished slavery); however the slaves that Lincoln freed in the Confederate South, he had no jurisdiction over those slaves (this was the social and political dichotomy his decision rendered).

David Herbert Donald in his book titled, Why The North Won the Civil War stated: “was the political system of the South to blame, as so many historians persuasively argue? What was the germ of death planted in the Confederacy at birth? Was it possible to create a nation on the basis of states rights, to fight a war, which required centralization of authority, on the basis of particularism? Well, the United States has been created on the basis—at least so Southern thought (and so the Articles of Confederation asserted)—and had managed to win independence nonetheless. Was it perhaps slavery the cause not only of the war, but of Southern defeat? There is a seductive poetic appeal about such an explanation. Perhaps slavery was the Achilles’ heel of the South. Slavery prevented foreign recognition; slavery gave the North a new goal and a new ideal; slavery encouraged states rights; slavery in the end weakened the economy and military effort more that it strengthened them.’[20]                                   
                                                                                                       The South loses the Civil War         
The South lost the Civil War and most reasonable historians would agree that slavery was the central theme of the Civil War (1861-1865) conflict, because it was the economic driving force of the nation at that time and perhaps the most value commodity in the history of America; but one should not be mistaken, because both the North and the South benefited from slave labor. This writer recently read a piece authored by Donald W. Livingston titled, “Why the War Was Not About Slavery” Livingston stated: “We think of slavery as an alien and "un-American" practice confined to the South in the 19th century. But an honest look at American history reveals a quite different picture. Slavery was woven into the economic, political, and cultural fabric of the Northern states from the beginning. The first African slaves were brought to New England in 1638 in exchange for enslaved Indians. Boston began importing slaves from Africa in 1644. For 164 years New Englanders sold slaves throughout the Western Hemisphere”.[21]  
                           
                                                   Civil War Historiography: Contradictory Historical Thoughts
Lastly, the historiography, was vast and contradictory on the history of the Civil War relative to the cause and effect and there were a wide range of diverse historical interpretations and opinions. Harry Steels Commager in his book titled, The Defeat of the Confederacy: A Documentary , he maintained that North had better resources monetarily and militarily (better armament, equipment and more human resources) and this gave the North a clear advantage over the South during Civil War and he also points out the South having ‘lost of nerve’.[22] Commager argument does stands to have some validity based other historians also pointed out similar contentions relative to the reasons for the North’s successful victory over the South and were equally critical in blaming some level of intellectual and military incompetency relative to the mindset of the Confederate leadership and poor military infrastructure (reference: scholars such as David Potter, Norman Graebner, T. Harry Williams and Harry Steels Commager, etc.).[23]

The North as this writer stated above had a distinct economic advantage, because almost all of the nation’s factories were been located in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states (industrialism was evident—machinery and mechanized armament). Students of military history such as T. Harry Williams, J.F. Fuller, B.H. Liddell Hart and Kenneth P. Williams agrees that the North had superior availability to assets and resources and this placed the Southern Confederate at a distinct disadvantage,[24] and also the African American Historian Charles H. Wesley in his book titled Collapse of the Confederacy, agrees with above historians, as well. The Union also had nearly twice the South’s population and thus, a larger pool of young available men to pull from and to serve in the Union arm forces. However, the South defeated the Union1861 in South Carolina when they attacked Fort Sumter, thus the Confederacy defeating Union troops at the First Battle of Bull Run in spite of the stated factors—initially this win spoke volumes of the Confederate preparedness and readiness to fight.

Now, furthering, the question of slavery, historian Ulrich B. Phillips in his seminar work titled, Life and Labor in the Old South he wrote as a sympathizer and as an apologist of Southern Confederate slave states in which he interpreted, the institution of Chattel Slavery as being benevolent and good for the African slaves. Phillips’ scholarship was no doubt in defense of the white Elite planters class, he stated: “The bulk of the black personnel was notoriously primitive, uncouth, improvident and inconstant, merely because they were Negroes of the time and by their slave status they were relieved from the pressure of want and debarred from any full-force incentive of gain”.[25]

But it was this type of racist reactionary scholarship that gave way to the work of John Blassingame in a book titled, Slave Community who challenged this contention that the slaves were happy loyal and docile and were content with being a slave on the plantation in which he pointed to three distinct personalities that evolved from plantation life, but often in American slave literature, it is always the ‘Sambo’ character that gets the most attention and the defiant slave personality that the slave plantation also created was often overlooked.[26] Phillips’ scholarship was an attempt to justify slavery and bring credibility and justification to white slave plantation owners and protect their economic interest and define their place in American history as a dubious and justifiable evil.      

The Southern wealthy white property owners financed and used poor white Confederate soldiers as mere cannon fodder and would literally do almost anything to maintain and protect their economic interest—slavery had not only become a way of life in America, it was big business. The passing of 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution ended slavery and freed the slaves in 1865 and it was not the Emancipation Proclamation, as many have come to accept. I think one must come to the realization that slavery was wrong and evil; it was justified based on economics, theology and the American jurisprudence system (law and God). There was no other way to look at the ‘peculiar institution’ other than being morally wrong; moreover, it was this compromised labor force that propelled the United States and the South, in particular into the Civil War (the bloodiest battle in American history). It was extremely economically prosperous to the Elitist plantation and property owners or Bourgeoisie class, but worked to the detriment of the African slaves who were victims of systematic brutality due to their enslavement and cause massive social disruption to African societies. Slavery gave the United States as a nation a 300 year economic advantage and made them into a world superpower nation, but no retribution has ever been made to the ex-slaves (not even the forty-acres and mule that were promised).

