America’s ongoing struggle: white supremacy vs. everybody
We shouldn’t be surprised. He embodies the ideals upon which this country was founded—ideals that were always meant to benefit a select few.Our nation’s founders, all white, land-owning men, never envisioned democracy for anyone beyond themselves and their wives.
White women, when they weren’t merely vessels for reproduction, existed to cater to their husbands. And enslaved Black people were viewed not as humans but as livestock.
This foundation began to shift after the Civil War when the nation found itself at a crossroads: change or perish.A post shared by Black Enterprise (@blackenterprise)Subscribe to Native Son’s newsletter for more news, information, and conversations about Black gay and queer everything.After the North’s victory, Congress passed the Reconstruction Amendments—the 13th, 14th, and 15th—which, respectively, abolished slavery, granted equal rights to all citizens, and enshrined the right to vote regardless of race or previous condition of servitude.
The 14th Amendment, in particular, granted birthright citizenship and promised equal protection under the law, inadvertently making the United States the first multiracial democracy in history.
