I guess racial reconciliation must have been accomplished recently because Time Magazine said that descendants of a slave and a Supreme Court Justice righted a 160-year-old wrong.
On March 6, 1857, Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney said:
Negroes had for more than a century before been regarded as beings of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or political relations; and so far inferior, that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect; and that the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit.
So on March 6, 2017, Charles Taney III, a great-great-great-nephew of Justice Taney issued an apology to Lynne Jackson, the great-great granddaughter of Dred Scott. I don’t know who gave Charles the authority to speak on behalf of his family…I damn sure don’t know who gave him the authority to apologize on behalf of the Country and White people that took his great-great-great-uncle’s ruling as a license to abuse Black people.
I also don’t know who gave Lynne the authority to accept Taney’s apology on your and my behalf (she accepted the apology “on behalf of all African Americans who have the love of God in their heart so that healing can begin.” But Charles apologized…Lynne accepted.
But the ruling in Dred Scott’s case established legal precedent for denying the rights of all Black people in America. It gave validity to White Supremacist ideology and gave a green light to racial terror and institutionalized racism. I don’t think that some words from an obscure descendant of Justice Taney to an obscure descendant of Dred Scott lead to racial reconciliation for all Black & White people in America.
So what will lead to racial reconciliation in America?
In this episode of Blacks with Power, I will unpack the critical thing that is needed to bring about racial reconciliation. The Bible shows us that Black Power is necessary before any sort of real and lasting reconciliation can happen. Listen to this episode and let me show you…
What do you think? Is Black Power – as defined in this episode – necessary? Or, do you see another way?
I’d love to hear from you!
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
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