Fahim A. Knight-El Chief Researcher for KEEPING IT REAL THINK TANK located in Durham, NC; our mission is to inform African Americans and all people of goodwill, of the pending dangers that lie ahead; as well as decode the symbolism and reinterpreted the hidden meanings behind those who operate as invisible forces, but covertly rules the world. We are of the belief that an enlightened world will be better prepared to throw off the shackles of ignorance and not be willing participants for the slaughter. Our MOTTO is speaking truth to power. Fahim A. Knight-El can be reached at fahimknight@yahoo.com.
Stay Awake Until We Meet Again

Fahim A. Knight-El

             

---

---

[1]Samuel Eliot Morrison, The Oxford History of the American People. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1965) 624. 
[2] Kenneth Stampp, The Peculiar Institution: Slavery in the Ante-Bellum South. (New York: Random House, 1956) 398-400.
[3] Charles A. Beard, An Economic Interpretation of the United States Constitution. (New York: Mcmillan and company, 1913) 6, 17-18.
[4] Carl N. Degler, Out of Our Past: The Forces That Shaped Modern America, (New York: Harper Colophon Books, 1959) 205.
[5] Merrill Jensen, The New Nation: A History of the United States. (New York Vintage Books, 1950) ix.
[6] David Herbert Donald, Why the North Won the Civil War. (New York: Touchstone, 1960), 14.
[7] Paul Finkelman, Slavery in the Court Room: An Annotated Bibliography of American Cases. (Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1949) 43-54.
[8] Richard Roscoe Miller, Slavery and Catholicism. (Durham, NC: North State Publishers, 1957) 22-69.  
[9] Lerone Bennett, Before the Mayflower: A History of Black America. (New York: Penguin Books, 1962) 28-29. 
[10] Ibid. Miller, 40-69.
[11] Claud Anderson, Black Labor, White Wealth: the Search for Power and Economic Justice. (Edgewood, MD: Duncan and Duncan, Inc., Publishers, 1994) 68.
[12]Henry Bamford Parkes, The United States of America: A History. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1963) 23-24.
[13]John Hope Franklin, From Slavery to Freedom: A History of Negro Americans; 5^TH Ed.. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1980) 13-14. 
[14] Samuel Eliot Morison, The Oxford History of the American People. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1965) 3-15.
 [15] John Henrik Clarke, Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust. (New York: A& B Books Publishers, 1992) 57-58.  
[16] W.E. B. Dubois, The Suppression of the African Slave Trade 1638-1870. (New York: Kraus-Thomson organization Limited, 1973).
[17]James McPherson, “A Brief Overview of the American Civil War: A Defining Time in Our Nation’s History” Internet medium: (http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/overview.html).
[18]John Hope Franklin, From Slavery to Freedom: A History of Negro Americans; 5^TH Ed.. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1980)  214.
[19] Ida Hakim, Dorothy Blake Farden, Jamil Hakeem,& amp; Len Moritz, Reparations: The Cure for America’s Race Problem. (Hampton, Virginia: U.B. & U.S. Communications Systems, 1994) 121.
[20]David Herbert Donald, Why The North Won the Civil War .(New York: Touchstone, 1960) 
[21] Donald W. Livingston, Internet medium. “Why the War Was Not About Slavery” http://www.scv.org/pdf/Livingston.pdf                                                                
[22] Ibid., Commager. pp.10.   
[23] Ibid., pp. 10.
[24] Ibid., pp. 9.
[25] Ulrich B. Phillips, Life and Labor in the Old South. (South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 1929) XIX. 
[26] John W. Blassingame, The Slave Community: Plantation Life in the Antebellum South. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1972) 141-144.

DONALD TRUMP: A FRONTMAN FOR THE INVISIBLE RULERS, IT WILL BE BUSINESS AS USUAL

DONALD TRUMP: A FRONTMAN FOR THE INVISIBLE RULERS, IT WILL BE BUSINESS AS USUAL

By Fahim A. Knight-El

It still surprises me that many black people and people in general, throughout the United States of America still do not understand that the concept of democracy is an illusion. Let me go right into my topic and analyze the recent election of President-Elect Donald Trump, thus the first thing we must understand is that Trump did not win based on our vote nor did Hillary Clinton lose because of our vote; it has always appeared to me that the Electoral College votes on the surface had more credence in voting the president in than the popular vote (Hillary Clinton actually won the popular vote but lost the election). Both of them have been good operatives and servants of the Hidden Hand and Invisible Rulers no different than President Barack Obama and all prior U.S. presidents and heads of state who were appointed by them. There are mainly three powerful entities that are responsible for setting the global table and determining domestic and global affairs, which means selecting presidents and heads of states, as well as other low-level operatives to serve as frontmen and women and do their bidding. These hidden individuals control the entire world banking and financial systems, and dictate the rise and fall of all global economies—the wealth of the earth is control by this powerful elite minority secretly known as the Rulers of the World; all the reserve currency is at their dictates and discretion. China, Russia, United States, Great Britain, France, Italy, etc., and all other world nation’s functions at their will and pleasure. So we must first understand that our vote do not mean a damn thing, it is only an illusion that we live in a participatory democracy and this gives us false value, which is designed to dim our will to revolt and overturn these Hidden despots and tyrannical leaders. 

