The Southern Truth
By Gloria Zuurveen, Editor-in-Chief
An article in The Federalist, written by Brianna Lyman, quoted J.D. Vance, saying, “Britain began establishing the 13 original colonies in the early 1600s. Over the next century or so, hundreds of thousands of Brits moved to the British colonies that were established by settlers—not immigrants. There was no ‘nation’ being immigrated to by the first settlers. The Brits didn’t come to America to join a pre-existing country. It was just land. There were no laws, borders, maps, or written language. The British settlers came to uncharted land to establish colonies under British rule. They were entrepreneurs building this nation from scratch, not immigrants joining a pre-existing nation.”
WOW! What a statement from a Yale man. And with this, they have a plan. If this is it, then we are all in trouble because this rhetoric is no bubble—it’s reality. This is what he truly believes, conditioned by his own narrow world view. Hillbilly Elegy may be in his bones, but that philosophy is kicking me and all others like me from the very land we’ve called home—land that has been ours for centuries, long before 1619 or even 1492. Millions had already roamed, lived, and made this land their birthright and their God-given right to exist, free of atrocity and injustice. And now, here we are, confronting a vile, diabolical idea that threatens our existence once again.
But let me make this clear: As Black people, we will not be complicit in this way of thinking. It is tantamount to genocide to uphold such a vicious lie. We will not stand silent while history is rewritten to erase our presence, our contributions, and our rightful claim to this land.
This philosophy must not advance. Not now, not ever. If Vance’s story is true—if, as he says, the land was “just land” with no laws, no borders, no maps—then it follows that he is erasing the very existence of those who came before him. He claims that the settlers came to “uncharted land,” as if the millions of Indigenous peoples and Africans who lived here before were invisible. He ignores the truth: the land was not uninhabited. The people who lived here were not waiting for European settlers to claim ownership through violence and bloodshed.
These settlers, who Vance seems to champion, were not just “entrepreneurs” as he suggests. They were colonizers who imposed themselves on peaceful Indigenous nations and enslaved African people to build their “new” world. They came with guns and violence, not with a mutual understanding or hospitality, but with force and bloodshed.
Now, Vance is claiming these settlers were the “originals,” the rightful heirs to the land, and that the rest of us, especially, Black people, somehow don’t belong. But what Vance and his radical allies fail to see is that the true history cannot be hidden, no matter how they try to spin it. The late Ray Charles and the living Stevie Wonder can see it, too—this is a new day, and a new way. Black people ain’t here to play.
We’ve seen this rhetoric before. We know this playbook. But in this new day, we are rejecting it with all our might. We will not let history be erased. We will not let these false narratives advance. And we will continue to stand strong, proud, and unyielding in our rightful place on this land.
This is the truth we will live by. It is time for a new way, a new philosophy, and a new future. We won’t back down, and we won’t let this vile rhetoric take hold.
Let’s make sure we speak up and stand firm.
The Southern Truth
