MLK is the most well-known and least well understood figure in history after Jesus Christ…
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News of this poll about racism…
…and the most recent attacks against accuracy in teaching students about slavery in the US
both caused me to consider what alternatives could be presented to counter the bs that the enslaved benefited from that system, that systemic racism in the US ended, and that acknowledging past harms and trying to atone for them is somehow racist against White people.
Here’s my short list of what the enslaved in the US learned:
Construction, metalwork, landscaping, housekeeping, etc. - any skills or crafts necessary to build and maintain the owners’ homes, land, and possessions (including livestock, tools, clothing, and household goods). These skills were also applied to public infrastructure and institutions.
Agriculture - planting, cultivating, harvesting, processing, and transporting crops for consumption or sale.
Healthcare - healing wounds/trauma from assaults or corporal punishment, contraception, maternal care, child care, and addressing any other illnesses or injuries as required.
Cooking - preparing & serving meals for owners (to their tastes/preferences), while also learning how to make any available scraps or local wild plants edible/palatable for enslaved people to avoid starvation.
Acting - how to communicate with owners in a way that didn’t result in injury or death, as well as hiding religious differences.
The power of religion and education in the US - reading, writing, and math (most owners didn’t approve of this or any religious practice beyond the Slave Bible).
Espionage - listening, observation, and networking with other enslaved people or allies.
Strategy - escape/revolt planning (including communication through song, reconnaissance, disguises/camouflage and astronavigation).
Genealogy - methods to retain oral histories, track, and/or locate family members sold and transported to other states.
Perseverance - using faith, hope, and expressions of joy to maintain mental health and cultural connection despite enslavement, oppression, and severing of ancestral links due to the African diaspora.
Skepticism - related to owners and groups who reneged on promises/assurances of freedom, equality, fraternity, sorority, or solidarity; attempted to convince the enslaved that their treatment and lack of compensation was for their own good; or claimed enslavement was supported by the owners’ religion. This is associated with feelings of dread or mistrust toward those in power/law enforcement who serve as obstacles to freedom and fairness by supporting those enriched by oppressing others.
Finally, here’s Michael Harriot’s feedback on the concerns raised about addressing historic injustices (through compensation that has been withheld for centuries, and other means) as well as reactions to racism in the US:
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I’m confused, sorry if I’m missing something, but doesn’t some of your list support the claim that the enslaved benefited from being enslaved?
I’d also want to add that many already had some of those skills before they were kidnapped. 
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I mean, they could have been taught how to spin straw into gold and catch extradimensional fish made of chocolate, and it still wouldn’t have benefited them because the whole thing with slavery is that the benefits all go to someone else.
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Exactly. That’s why I followed the list with the topic of reparations. The idea was to find subversive ways to meet the absolutely absurd argument/requirement provided. For every point there is a significant cost, hypocrisy, or inequity revealed, and unfortunately the resulting harms from those “lessons learned” can still be found to this day.
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… said the people complaining about confederate statues being taken down.
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Ugh. This reminds me of the 1968 occupation of Wilmington, Delaware:
That lasted for 9 months, and details beyond the news report in my older post were also covered during this Day of Remembrance program fifty years later:
“Don’t be upset by the protests,” Gaines-Hanks said, referring to both 1968 and today’s social justice activism. “Be upset by why the protests happened.”
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We have discussed the disparity in OB care between Balck and white women, but this one, holy shit…
(TW: Even as an MD, this one was upsetting)
The couple asked for a C-section earlier, when the baby still could have survived, but were denied, Edmond said.
He said the case highlighted the higher rates of infant and maternal mortality for Black women.
Ross and Taylor, 21, did not speak at Wednesday’s news conference. Their attorneys also accused Southern Regional staff of trying to cover up the decapitation by discouraging the couple from getting an autopsy, encouraging them to have their son cremated and wrapping and propping his body to make it appear the head was still attached.
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He was holding a baby. This obviously meant he was guilty!
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An Applebee’s employee told officers that some “suspicious people” who may have been involved in the crash were in the restaurant
ah yes. while i do consider anyone who wants to eat at applebee’s suspicious… pulling a kid from his dad’s arms, and then punching him after he’s on the floor, might generally not be the best approach
but i’m not a cop, so i’m sure they feared for their lives 
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Smalls and his relatives are among the many original families still living in historic settlement communities around Charleston. People who had been enslaved at Phillips Plantation bought patches of it to make their futures. Their descendants question whether the next generation can afford to stay.
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There’s a great example of how ‘reparations’ can encompass so many things. Why add further insult and injury to those families? They should have the right to their property, tax free, in perpetuity.
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