Donald Trump's business and economic success (his so-called wealth) was a very clear indication that he has had long standing ties with those faceless and nameless Elitist who are consider the rulers of the world and they had, perhaps giving him instructions and marching orders along time ago and he has been a faithful operative before they made the decision to make him U.S. commander-in-chief. Like President Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, etc., these frontmen were selected for office and not elected. They ordinarily are mandated to take two oaths, one that is giving in front of a public audience in which the president-elect is swore-in to uphold the U.S. constitution and dutiful carry out their legal and lawful duties to defend and protect the constitution against all foreign and domestic enemies in which this solemn oath is traditionally giving on the Bible (which is considered along with square and compass as one of the Masonic working tools). Yet, each U.S. president is giving a black book which contains 250 years of U.S. Government Secrets this book contains numerical codes and sacred geometry that has been passed down by great ancient mystics and other wisdom imparted by some of the Founding Fathers such as George Washington, a Freemason and by those others who were initiated into the Order of Rosicrucians and they are sworn-in to never admit nor reveal some of the hidden codes to anyone and can be spoken of only in the presences of another past U.S. president or in the hidden chambers of the Invisible Rulers. These past and present Grand and Supreme Architects are members and leaders in some the most powerful secret societies on earth and maintain a global presences in every nation.

They are behind the wars in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq and it is they who are behind the internal religious and sectarian wars and disputes taking place in the Islamic world, in particular between factions of Shia and Sunni Islam that has engulfed the Middle East for over three decades. They consistently use the propaganda machines of mass media to ensure that these induced religious civil wars are viewed by the mass public as an extension of the so-called 'war on terror’; they are also behind the economic downfall of the economy of Greece and just recently with the United Kingdom deciding to exited the European Union—they had insulated this economic and political move by appearing to shift world currency in the Bank of England to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted economic transition—they wanted to further expand the Euro and at same time create an illusion that the British pound would have more value relative to inflation and spending power and then reintroduce the pound as a viable currency back on the world money market. They also were behind inducing the economic collapse of the United States economy in 2008, which led to rearranging Wall Street and restructuring how the global financial markets will interact in the New World Order schemes. They devalued the United States dollar and sent the world economy into a tailspin and in reality, it still has not recovered. Trump takes his orders directly from the Bilderberg, Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations just as all of the prior U.S. presidents and his loyalty won him favor to sit in the Oval Office and he will carry out the hidden agenda.

Trump has been the beneficiary of the North American Free Trade Agreement and  General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT); he used cheap oversees markets and labor in the Far East and Mexico that was caused by U.S. corporate downsizing and outsourcing to enhance his brand and has made billions of dollars off of Bill Clinton's International policies. Trump was giving a master plan during this presidential election; the master decision makers understood that there was a mood of dissatisfaction lurking over America that somewhat stemmed from President Barack Obama being elected in 2008 and 2012 as our commander-in-chief, but the root of the dissatisfaction revolved around race and they gave Trump the game plan to tap into America's most unresolved social dilemma, which was the question of race that has haunted America for over 250 years. Even President Barack Obama was in on these manipulations in which coming into office they had trained him on how to play the game of high stakes and what the House of Cards truly meant. Here is an African (or at least of Negroid descent) being invited partially into the house by some of the most powerful men in the world and they ordered him to learn the rules and then gave him the mandate of hearing and obeying (make no mistake about U.S. presidents do not run the country they are figureheads and puppets who take their orders from the Hidden Hand). Thus, he too has been a very good servant and a low-level operative and they will continue to further reward him when his presidential term is over. Donald Trump is a peon and his wealth is very minuscule in comparison to the wealth and power of those who he works for. 

Trump became the most recent recipient of a dark past; he used overt and covert language to trigger the fears of white America. Since the 9/11 hoax and the so-called war on terror which has led to Gestapo agencies such as the office of Homeland Security being established and various legislation and executive orders that were enacted to impede upon American citizens civil liberties; it also has led to the discrimination and religious intolerance aimed at Muslim Americans in which many Americans believed that Islam and Muslims are our number one enemies. Trump went on a vicious public attack against Muslims that was rooted in the old historical context of the Crusades of the 11th and 12th Century and like the Jesuits and the Knights Templars he as a white Knight drew his sword in the sand and unlike defending the Christians and Jews quest to settle in the Holy Land of Jerusalem—Trump was giving a mandate to move the global world closer to a One World Government and the New World Order.

