part of us like that with which we were birthed.
“What made Bacon’s Rebellion especially fearsome for the rulers of Virginia was that black slaves and white servants joined forces.”
Looking back to the future, we can point to a clear tipping point of our modern day artificially engineered race relations. Bacon’s Rebellion provides us with a historical example of cooperation among people of similar circumstance. Bacon, a disgruntled settler was presented with an opportunity, coupled with an unwavering desire to get his way. It is significant that not just blacks, but “Virginians of all classes” banded together in Bacon’s Rebellion. This was especially unsettling to colonists, regardless of the racial distinctions. Colonists knew not only racial, but more substantial class divides would need to be instituted to limit such cohesion. In Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of The United States”, he highlights the colonist fear of interracial cohesion.
“It was the potential combination of poor whites and blacks that caused the most fear among the wealthy white planters. If there had been the natural racial repugnance that some theorists have assumed, control would have been easier.”
But it was not easy to divide people who saw each other as similar. During this brutally oppressive time for even free men, arguably oppressed by the crown, knowing who was on your side was vital. It would be naive to believe that race was invisible. Sexual desire, friendship, loyalty, trust, freedom, these trumped race. Commonality and kindness grew friendship and cooperation regardless of race. A lesson for us here in modern times. Benjamin Banneker, a free black Almanac Author of the late 1700’s is aware of the deceitful social engineering of the time and goes so far as to call out Thomas Jefferson. “I apprehend you will embrace every opportunity, to eradicate that train of absurd and false ideas and opinions.” As many clear-headed people of the time did. Mainly those not driven by vested interests.
Does race matter? It does matter. It should not matter to the extent it causes an inability to cooperate. Race and culture have come to define our personal identities, and maybe that is okay. As long as it is coming from a place of pride and not driven by exclusion. Why do we have so much trouble with white pride? Because white pride seems inextricably linked to oppression. This type of racial/cultural pride only leads to a perpetuation of the current artificially created racial barriers. Meanwhile, black pride clings too much to a shared history of collective oppression. Do not be mistaken, the racial engineering that took place stemmed from money, and not hatred. Native Americans, as well as blacks were deemed less because they posed a threat to the wealth and power of colonists. Colonists desired the land, the dismissal of Native Americans and blacks to be subordinate. But like the unnatural treatment of both black and white servants of the time, it is unnatural for a person to be blindly subordinate. Moreover, to be so in the face of cruel punishment, physical, and emotional terrorism and mistreatment.
Stratification is everything. And, if a structure is put in place, minus any regulatory body, or board of directors, then the “men” at the top will answer to no one. At the top of the pyramid are the aristocrats. The rule makers. They create the standards and practices for everyone below to follow. It sounds like an innocent organizational structure, but without any checks and balances. Next are the poor whites, mainly a servant class. Many of whom were not treated much better than slaves. On the last tier lies everyone else. This is an oversimplified example. In the modern day, there are far more levels, upper middle class, lower middle class, working poor, etc. But the principle remains the same. Laws, rules, and regulations that are set by a ruling minority hell bent on protecting their wealth. What also must be noted is the ruling class, the rule makers, represented a tiny fraction of the population. During a time when an uprising was a realistic