Native Americans protest Columbus Day outside UN, 2015
Injustice Against Native Americans
I write frequently about injustices in the US against African-Americans. They are no longer legal, though they have by no means disappeared.
But the injustices done to Native Americans are enshrined in law which still exists! A recent opinion piece in The New York Times by Maggie Blackhawk explains. She said,
“We have overruled the Dred Scott and Plessy v. Ferguson court decisions, banishing the doctrines of overt racism and ‘separate but equal’ from our law, if not from our society. No government would cite these doctrines to justify its actions today.
But we have not yet fully dismantled the legal infrastructure that permitted abuse of Native Americans. On reservations starting in the mid-19th century, the United States established military-run detention camps where the executive branch held limitless power.”
Maggie Blackhawk wrote the op-ed.
United States v. Rogers (1846) established the plenary power doctrine which gave the US government the right to wield power over the “unfortunate race” of Native Americans. War power enshrined in the constitution gave the government unlimited ability to pursue the Indian Wars from 1790 and continuing for 100 years.
Blackhawk writes, “As Gen. Andrew Jackson said, long before he became one of President Trump’s heroes, ‘The laws of war did not apply to conflicts with savages.’ ”
The Supreme Court has cited the precedent of the Indian Wars to uphold other acts harming marginalized populations, including family separations and President Trump’s travel ban on people from some Muslim countries.
Blackhawk concludes, “We are long overdue to confront the abuses of Native Americans and the failure of American colonialism. . . the Indian Wars should serve as precedent for nothing.”
New York Student On Race
TEAM Westport, of which I’m a member, holds an annual teen essay contest. I wrote about this year’s winners a couple of months ago.
Kay Galarza wrote the article.
Harold Bailey, TEAM Westport’s chair, sent a link to an article that is related to this year’s theme of micro-aggressions. Kay Galarza, a high school junior in New York, is the author. She lists many daily challenges faced by students of color in predominately white institutions. “I am tired of never being allowed to take up space. I am tired of having to change my tone of voice or my vocabulary because the same words a white teacher uses are suddenly seen as ‘aggressive’ when they come from me,” she says.
She ends on a note of hope. “I am encouraged by the fact that the city’s education department is actively implementing anti-bias training and culturally responsive education.”.
TEAM Westport met with the acting superintendent of schools for Westport this morning. We talked about the same issues and the need for training.
US Visas for Nigerians More Difficult
My friend Joanne, American married to a Nigerian, sent me a message a couple of days ago. She was reporting on a new US policy for Nigerians seeking visas to the US.
“This was a real blow for us since Joe’s visa expires in July and I had planned to apply using drop box (it is automatic for people 80 years and above). When this announcement came I immediately dropped
everything and started applying for his visa renewal. It took an entire day,” Joanne wrote.
When she looked for an available interview date, there was none available. But the next day she found that suddenly there were dates. So she was able to book a time for him.
Still, Joanne said, “Can you imagine making an 88-year old man go through an extra trip to Abuja, queuing at the Embassy and answering stupid questions?”
The cover of Breaking Kola.
Breaking Kola
If you’ve read my second book, Breaking Kola: An Inside View of African Customs,” and you found any errors, please let me know. I just found several and now I’m proofreading carefully.
Will updating the manuscript be easier than uploading the original manuscript, I wonder. That was a pain, even with my book designer Opal on the case!
Happy Eid
To those celebrating Eid al Fitr today, June 4, I wish you a happy celebration. I haven’t been able to ascertain for sure if Nigeria is recognizing the holiday today, but I’m guessing yes.