President Richard Nixon in his book titled, "Seize the Moment: America's Challenge In A One-Superpower", Nixon authored this book in 1991, and he warned the West that if we did not do a better job understanding the various factions of international Islam relative to the schisms and cultures these variables would have the potential to become problematic, in particular  if the Islamic world ever become united around theology. The Europeans are more interested in searching out the coming of the Mahdi because they understand they must keep the Islamic world divided and coming together it could pose a legitimate political, economic and social nuisance to the West and the East, in particular with Russia and China aligning themselves with so-called radical Islamic factions in Iraq, Iran and Syria (and selling weapons and even militarizing some of America's enemies). Nixon further stated that Islam could pose itself to become our number one enemy and a threat to world peace (of course many of us saw this notion as mere propaganda). However, after the Cold War came to an abrupt end in 1989, the stage was set to create an illusionary enemy, which became Islam and the Muslim World. Trump's attacks against Muslim and Islam was rooted in a deep seated Islamophobia and Trump was smart enough in 2016 to raise the conscious level about U.S. national security interest and once again with tough talk about ending Muslim and Arab immigration from entering the United States, it was steadily growing political traction--more from a rhetoric perspective. Some would argue that Trump shared a more deeper concern with the electorate, which was, how do we contain domestic terrorism that is so-called caused by U.S. Enemy Combatants and some believe that the Obama's administration and the U.S. Justice Department have been to lax and ineffective, and trump promise to carry a big stick diplomacy in dealing with Muslims both at home and abroad? He also promised his constituents that he would be a law and order president and he reached out to reactionaries like Rudy Giuliani and Governor Chris Christie. He also received huge support from the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Second Amendment Right to the U.S. Constitution advocators; these gun toting patriots shared a theme in which NRA who has viewed certain forces within the Democratic Party who desired to limited American civil liberties by passing legislation to take their guns away and Trump was politically savvy enough to ensure this powerful and influential lobby that he was their candidate and would veto any legislation coming from the Congress that would infringe upon their right to bear arms. 

If you notice when he was running during the primaries Trump was like an attack dog the other 19 or 20 Republican Candidates such as season political veterans Senator Ted Cruz, Governor John Kasich, Governor Jeb Bush, Senator Marco Rubio, etc., were longstanding traditional politicians, who were well financed and who thought they had the pulse and grasp of the political issues which they considered important and germane to the American citizens. Trump was a political novice who had no political experience of holding a public office; Trump's campaign and victory also served as a referendum of rejection of the traditional Republican Party's message and their views on conservatism and/or may be Trump just appeared as a breathe of fresh air because perhaps even the political right had grown tired of the political gridlock on Capitol Hill. Trump ran truly as an outsider (not really he has always been and insider) and most of the top Republicans such as Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senator Mitch McConnell did not back Trump, but he diverted their influence by taking his message directly to the people and his victory was a shock and an upstage of the tradition Republican Party so-called having endorsement power. His victory served notice that they did not have the political influence to derail his bid to become president of the United States and/or his election represented a new day in American politics where the electorate had political aspirations that went against all the conventional political wisdom that surrounded the 2016 U.S. presidential election; the majority of the political polls had Hillary Clinton head and most predicted it would be a lopsided victory for Mrs. Clinton. Trump was unique in many ways, he did not take a lot money from special interest groups and lobbyist in which being a billionaire, he financed his own campaign. This for better or worse, allowed him to control his message and not be swayed by Washington insiders.

However, initially you could tell his understanding of U.S. foreign policy and the Middle East was rooted in ignorance and shallowness—his knowledge of world geography was poor; yet his campaign continued to garnish momentum and by using the code word slogan ‘Lets Make America Great again’, Trump totally understood these words were shrouded historically in the mythology context of race and privilege and they would have an emotional charge for a large segment of the American populist, which was rooted in the white backlash of electing an African American president twice. Trump totally understood those racist sentiments were out there and everywhere he spoke he drew large audiences of mainly white males whom felt that the traditional Republican Party had abandoned their core values.  This slogan was being interpreted by the recent American society of angry white men to mean, we have lost America to the blacks and Latino immigrants and whether we agree with Trump or not undocumented and illegal aliens, who have crossed the border, have socially and economically impacted the American taxpayers relative to them  accessing American services, but simultaneously corporate America has been the equal beneficiaries of cheap immigrant labor coming out of Central and South America; they are the principle laborers in U.S. agribusiness . Trump tapped into white dissension, which allowed him to redraw the United States electoral map relative to what political scientist had deemed to be red states (who voted Republican) and blue states (who voted Democrat) was altered by Trump’s presidential victory in 2016 in favor of the Republican Party (and once the establishment Republicans look back they would owe the Trump movement a debt of gratitude because possibly in the political short term and long term the Republican Party will be the beneficiary of Trump's phenomenon 2016 presidential election.

Trump's appeal of recreating America and bringing jobs back to America resonated with a large portion of our American society, but many past blue collar working towns that had been economically decimated by the fall of American industrialism over 50 years ago where manufacturing and products were made in the United States created an economic vacuum and Trump appealed to a nostalgic aura that has been lost in time and never to return—he knew deep down inside he was selling them a false bill of goods. Trump did not tell them that once an economic system can no longer expand and produce it dies and another economic system rises. Let me the bearer of bad news Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Michigan, etc., I do not care how many promises Trump makes, the economy that many of your great-great grandparents carved out an existence, is gone forever in which to never return (Clinton and Bush sealed that deal). Just reason with me the capitalist is not concern about social justice and really are not concern with politics; they want to know how will public policy affect foreign trade, international banking, Wall Street and how will this impact the Gross Domestic Product equation for themselves. America can no longer compete with cheap raw materials and cheap labor overseas.

