On the occasion of the 400th Anniversary of Slavery in the US

The first slaves were brought to Virginia in 1619.  At first, they were treated as indentured servants, much like white indentured servants, bound to work for usually 7 years, then freed from their obligation.

But over time, whites went free, whereas blacks remained indentured for life, and their children were also indentured.

My thoughts on the results of this single event:

Enslave blacks for nearly 250 years.
Free them and give them equal rights.
Then take away those rights, and blame them for it.
Lynch and murder anyone who violates white norms.
Destroy whole black neighborhoods and communities.
Drive blacks out to create "Sundown Towns".
Deny children a decent education because they are black.
See to it that most can only live in undesirable areas.
Don't allow them to get good paying jobs.
Keep them from entering the learned professions.
Segregate schools, and vastly under-fund black schools.
Deny public funding for advanced programs in black colleges.
Don't let blacks shop in areas outside their neighborhoods.
Don't buy anything from them.
Don't lend money to them to improve their homes.
Don't allow them to buy homes in white neighborhoods.
Watch as their homes and businesses gradually decline.
See their children in dead end jobs and low rated schools.
Blame their poverty and lack of education on their laziness.

Then, integrate society, so blacks can shop anywhere.

Now, watch as black businesses go bankrupt.
Watch as black homes become more unfit and unsafe.
Declare black neighborhoods to be "slum" areas.
Decide to eliminate slums by:
   Rerouting highways through them (Cincinnati's I-71 and I-75).
   Taking property for university buildings like Memorial Colosseum (Lexington).
   Saying you are going to "renew" them.
   Once they are bulldozed, let them become parks (Danville's Constitution Square).
Destroy the social cohesiveness of the black community.
Destroy the identity of the black community.
Blame blacks for not participating fully in the new integrated society:
   Which is basically white-run.
   Where blacks still have no power.
   When whites and white supremacy rule.
Punish them more often and more harshly than whites for the same crimes.
Require cash bail which they can't pay, so:
   They lose their jobs.
   They can't pay their bills, including child support.
   They end up in jail far more often than whites for the same accusations.
   They take plea bargains and thus often become labeled as felons.
   They become part of a cycle of poverty and crime from which they can not escape.
Then, blame them for being part of a cycle of poverty and crime.