The Nefarious History of Black Trophies
Lynne Patton is not the first nor the last political prop in the racist path of America. Since the founding of this country, black men and women have been used as trophies, props, and tools for the use of racists. In 1861 a slave named Harrison Berry wrote a pamphlet called, Slavery and Abolitionism, as Viewed by a Georgia Slave. In this short pamphlet Harrison, a 40-year old slave shoemaker, encouraged blacks to stay in slavery and be submissive to their owners. Berry warned that blacks should never do anything unless they had the permission of white men. Harrison Berry was taught to write and run a business but his mind was enslaved. He used his education to keep his brothers and sisters enslaved. Harrison Berry was trumped up as the first thinking negro to see the truth of slavery! Harrison Berry's pamphlet was widely distributed through the south and became very popular. He was the only colored man of the time to have a best seller distributed through the south and became wealthy and seen as a good negro for his efforts. He was used as a prop to show that racist and murderous slavery was not bad. In fact, It was needed to keep the vicious negro from harming themselves. We are still living with mindsets like Harrison Berry's and the white southerners of his time. It is a sad truth that we love to celebrate Black Trophies in America. That sexy slave or big strong buck on the sales block was seen as a prize to win after successful bidding. We see whites prop us up all the time.
Recently we saw it during the Academy Awards when black people are praised for winning awards that they SHOULD win because of their talent but are praised by whites as being irregular. Blacks and whites see these situations in differing ways. We see it as advancement but he sees it too often as a promotion of his false inclusive campaigns. The bottom line is, we praise the white man for accepting us and he uses us as a prop to suggest that one of his businesses or systems is not racist. We see it when they promote the "First Black (Whatever)".
The facts are that we deserve the promotion or accolade because of our work (something that we have to work 10x harder for in most situations) and bigots use us to sucker more innocuous blacks into the system. Our acceptance of these indignities without challenge makes black people just as duplicitous as the white man in these actions because we do not call them out. We cosign just as Lynne Payton did during the Congressional hearings yesterday.
Lynne Payton justified her actions by pointing out her resume to the public. She is educated and loved by whites so she cannot be a prop. Lynne's argument is laughable and I would suggest that Lynne go read some American history.
I find her use as a utility just as sad as the black men and women consistently pulled on stage when a rabid white racist commits a hate crime, such as with the Charleston shooter Dillon Ruth. Many lawmakers will not call it a hate crime but they pull black officials on the stage to stand behind them as props during their public addresses. We rarely call this out in public and so we all play the ignorant accomplice to the trophy game.
Lastly, We must address the ignorance shown in Congress by Representative Mark Meadows. He is a current example of the foolishness of racism. Malcolm X stated that racism makes white men crazy! Representative Mark Meadows proved this yesterday. My anger resided in the fact that he was allowed to scream and ballyhoo like so many white privileged morons of the past after he perpetrated an ignorant bigoted act. Representative Mark Meadows got vile and loud as he proclaimed, "I am not a racist! I have family that is black and brown!"
Some of us chose to ignore the ignorance of that rooted statement that bears no fruit. Heres a fact: Slave owners had black family members too! They had children that they created with slaves but that fact of having progeny did not make them non-racist! Some racist and bigots have children that marry or produce progeny without the care or support of their racist parents. The fact that you have black and brown relatives does not mean you care or love them. It does not shield you from racist actions no matter if you are black or white. His privileged anger was about being called out for his ignorance by other black and brown people. It is sad but he used a black woman as a trophy and prop and she allowed it to happen on a public stage. As I stated earlier, Lynne Patton's behavior follows a long string of such behavior in her own life (remember during the Presidential Campaign she was recorded on the phone with Omarosa Manigault Newman trying to cover up the fact that a tape might exist with Donald Trump saying, nigger) and the history of the African American people. We have not left the times of Harrison Berry behind us because we don't see it for what it is. I hope this blog illuminates some of us to see the truth.
Read a copy of Harrison Berry's pamphlet at:
https://docsouth.unc.edu/imls/berry/berry.html