Trump will continue to be a good servant for the international bankers and will hasten the divide between the 'haves and Havenots' by working to further strengthening the central banking system by continuing to agitate wars with so-called radical Islam and inducing wars are a source of global revenue in which to feed the fat cats in Basil, Switzerland, London, Hong Kong, Paris, Moscow, New York, Tel Aviv, Beijing, Johannesburg, Tokyo, etc. the duping allows for the Hidden Hand to carry out these diabolic plans and maneuvers by keeping the masses distracted (with disinformation and propaganda) while they continue to rob the world of all its conceivable and unconceivable wealth and natural resources. Former President Bill Clinton was an international bankers go between fronting for the likes of Goldman Sachs and spearing heading global initiatives being led by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which set themselves up to exploit more oil reserves on the African continent in anticipating Arab oil drying up and or political instability. Africa is still being raped of its wealth and natural resources since the Portuguese arrived on the coast of West Africa in the 1440s.

ISISL just reminds me of another Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) machination in which this so-called radical and militant Islamic group is in bed with the United States, Russia and Israel in which Bashar Hafez al-Assad of Syria is being used by various foreign entities—Hillary Clinton and Obama knew they had to remove Muammar Gadhafi, the long standing Libyan leader in order establish new foreign alignments and establish new geopolitical landscapes in all of the Maghreb region of North Africa. The Seven Oil Sisters have viewed Gadhafi’s Socialist Regime for over 40 years as a political and economic nuisance to their oil revenue stream, therefore, France, United States and Great Britain used their military intelligence and military capability to assassinate the Libyan leader.

Secretary of State Clinton were being paid handsome speaking honorariums by Goldman Sachs at $650,000 a clip and made it clear that she had a public agenda and a private agenda—the private agenda was perhaps a lot more dangerous and sinister than her public messages and political stances. I saw Hillary Clinton, as being a lot more dangerous and sinister than Donald Trump, but sense she is a Democratic candidate, she gets a free pass from so-called African Americans. But one does not become U.S. Secretary of State unless you know how to play the deceptive foreign policy game—trust me she knows a lot more about the Benghazi hit than she was letting on. When she became U.S. Secretary of State, she used her international influence to assist her husband former President Bill Clinton by positioning him and exerting her State Department international influence to economically empower Bill Clinton’s Global Initiative foundation (so-called non-profit humanitarian organization). She used her high profile status as U.S. Secretary of State to broker diplomatic and economic deals for her husband's so-called non-profit Global Initiative in which would ensure international influence and funnel billions of dollars into the triangle of power arrangement between the global bankers, themselves and other members in the United States Government. The Hidden Hand liked the Clintons, because they have been good servants but Hillary Clinton was starting to get a little sloppy; they signed onto the Bill Clinton's Global Initiative front and provided him with unlimited resources to coral Africa and other Developing Nations, but Hillary and Bill who have  for over 40 years used their gifts and talents as an asset to remain in good favor of the Un-Seen Hand however, their recent public image was starting to create a political liability and the Circle, with in a Circle decided to make Donald Trump their man.            

Bill Clinton’s Global Initiative is a very powerful foundation and it was established to lobby nations that sought his international influence (Bill ‘Slick Willie’ was in the business of selling influence and is very good at it). Moreover, Bill Clinton has raked in millions of dollars advising Developing Nations by securing them high interest international loans via the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and further using his international influence to impact the political, economic and social systems of client nations. Also the Clinton-Bush Fund allegedly got 54 million dollars for the Haiti Relief Fund after the 2010 devastating earthquake that registered 7.0 magnitude on the Richter scale, which killed more than 230,000 people in Haiti. Bush and Clinton were two rogues who stole a lot money that was earmarked for the Haiti Government. (reference: Peter Schweizwer: Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich).

Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton have always enjoyed a high level of respectability amongst African Americans in which was almost equated to him having celebrity status within the black community (yet Blacks did not come out and vote for Hillary Clinton at the same statistical rate that they voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012 and Hispanics were divided in Florida on Trump). Although, I could never understand the infatuation blacks had towards President Clinton. He after all, along with Senator Newt Gengrich (R-Georgia) former Speaker of the House and the Republican reactionary Congress in the 1990s went on a vicious campaign against the poor of America. These vicious entities inevitable blamed and scapegoated the collapse of America on the poor (women and families) people who were receiving Aid For Dependent Children, which led to a rancorous political assault against Human Services and social programs that benefited the needy and the poor of America. President Clinton justified these governmental programs revisions in the name of siding with the Republicans to better manage so-called big government and the poor became expendable and vulnerable under the eight (8) year reign of the Clinton Administration.

These budget cuts trickledown to hurt poor blacks, poor Latinos and poor whites; this is the same President Bill Clinton that gave greater way to United States Prison Industrial Complex (via the 1994 Crime Bill) in which more black men became incarcerated under the Democrat Clinton than under the Republican President George Herbert Walker Bush. Thus, not only that, it was President Bill Clinton that established and signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that eventually led to American companies heading south of the border to exploit Developing Nations like Mexico in which devastated the domestic employment market inside the country and America has since turned our corporate lifeblood over to Wal-Mart and covertly deemed this as the new 21st Century industry of America. What a pity; does anyone else see these scams?

