Generation to generation

Did you have to do a family tree project as a kid?

Were you able to trace your family back to the exact continent and country?

If the answer to those questions are both yes. Chances are you know a lot more about your family history than the average black citizen. 

The recent climate of race relations has been at an all time high. Expectedly so, there are people who want to disassociate themselves with the racism that their ancestors are associated with. Generally when we use the term ancestor, people think really far back down their family tree, and not to their grandparent. Your great grandparent is an ancestor. So now that we've got that part cleared up, let's move on. 

A couple of months ago in Charlottesville, VA there was a march for White Supremacy. White nationalist (whatever that means) gathered in Charlottesville, and marched for preservation. Preservation of white supremacy. Of white as the "dominant race". The march was violent and deadly. The President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, came out to call the supremacists who marched, "very nice people". How would he know that though?

Back in 1927, his father was arrested after 1,000 hooded Klansmen marched through a Jamaica, Queens, New York neighborhood, and started a riot. Sound familiar? Let's break this down to the basics. His father was associated with Klansmen. Men who by day, when they weren't wearing hoods and stirring terror, worked as bankers, landlords, police officers, and so much more. They were his colleagues and friends. As a parent, when you introduce your children to a friend, they more than likely look at that friend with an optimistic lens. If you fit the description of human being that is acceptable by the Klan, they are always going to be nice. That is how the president knows that those people who were marching on behalf of white preservation and supremacy, are "very nice people". 

Donald Trump is 71 years old. Let's go to his family tree. His dad, Fred was born in 1905. His grandfather was born in 1869, and his great grandfather, in 1829. It is pretty widely understood, that your parents views directly influence and shape your views. Racism was still very much so prevalent and acceptable when Fred Trump Jr. was growing up. His dad (Donald's great grandfather), was around during reconstruction. A period in American History that far too often gets overlooked, and glossed over, as "Northern Aggression". Reconstruction in America was fraught with racism. People did not care that slaves were now free. They cared about the money they were going to lose. Blacks after reconstruction faced racism that is beyond our wildest dreams today. So, keeping that in mind, it should be easier for you to follow this timeline and tree. Fred Trump Sr. grew up in a time where it was even more acceptable to be racist. 

Racism in America is so commonplace that it's a trait that gets passed down from generation to generation. Sometimes knowingly. Sometimes unknowingly. 

Anyone that grew up pre civil rights movement, and is white, will have different feelings from someone who had the opposite experience regarding race. Fred Trump Sr., passed his views down to his Junior. That is how he ended up arrested after a Klan march. He never felt threatened by the presence of Klan men because he knew them to be nice friendly men. The Trumps have a long history of racism in realty. They were sued for housing discrimination, and basically lost. Earlier this year, the FBI made 389 pages from the racial discrimination investigation against Donald and his father, Fred, available. So while it would be nicer to believe that Fred Jr. was arrested as an innocent bystander, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, it's just not realistic or probable. 

I cannot say that he was a Klansmen hisself, but I can say that he was more than likely friends with Klansmen. He passed on his racist views to his child, as his father passed his to him. He normalized their extremist views to his children. That is clear and evident in the housing discrimination suit. In 1975, Trump agreed to consent decree, where they got away without having to admit any wrongdoing, but were obligated to tell minorities they could in fact rent housing at Trump Properties. A good lawyer, can manipulate the law to your benefit. Should you have enough money to pay for it. The Trumps consent decree is in no way an admission but it's also not a true "no we didn't". It's a good lawyer, understanding the litigation process and advising his client with the best possible options. 

Racism is hard to pin point because it is so nuanced. It's nuanced because the creators of racism were white supremacists that came up with a slew of reasons as to why they were superior race. All reasons are false and untrue, especially when you consider the fact that race is a made up construct. 

However, no matter how false or made up racism may be, it's still a huge factor in today's world. It still has a stronghold on humanity today. The stronghold is so tight because of the generational pass down. It will not lose ground until more people actively recognize and change their racist habits. The more people actively denounce racism, by their actions and voice, the easier it will be to move forward and progress as a society. 

If you did a family tree project, think about how old your grandparents are, their parents, and so on and so forth. If they grew up in a time where racism was widely acceptable and the general way of life, chances are you have some inherent racist traits and beliefs that were passed down. 

Call out your grandparents, your parents, your cousins, aunts, uncles, shit, even your dog. Stop accepting racism as the norm. Stop using excuses like age. People can change, no matter their age. People choose everything that they do. Whether it's to learn or to stay the same, it was a deliberate choice. 

Make the deliberate choice to call out racism. Educate yourself, so you can help educate other people.