Thank-you for posting.

Interestingly enough, my interest in the slave markets of Charleston was piqued when I volunteered to do some genealogical research for descendants of some slave families of Mississippi. Some of those lines could be traced back to the slave markets of Charleston and being a history buff, my interest expanded beyond the genealogical research.

The author is quite right in that more than just vestiges of the black slavery era permeate the fabric of our country even today. We will never heal our nation of that great sorrow and disgrace unless we first acknowledge its still open wounds.

We need to educate people better about our actual history before we can begin to overcome it.

is going to lead that mission? Witness the &quot divisive) Race Wars" here at DU ... Clearly that "actual history" is too painful for most white folks, including liberal white folks, to discuss; and, no one, including white liberals, want to hear about it from Black folks.

Granted, it might be full of beans... seems to me the liberals (and progressives) most likely to be fighting against contemporary vestiges of the slave trade are also the most likely to be suffering a case of "white guilt". It's an internal war. Those without conscience don't battle with that same guilt because they don't acknowledge it in the first place. Same result but coming from opposite points on the spectrum. Am I making any sense here?

I get what you are saying ... However, I suspect, rather than, struggling with "white guilt", it's more a broader matter is struggling with thoughts about race ... everyone agrees that racial disparity/discrimination is wrong, it's far more difficult to take an honest look at the role one plays in ending it (the path is not clear), but more, the role one plays in (the unthinkable) its continuance.

But sometimes the task before us seems so overwhelming. Where do we start?

been trying for decades yet it always ends up with "yes that's true....but". On here also. Don't want to hear about how all the hate inherent in the fact of a human slave market is still with us today.....big time....can you spell GOP and 'others'?

and your choice of how to enter the thread is to nitpick about how there is probably at least one white person who wants to hear it?

It's about credibility.

I have come to believe that racism is too beneficial to too many politicians and big money groups to be addressed directly. They will always derail efforts toward change, spreading anger and mistrust so they can continue to benefit from an unfair system.

Confronting individuals directly with facts about structural racism and the mechanics of white privilege also seems to be ineffective.

All I have left is grassroots activism and education through narrative as avenues to change. Finding, preserving and publicizing places of historical importance to African-Americans seems a good step in that direction and one I hadn't though much about. I just did a google search on areas that might be of interest in my community and have some leads on interesting places to visit.

As far as recent wars, I don't spend a great deal of time here these days, but I distinctly remember posting pictures of lynched black men one morning before I even had coffee as a response to a thread that claimed the word 'cracker' was equal to the N word, so I guess not much changes.

and I'm not sure that I will.

ETA:

Thanks.

The Invention of Wings, based on the abolitionist Grimke sisters of Charleston. It's quite a story.

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/books/new-sue-monk-kidd-novel-deals-with-slavery-abolition-1.6804048

We will be in Charleston again next May for the Spoleto Festival, and I plan to visit the Old Slave Mart and also
see if I can find the Grimke house, which, apparently, still stands but is, I think, now a law office. It ought to
be a museum.

http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/slavery-and-anti-slavery/essays/angelina-and-sarah-grimke-abolitionist-sisters



In answer to the question at the end of the article about a prominent symbol of racism in 'your' town, the Statue on
the UNC campus known as Silent Sam definitely qualifies.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/09/02/1454360/sam-is-silent-his-detractors-arent.html

http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/at-unc-silent-sam-romanticizes-the-civil-war-and-the-old-south/Content?oid=3649268

(As it should be.)

the link to a very good article.

I have had all sorts of random thoughts connecting today to the past on race. this article really helped tie them together.
Thank you so much for posting this.

Sure, it will make some situations worse - but to get better you must first go through a little pain.
People NEED to know these type things so they can repair and move forward.

as history shows over and over and over again. We're told to just forget history, no matter how horrific, and just "look forward".

Every Confederate military officer should have been tried for treason after the civil war and held up as examples of what happens to people when they conspire against and enslave the people of the United States.

Nope, just look forward and it all magically goes away...NOT!

Where did it go wrong, you may ask?

Many racial deniers, especially liberals, vaguely acknowledge ongoing negative effects of the legacy of slavery. Even then, however, they do so in an intrinsically racist way.

You're talking out your ass.

I read the post.... went back and read the whole article... reread the post (what the .....) and refreshed the thread. Your response captures my incredulous reaction.

Our society itself is racist, and liberals were raised in and live in our society. There are studies that show that liberals can be and are racist. Period.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/are-white-republicans-more-racist-than-white-democrats/

Not for what you're peddling.

Well, hey, you're entitled to your opinion.....and so am I. We can at least agree on that, am I right?

I think you're focused so much on the perceived insult (which really isn't one) that you've missed the actual point.

But, again, you have to realize why I'm pointing this out: us liberals are under attack from all sides right now. We have to deal with conservative and other types of (not necessarily always definitively rightist) non-liberal trolls infiltrating our spaces(not JUST this site, btw) , including some rather sneaky ones who throw out every currently hip phrase in the book and every trendy piece of literature(do you recall the furor over Gerald Horne's 1776, btw? I do.), etc., to make them sound all so genuine and oh so, current.

In other words, be *very* careful.

thanks for clearing that up

You know, the crooked cop who shot and killed Michael Brown for no good reason?