I remember this quote as “ reading, writing, and arithmetic” as a child. Its origins stem from here, according to Wikipedia…

The three Rs (as in the letter R)[1] refers to the foundations of a basic skills-oriented education program in schools: reading, writing and arithmetic. It appeared in print as a space-filler in “The Lady’s Magazine” for 1818, although it is widely quoted as arising from a phrase coined in a toast given by Sir William Curtis, Member of Parliament, in about 1825.[2] Since its original creation, many others have used the term to describe other trifecta.

This essay has stemmed from several different events having to do with racism in this country.

Yes, racism has always been here.

And it continues to be here.

And its not ever going away.

Why?

America was built on hate. That’s the honest to God truth. Its been there, in the fabric, laced with blurred pleasantries, hidden behind the whiteness of America.

In the early 17th century, European settlers in North America turned to African slaves as a cheaper, more plentiful labor source than indentured servants (who were mostly poorer Europeans). After 1619, when a Dutch ship brought 20 Africans ashore at the British colony of Jamestown, Virginia, slavery spread throughout the American colonies. Though it is impossible to give accurate figures, some historians have estimated that 6 to 7 million slaves were imported to the New World during the 18th century alone, depriving the African continent of some of its healthiest and ablest men and women.

So, if your history in America is linked to SLAVES, why would someone think of you in a better light? They won’t.

And about those “ indentured servants” who were WHITE? They had begun to cost the landowners more money than expected.

And when money becomes a factor, that is when the shift started to racial slavery.

In 1619 the first black Africans came to Virginia. With no slave laws in place, they were initially treated as indentured servants, and given the same opportunities for freedom dues as whites. However, slave laws were soon passed — in Massachusetts in 1641 and Virginia in 1661 –and any small freedoms that might have existed for blacks were taken away.

As demands for labor grew, so did the cost of indentured servants. Many landowners also felt threatened by newly freed servants demand for land. The colonial elite realized the problems of indentured servitude. Landowners turned to African slaves as a more profitable and ever-renewable source of labor and the shift from indentured servants to racial slavery had begun.

Those Puritans decided the Native Americans were savages, and they needed to be converted to their ways. Anything that was different, convert it, or KILL IT. Its the American way, isn’t it?

Hate crimes have risen since you-know-you declared they were running for office, and eventually won, to the dismay of not only people in America, but to the dismay of people Around the World. Maybe they saw something in him, that we were too blind or uninformed to see. Many have now been witness to his behavior, which borders on the insane. However, this article is not about him, but its about our love of hate for those who are different in this country. But he certainly ushered in the hate; hate that has been lying in wait, just waiting to breathe itself back to life.

Every time we pass a law of protection for those who have been marginalized, the hate for those people just shows up somewhere else. Its like prostitution. You can eradicate it from one neighborhood, only to find it pops up elsewhere. But do we ever really find out how to eradicate prostitution? Do we get down to the root of the problem? Are we not aware of what contributes to humans selling themselves to make ends meet? Or are we not aware that maybe we should somehow encourage those NOT to buy others for their sexual needs? ( I’m not talking about those who CLEARLY choose this profession, who are capable adults, I’m talking about those who are involved in human trafficking, for sex/slavery).

But back on point…

What about the school/schools that have recently complained about the hair of young black women, disproportionately punishing them, as opposed to their white counterparts?

I understand the hair dilemma. I have coarse thick black hair. Its easier to wear it in a braid, or wear it short. I could put caustic chemicals on it to straighten it, but why should I? I have friends from an older generation, who are black, and the things they had to do to their hair just to fit in, was horrendous. This is their natural hair, thick, curly, and to use braids or extensions should be no problem, unless the WHITE administrators make it one.

Basically what it comes down to, if I legally can’t harass you or discriminate you, based on the color of your skin, let’s find another target to make your life miserable and make you suffer. Its this type of selective racism that rears its ugly head. But when a white girl does it, then we all had better throw them a goddamned parade. When Bo Derek put her hair in corn rows, it was deemed down right sexy, in the movie “ 10.” Black women have been doing this for centuries, yet, there is no ticker tape parade, only ridicule and harassment.

The message is loud and clear.

If you’re white, it’s alright.

If you’re black, step back…