We all witnessed the injustice that was the Troy Davis execution last night. While it’s horrific, it’s just one in a long list of injustices committed by the US government against people of color.
As a history lesson and cautionary tale, we’re going to take a look back at more inexcusable crimes against people of color. Of course, there are so many more. Sound off.
The Tuskegee Experiments –
“For forty years between 1932 and 1972, the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) conducted an experiment on 399 black men in the late stages of syphilis. These men, for the most part illiterate sharecroppers from one of the poorest counties in Alabama, were never told what disease they were suffering from or of its seriousness. Informed that they were being treated for “bad blood,”1 their doctors had no intention of curing them of syphilis at all. The data for the experiment was to be collected from autopsies of the men, and they were thus deliberately left to degenerate under the ravages of tertiary syphilis—which can include tumors, heart disease, paralysis, blindness, insanity, and death. “As I see it,” one of the doctors involved explained, “we have no further interest in these patients until they die.”
Jim Crow Laws – Though Blacks were freed from slavery in the 1860s, the government allowed Jim Crow laws to take effect, allowing for “separate but equal” laws. African-Americans were given substandard living and worse facilities across the south. This last damn near 100 years.
Voting Rights Discrimination – While the constitution allows African-Americans to vote, local governments were allowed to impose subjective and unfair rules that still kept them from having their voices heard. And, at times, violence was used to intimidate and harm people that tried to vote while the government turned a blind eye.
Malcolm X Assassination – While some may have you believe that the Nation of Islam was solely responsible for Malcolm’s death, it’s clear that there was some CIA involvement. Just another visionary snuffed out by the government.
Martin Luther King Assassination – Another government-sponsored murder. Oh, you didn’t think one guy did it, did you? The government has a knack for snuffing out our leaders, don’t they?
The Goodman/Chaney/Schwerner Murders – Three men in Mississippi were investigating a church bombing when they were brutally murdered by local police and members of the city. After a long investigation and search for the bodies, the men were convicted of “violation of civil rights” and no murders.
Hurricane Katrina/Hurricane Betsy – Back in the 50s, the government blew up the New Orleans levees so the flood waters could seep into the predominantly African-American neighborhoods. Fast forward to 2005 and people of color were stranded on roofs for days with no help from George W. or the government.
Guatemala Experiments – Let’s not forget the crimes the government has committed abroad. In the 1940s, they infected Guatemalans with STDs and experimented on them. What’s also sad is the fact the government hid this until just this year.
Cop Murders – Let’s not forget all of the times police have gotten let off the hook for killing innocent Black kids. From Oscar Grant on, it’s been open season on our youth for years.
Poverty Levels – Something’s not right. Right now, the average African-American only makes half of the average White family and it’s only getting worse. We’re in the middle of the biggest discrepancy in income since slavery.