Fahim A. Knight-El Chief Researcher for KEEPING IT REAL THINK TANK located in Durham, NC; our mission is to inform African Americans and all people of goodwill, of the pending dangers that lie ahead; as well as decode the symbolism and reinterpreted the hidden meanings behind those who operate as invisible forces, but covertly rules the world. We are of the belief that an enlightened world will be better prepared to throw off the shackles of ignorance and not be willing participants for the slaughter. Our MOTTO is speaking truth to power. Fahim A. Knight-El can be reached at fahimknight@yahoo.com.

Stay Awake Until We Meet Again
Fahim A. Knight-El

KAEPERNICK: RACE, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND THE BLACK ATHLETE

KAEPERNICK: RACE, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND THE BLACK ATHLETE

By Fahim A. Knight-El

I know that many apologists and pundits have weighed in on the Colin Kaepernick’s rebellion in which I and other socially conscious and enlightened black leaders and activist have been engaged in this conversation for decades and centuries. Yet, I applaud this young black athlete for daring to risk his career as a professional football player in order to bring public attention to the high incidents of racially motivated killings of unarmed black men by white police officers. These killings of black men, have a long history in America since our sojourn begin in 1555—lynching and violence against black men, is American as apple pie and baseball. Kaepernick stated: "These aren’t new situations. This isn’t new ground. There are things that have gone on in this country for years and years and have never been addressed, and they need to be. There’s a lot of things that need to change. One specifically? Police brutality. There’s people being murdered unjustly and not being held accountable. People are being given paid leave for killing people. That’s not right. That’s not right by anyone’s standards". The Treyvone Martin case in my opinion set a legal and social precedent that declared open season on black men.

Kaepernick goes on to state: “People of color have been targeted by police. So that’s a large part of it and they’re government officials. They are put in place by the government. So that’s something that this country has to change. There’s things we can do to hold them more accountable. Make those standards higher. You have people that practice law and are lawyers and go to school for eight years, but you can become a cop in six months and don’t have to have the same amount of training as a cosmetologist. That’s insane. Someone that’s holding a curling iron has more education and more training than people that have a gun and are going out on the street to protect us". Most white Americans are a bit hypocritical and they easily forget that the American flag is a symbol of freedom to them and their ancestors due to European settlements in 1607, into the so-called ‘new world’ in which they stole North America (and the Americas) from the Native Americans who had lived in this part of the world for over 16,000 years prior to European settlements. They had migrated by crossing the Bering Strait from Asia—the United States flag symbolizes for white people sovereignty and nationhood, which declared them free from centuries of British colonial rule culminating with the American Revolutionary War in 1776.

However, the U.S. flag and national anthem, have a different meaning to white  Americans than it does to black Americans; it is difficult for us to overlook the history of tyranny carried out by the racially inspired despots throughout the history of the United States of America; nevertheless, some of us desire to be politically correct in front of white folk, but behind closed doors many of us share Colin Kaepernick’s political dissention, because deep down inside our history of oppression and subjugation is rooted in our DNA and the murdering of innocent black people by white supremacist police officers is reprehensible and it touches our souls. Many of these white officers never get indicted and/or charged and some of them are even exonerated and/or remedied by Internal Affairs agencies via a so-called bureaucratic process and/or are found not guilty by jury trials (some have even been found civilly wrong but not criminally responsible). This is often viewed by the black community and the families of the victims as clear evidence that the judicial and criminal justice systems are rigged and black folk cannot receive justice. The deaths of Eric Gardner, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland, Laquan McDonald, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, etc. But there are countless other black men who are faceless that have been killed by white law enforcement and their cases have never made it to the national news.

The deaths of these black victims only serves as a reminder of the history of hatred, racism and injustice that both the Confederate flag and the American flag have historical had on people of African descent despite of our loyalty and commitment to consider ourselves American citizens (the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution don't mean a damn thing to some of us). This nation fought a 4/1/2 year bloody Civil War (1861-1865) the so-called South verse the North where slavery was the central theme of this conflict in which southern states desired to maintain the most profitable economic system ever recorded in American history known as chattel slavery (this evil system lasted for 310 years) where the south attempted to succeed from the Union. 

Kaepernick decided that he had a moral obligation to bring attention to these racist motivated social issues by not standing up during the singing of the national anthem as a protest gesture against black injustices; he stated: "Yes. I’ll continue to sit. I’m going to continue to stand with the people that are being oppressed. To me, this is something that has to change. When there’s significant change and I feel like that flag represents what it’s supposed to represent, this country is representing people the way that it’s supposed to, I’ll stand". Thus, once again let me applaud this athlete for having the courage and audacity to use one of the biggest stages in American culture to bring attention to the social injustices that affects disproportionally African Americans, in particular cases involving police brutality. Kaepernick’s position was brave and if I could have had a personal word with him, I would told him, that I drew the same conclusion some years ago and refused to stand up for the saluting of the American flag and the singing of the national anthem.  

