( - promoted by Clem Guttata)
by Woodward Jones
We often hear that history repeats itself and I'm convinced that the recent development of the Tea Party movement bears a striking resemblance to Jim Crow. In both cases the rich and powerful developed a strategy that pitted the poor and working masses against each other. They used fear and hatred to divide and conquer people, thereby destroying any challenge to their power.
"Whites Only" and "Coloreds" are the signs we think of when someone mentions Jim Crow. But who were the targets of Jim Crow? Most people believe the targets were blacks, but actually significant targets of those repressive laws were the poor white masses. Jim Crow laws were not instituted immediately following the Civil War, but at a critical time when wealthy and powerful Southerners were feeling threatened.
Historian C. Vann Woodward writes in his book "The Strange Career of Jim Crow" "The segregation of the races was really a political stratagem employed by the emerging Bourbon interests in the South to keep the southern masses divided and southern labor the cheapest in the land."
During the post-civil war period poor whites were paid unbearably low wages, but if they complained the plantation and mill owners simply threatened to hire newly freed slaves, a group of people they could pay even less. By pitting the poor whites and newly freed slaves against each other the southern plantation owners were able to enforce the near-starvation wages.
Toward the end of the Reconstruction era the Populist movement was developed that began to unite poor whites and former slaves. Rev. Martin Luther, Jr. described what happened next, "The leaders of this movement began awakening the poor white masses and the former Negro slaves to the fact that they were being fleeced by the emerging Bourbon interests. Not only that, but they began uniting the Negro and white masses in a voting bloc that threatened to drive the Bourbon interests from the command posts of political power in the South."
The southern aristocracy was threatened by this voting bloc and realized they must develop a strategy to end this. In response to this threat they established the white supremacy doctrine, which was enforced through the establishment of Jim Crow laws. Through Jim Crow they were able to separate whites and blacks, thus eliminating the opportunity for these two groups to build an electoral base that would challenge the wealthy Southerners' ability to control the masses.
Let's be clear about why the Populist movement had to be destroyed. If the poor masses, both black and white, united they had the potential to build enough power to threaten the power structure of the South. White supremacy and Jim Crow were the tools that were used to keep both groups poor and powerless.
As Rev. King further explained, "That's what happened when the Negro and white masses of the South threatened to unite and build a great society: a society of justice where none would prey upon the weakness of others, a society of plenty where greed and poverty would be done away, a society of brotherhood where every man would respect the dignity and worth of human personality."
So what relevance does Jim Crow have in 21st century America? Rev. King provided these four descriptions of Jim Crow:
1. A Populist movement was built that united former slaves and poor whites.
2. The movement developed a voting bloc that threatened to drive aristocratic interests from political power.
3. A counter movement was developed in which the needs of poor whites were of no consequence.
4. Through the counter movement's command of mass media they revised the doctrine of white supremacy. They saturated the thinking of poor white masses with it.
What if we substituted the first point with: A presidential movement was built that united a broad cross-section of Americans? Then ask yourself: Did that movement develop a voting bloc that threatened to drive aristocratic interests from political power? Has a counter movement developed in which the needs of poor whites are of no consequence? Through the counter movement's command of mass media have they revised the doctrine of white supremacy? Have they saturated the thinking of poor white masses with it?
I clearly see the Tea Party as the 21st century version of Jim Crow. We need to understand, though, that while white supremacy and racism are the tools of both Jim Crow and the Tea Party, the real purpose of these counter movements was/is to keep the masses divided and permit wealthy aristocrats to retain their power.
Rev. King often reached out to poor whites he met, even the jailers after he had been arrested. In recalling one of those times he tells the story of what he said to his white jailers, "Now you know what? You ought to be marching with us. You are put in the position of supporting your oppressor, because through prejudice and blindness, you fail to see that the same forces that oppress Negroes in American society oppress poor white people."
Do people who are suffering because of today's economic conditions have a right to be angry, angry because they fear losing their job, home, maybe even their families? Of course they do and we must reach out to those who are suffering. Am I advocating standing up at a Tea Party and trying to "educate" people? Absolutely not. But there are thousands of people in West Virginia who are scared, legitimately scared, and we must develop strategies to reach out to them, hear their stories and provide solutions besides hate and fear. |
