By Melanated Glow
As a people, we have been intentionally targeted and displaced for the benefit of others. Whether you believe that Africans were already on this soil in the 1600s, endured the Middle Passage during the Transatlantic Slave trade across the Atlantic Ocean, or a combination of the two, it can be agreed upon that our overall position was lowered because of someone else’s plan. Over centuries, indigenous people with indigenous lifestyles have been a target for those that desired to dominate and control the minds of the masses.
The main reason we were used for labor was our physical strength and ability to endure the heat and other situations that the white indentured servants could not. Essentially, we were the best type of people to complete the job and our strength became exploited as our physical bodies displaced worldwide as a result.
While our people were being displaced for labor and dominated for profit, other indigenous people were being robbed of their lands and freedoms. Those native to this land inhabited a large part of what is now considered western United States. As the European Americans desired the inhabited lands, the Native Americans were pushed out.
Another span of time where our people were displaced was after the Emancipation Proclamation. Those that wanted to survive on the local land by farming needed land to farm on and tools to farm with. The Black sharecroppers of this time were taken advantage of with the lenders keeping them in debt with high interest rates or cooking the books. Because this was also a time of increased KKK presence, lynchings, and other murders, the loan holder wasn’t questioned for false charges due to risk of death. Some of these farmers migrated North after determining they had a better chance of taking care of their families elsewhere, especially with manufacturing work options available in the North.
This strategic method of displacing our people continues to disrupt the flow of our collective momentum. Examples of this from our past include the tragedy in Tulsa, OK where Black Wall Street was destroyed with fatalities, World Wars encouraging relocation from the South to the North for jobs, and the migration to Harlem to fuel the Harlem Renaissance. We tend to move accordingly and we always do what is best for our families. This mindset allows for external situations to determine our behavior. We tend to make these types of decisions without a thought of controlling our options rather than choosing what is presented within the constructs of the system.
As another example, during the times of segregation, whites did not want Blacks to live in their neighborhoods. To support this, certain states passed laws to enforce where whites and Blacks can live while other places worked through the real estate agents to ensure communities were kept “race pure”. We can see evidence of this segregation from the 1960s and before in how we live today. This is evident especially in the lack of our presence in rural areas and how we can be questioned by police for just being in a neighborhood they deem off limits to us.
Since we have allowed others to manipulate or control our movements, we have been intentionally displaced. Florida A&M University sits on the highest of the hills of Tallahassee. This was the area we were allowed to have because we weren’t expected to be able to build a historically Black university on that land. It is typical that we are given land that is deemed undesirable until we put our love on it. After they see what we have done with the place, they want it back and gentrify our neighborhoods to ensure that that happens. A good example of this is New York City and Central Park.
Although our ancestors built this nation, we are consistently given the scraps and told to be grateful for them. Even when we achieve monetary success, we are not accepted by them. This is evidenced in the situation involving Oprah not being allowed to buy a purse. Also, there are certain neighborhoods that we cannot move into present day. We have been moved over centuries. When we better understand the dynamics of the displacement, we can be proactive in controlling our placement intentionally.
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