Kaepernick understood the United States Constitution better than most of us and was exercising his right to freedom of expression, which was protected by law. His protest should have been immediately received as protected speech under the First Amendment Right to the U.S. Constitution and in my opinion every black athlete should have stood with him in solidarity, because they have a huge stage, which commands huge influence beyond just the world of sport and play.  Yes, their collective stance and action would have created mutiny in the sports world, but it would have forced these professional sports conglomerates to view the black athlete different other than just being a Negro commodity. The National Football League is a huge corporation and possesses tremendous economic and political influence, but this well oiled machine has prospered from the gifts and talents of the black athlete (high priced modern slaves and gladiators). I am of the opinion that the NFL has a moral and social obligation to use its power and wealth to support individuals like Colin Kaepernick who sees the broader picture about social issues that affects our community.

Kaepernick's stance is reminding the NFL that the black athlete do not live in a glass house; here is a league that is probably over 65% black men, the issues that affects black men in the larger society cannot be ignored by a league who has built a powerful entertainment economic enterprise off the backs of the same black men who comes from these same communities and demographics and social-economic backgrounds as the victims who are being targeted by white law enforcement and their quick to discover that their newfound success (which often constitute a world of materialism) do not make them immune from being arrested while driving black (they might can change their zip codes, but they cannot change their skin color) and can easily become victims themselves of police brutality regardless of their wealth and celebrity status.  The NFL could and should put more investment dollars in these urban black poor and disenfranchised communities as opposed to creating gentrification opportunities for big corporate real estate investors, which often devalue and steal poor and oppressed people's property to build arenas and playing fields and shopping centers that push poor people out and then revalue the property at astronomical tax values they are not helping to empower black communities. This is the real crime.  

Kaepernick chose to use his high profile image to challenge racism and injustice relative to the above mentioned police brutality cases that have seen innocent black men killed by white law enforcement these injustices compelled him to act; he sought to kneel during the playing of the American national anthem, but his dissention was to challenge what was deemed by him as being a fundamental contradiction to the concept of American democracy, which was rooted in a double standard of American hypocrisy (Chattel Slavery and America's history of racism have created a longstanding social and political dichotomy relative to how some black Americans view patriotism and loyalty); the 310 years of dehumanization will always act like a ghost and haunt America in the area of race relations, which was one of the greatest crimes that have ever been committed against humanity. This history has never been rectified (it can only be resolved when reparation and justice is dispensed to the ex-slaves); moreover, some believe that Kaepernick's stance was the epitome of unpatriotic conduct, which stood as a shameful act for an American citizen to commit against the United States Government and their symbols of sovereignty. Kaepernick stated “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color.”

Those who criticized him refuses to look beyond their own biases that is driven by emotionalism he was clear about his position, he no longer could stand for the American flag until the injustices are halted and black and brown people are treated with fairness and is protected by the law (once again Kaepernick's stance was only a small reminder that the national anthem and the American flag means two distinct things to black America and white America). Lets not mistakenly expect this young black athlete to be viewed in the same breathe and light of Marcus Garvey, W.E.B Dubois, Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Louis Farrakhan, Muhammad Ali, Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, Fred Hampton, Mark Clark, etc., These men dared to alter world history by challenging the status quo and the powers-that-be. Sometime it’s mere circumstances that propels us to stand up against injustice—I do not necessarily think that Kaepernick is a student of Black Nationalism and he is probably not a student of radical militant politics, but yet the mass mediums and many in white America would make all types of attempts and assumptions to associate his position with leftist and perhaps even with anarchist groups and ideologies and try to mis-categorize his quest for black social justice by relegating his activism with acts of treason and sedition. But black people still in 2016 who are so-called Americans cannot receive justice and are victims of a highly charged racist police departments throughout America this what is fueling Kaepernick's dissent. 

Kaepernick stepped outside of what is expect from the black athlete, they are not paid to become political symbols and pursue political or social justice issues, in particular those issues that deals with race are taboo, and yet Kaepernick's position broke rank with his expectations as an athlete and in today’s era of market brands and being politically correct in which athletes are more concern with marketing themselves for the next contract and pursuing Madison Avenue endorsements rather than standing up for issues that might spark controversy and tarnish their brand (to do what Kaepernick is doing is unique and it is outside of selfishness and ‘me-ism’ that most entertainers and athletes have succumb to in 2016). Trust me Kaepernick will pay a heavy price for his social rebellion; he will be vilified and isolated and will be viewed by the National Football League corporation as a cancer, which must not be allowed to take root and spread amongst other players. The NFL Players Labor Union will not back Kaepernick because his action has the potential to disrupt labor and could cause huge profit losses to the NFL corporation. They desire to sit idly by and attempt to ignore the wealth disparities, the modus operandi of the Prison Industrial Complex, and the militarization of the police departments. Kaepernick's stance only says to us and the NFL, we have a problem and we cannot pretend these social issues do not exist and to ignore Kaepernick's broader argument will only acerbate the American divide.

The National Football League views Kaepernick's protest as perhaps a public relations nightmare because athletes are paid to perform and entertain and not to promote real social justice and although some black athletes such as Jim Brown, Curt Flood, Muhammad Ali , John Carlos and few others decided to be more than just an athlete; they took up the mantle of social justice. Tommy Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games these two courageous athletes stood on the podium that day upon receiving their gold and bronze medals respectively raised their black gloved fist in solidarity of the Black Power Movement. They decided on that big stage to let the world know that they were in agreement with the resistance and the revolutionary movement that was being spearheaded by the black vanguard of our struggle respectively known as the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in the 1960s. They refused to turn a blind eye to oppression and injustice. They were clear about the political stand they took. But former heavyweight boxing champion of the world George Foreman grab the American flag and ran around the stadium. His reactionary political stance was to show White America that he was a good loyal Negro and to also let the former slave master children know he was an 'American' and that he didn't support the Black Power movement. Frederick Douglass once stated in a speech "what to the slave is the 4th July".

