Black History, at best, is whitewashed. And at the very worse, it’s the kind of propaganda that oppressors have used--since the dawn of civilization-- to keep an op-pressed people divided and confused. However, once you understand where Dr. Carter G. Woodson was coming from (when he compiled a history of our contributions that helped make America a great), you’ll understand why he later wrote “The Miseducation of the Negro.” He thought that, even the most racist White person would no longer see descendents of slaves as a liability after reading how we helped build America. Sadly, racism and bigotry precludes enlightenment. The simple fact is that evil people can’t handle truth, so they must believe that we’re parasites in the land of the free.
We Must Understand, for descendents of slave owners to value, or even appreciate what African Americans have done and are doing for America as we speak, they would no longer be able to glorify their own ancestors who they choose to hold in high esteem, inasmuch as their own personal esteem is dependent on the collective greatness of their heroic forefathers. Consequently, to condemn their forefathers as cruel and brutal descendents of--real or imagined-- heroic “founding fathers,” would also be demeaning themselves. God fearing racists fully understand that rotten trees don't bear good fruit. On the other hand, Black History elevates descendents of slaves who are justly proud of how much their ancestors were able to accomplish and are still accomplishing…in spite of brutal slavery and institutionalized racism.
Reparations aside, some of us are actually thankful that our ancestors were enslaved in such a great country. But, the fact that whitewashed history is still taught in the nation’s classrooms sends the message that presidents don’t talk to “US.” Meanwhile, an article (“Can Bush’s Speech Live Up to FDR, JFK and Lincoln?”), on Reuter’s Jan. 19, 2005 wire service got our attention when we read: “The best inaugural addresses are already carved in stone. President Bush has a chance on Thursday to make a speech worthy of the stonemason's chisel.” Deborah Zabarenko wrote. “ He will have to live up to some of the most resonant phrases in American history.’ … ‘With malice toward none, with charity for all ’… ‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.’ … ‘Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
The article concluded: “These are the notable exceptions, from Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural, Franklin Roosevelt's first and John Kennedy's only inaugural address. They can be found engraved at the Lincoln Memorial, the Roosevelt Memorial and at Kennedy's grave at Arlington National Cemetery. In general, though, the speeches American presidents give at their swearing-in ceremonies are long on high-flown rhetoric and short on pithy expressions that stick in the mind.” Surely, each and every one of those profound sound bytes stuck in African American’s minds, if for no reason other than to validate the fact that Black people have never been truly integrated into America’s mainstream. And presidents, indeed, speak to mainstream America.
Where are we coming from? Perhaps, this excerpt from Bush’s inaugural address will provide an answer to your question: “America has need of idealism and courage because we have essential work at home -- the unfinished work of American freedom. In a world moving toward liberty, we are determined to show the meaning and promise of liberty…. To give every American a stake in the promise and future of our country, we will bring the highest standards to our schools and build an ownership society. We will widen the ownership of homes and businesses, retirement savings and health insurance -- preparing our people for the challenges of life in a free society. … In America's ideal of freedom, the exercise of rights is ennobled by service, mercy, and a heart for the weak. Liberty for all does not mean independence from one another.
“Our nation relies on men and women who look after a neighbor and surround the lost with love…. Americans, at our best, value the life we see in one another and must always remember that even the unwanted have worth. And our country must abandon all the habits of racism because we cannot carry the message of freedom and the baggage of bigotry at the same time.” As much as some misguided, self centered, brainwashed, “We are not a monolithic people,” African Americans love to condemn their own under achieving people--from an uncompromised Black perspective-- Bush was talking directly to angry White men who control this great nation.