Some of you may recall the former Louisiana State University (LSU) and Denver Nuggets National Basketball Association basketball player Mahmoud Abdul Rauf  (aka Chris Jackson) who converted to the religion of Al-Islam and he too like Kaepernick in the mid 1990s took issue with pledging allegiance to the U.S. flag and standing for the singing of the national anthem. These symbols and notion of patriotism did not resonate with Rauf’s conversion to his new faith tradition of Al-Islam and although, his dissention was rooted more in a religious protest in which he had an affirmation to reconcile his belief in the Five Pillars of Islam in which caused him as a Muslim to question whether or not he could pay homage to the sovereignty of a nation that had stood for oppression and tyranny. Yet, I think both Kaepernick and Rauf shared a central theme, which was drawing the conclusion that America had a history of unresolved injustices and, perhaps after closely reading the words and interpreting the national anthem, it led them both see the hypocrisy and the social contradictions; it also, perhaps brought both of them to the question of race and justice in America. Thus, being black and living the black experience it was easy for them to see two Americas one black and one white. I remember Rauf standing in a Muslim prayers position while the national anthem was being played perhaps as a respectful denunciation.  

He was vehemently criticized for showing his allegiance to Allah (God) and although, Rauf’s protest was rooted deeply in the injustices aimed at black Americans but his argument was more shrouded in the complexities of Islam relative to the American culture in the 1990s of course a lot has changed domestically and globally since Rauf made his protest perhaps over 20 years ago, but yet Kaepernick's protest serves as proof positive that a lot still remain the same in America two decades later. Kaepernick's motivation to challenge the status quo was tied directly to race and class and wealth disparity and injustice. The above mentioned high profile police brutality incidents sensitized him to speak out and condemn the innocent killings of black men by white law enforcement officers. Yes, he has been ridiculed by some and praised by others, which has led to some NFL football players not standing for the national anthem as well and even some college and high school players have joined onto Kaepernick's protest; if nothing else Kaepernick's protest has restarted a conversation relative to social justice. The question relative to free speech is, how do we act and receive speech in which we disagree, that is the litmus test to determining our so-called constitutional freedoms and our level of tolerance as a society?    

Lastly, like many so-called African Americans this past summer, I watched the summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in which my interest was to see and applaud the African American/African athletes and to celebrate their accomplishments. They all seem so proud to stand on the podium as so-called Americans in receiving their Gold, Silver and Bronze metals and seeing the American flag being risen and the United States National Anthem being sung must of have sent goose bumps down their spines. But I immediately had to gather myself in recognizing what these young black athletes had accomplished for America and yet simanteously think about the way black people are treated by United States Government and the U.S. police departments at home, it is this contradiction that immediately soured my taste to accept and recognize American patriotism being displayed as less than genuine. I looked at Brazil, which was colonized by the Portuguese and next to the United States, it was Brazil where the most African slaves were transported against their will during the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Middle Passage.

The media mostly show you the light skinned mulatto Brazilians, but there are over 20 million black Brazilians who are descendants of ex-slaves that the media in Rio do not show you. So I will always salute our right to be treated as human beings and not just be celebrated during athletic events to add to America's medal count. I salute our right to attain complete freedom and be treated under the banner of freedom, justice and equality. Moreover, anyone of these African American, Afro-Caribbean and or African athletes, etc., could be killed in America by white racist police law enforcement. So as we raise the American flag, I think about Sandra Bland, Treyvone Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, etc., and the recent deaths of other Black men at the hands of racist American police officers. I think about the over 100 million African slaves who were kidnapped, raped, dehumanized and enslaved (they were so-called Americans and my tears are for them and my ancestors runs deep). Yes, Black Lives Matter beyond these damn Olympic Games; do not ask me to stand when the flag is being raised and put my hand over my heart when you are still killing us in the streets. One of my idols Muhammad Ali threw his gold medal (Ali won a gold medal in the 1960 Rome Games as a light-heavy weight boxer) in the river. Ali was a free black man and who debunked the shackles of a modern day slave. Treat black people as true Americans and not just during the Olympic Games. Black Lives Matter beyond adding gold metals to America’s count. Thank you Colin Kaepernick for rekindling this much needrd conversation that evolves around social justice, race, class and white privilege.

Fahim A. Knight-El Chief Researcher for KEEPING IT REAL THINK TANK located in Durham, NC; our mission is to inform African Americans and all people of goodwill, of the pending dangers that lie ahead; as well as decode the symbolism and reinterpreted the hidden meanings behind those who operate as invisible forces, but covertly rules the world. We are of the belief that an enlightened world will be better prepared to throw off the shackles of ignorance and not be willing participants for the slaughter. Our MOTTO is speaking truth to power. Fahim A. Knight-El can be reached at fahimknight@yahoo.com.

Stay Awake Until We Meet Again
Fahim A. Knight-El