Mythology of the White Proletariat - San Francisco Bay Area ...
Mythology of the White Proletariat - San Francisco Bay Area ...
Mythology of the White Proletariat - San Francisco Bay Area ...
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<strong>of</strong>f <strong>the</strong> former plantations at bayonet point by Union<br />
soldiers. While <strong>the</strong> Afrikans had coolly told returning<br />
planters to go - and pulled out weapons to emphasize<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir orders - <strong>the</strong>y were not able to overcome <strong>the</strong> U.S. Army.<br />
In 1865 and 1866 <strong>the</strong> Union occupation disarmed and<br />
broke up such dangerous outbreaks. The special danger to<br />
<strong>the</strong> U. S. Empire was that <strong>the</strong> grass-roots political drive to<br />
have armed power over <strong>the</strong> land, to build economically<br />
self-sufficient regions under Afrikan control, would inevitably<br />
raise <strong>the</strong> question <strong>of</strong> Afrikan sovereignty.<br />
Afrikan soldiers who had learned too much for <strong>the</strong><br />
U.S. Empire's peace <strong>of</strong> mind were a special target (<strong>of</strong> both<br />
Union and Confederate alike). Even before <strong>the</strong> War's end<br />
a worried President Lincoln had written to one <strong>of</strong> his<br />
generals: "I can hardly believe that <strong>the</strong> South and North<br />
can live in peace unless we get rid <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Negroes. Certainly<br />
<strong>the</strong>y cannot, if we don't get rid <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Negroes whom we<br />
have armed and disciplined and who have fought with us, I<br />
believe, to <strong>the</strong> amount <strong>of</strong> 150,000 men. I believe it would<br />
be better to export <strong>the</strong>m all ..."<br />
Afrikan U.S. army units were hurriedly disarmed<br />
and disbanded, or sent out <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> South (out West to serve<br />
as colonial troops against <strong>the</strong> Indians, for example). The<br />
U.S. Freedmen's Bureau said in 1866 that <strong>the</strong> new, secret<br />
white terrorist organizations in Mississippi placed a special<br />
priority on murdering returning Afrikan veterans <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
Union Army. In New Orleans some members <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> U.S.<br />
74th Colored Infantry were arrested as "vagrants" <strong>the</strong> day<br />
after <strong>the</strong>y were mustered out <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> army. Everywhere in<br />
<strong>the</strong> occupied Afrikan Nation an emphasis was placed on<br />
defusing or wiping out <strong>the</strong> political guerrillas and militia <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> Afrikan masses.<br />
The U.S. Empire's second blow was more subtle.<br />
The Nor<strong>the</strong>rn settler bourgeoisie sought to convince<br />
Afrikans that <strong>the</strong>y could, and should want to, become<br />
citizens <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> U.S. Empire. To this end <strong>the</strong> 14th Amendment<br />
to <strong>the</strong> Constitution involuntarily made all Afrikans<br />
here paper U.S. citizens. This neo-colonial strategy <strong>of</strong>fered<br />
Afrikan colonial subjects <strong>the</strong> false democracy <strong>of</strong> paper<br />
citizenship in <strong>the</strong> Empire that oppressed <strong>the</strong>m and held<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir Nation under armed occupation.<br />
While <strong>the</strong> U.S. Empire had regained its most<br />
valuable colony, it had major problems. The Union Armies<br />
militarily held <strong>the</strong> territory <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Afrikan Nation.<br />
But <strong>the</strong> settlers who had formerly garrisoned <strong>the</strong> colony<br />
and overseen its economy could no longer be trusted; even<br />
after <strong>the</strong>ir attempted rival empire had been ended, <strong>the</strong><br />
Sou<strong>the</strong>rn settlers remained embittered and dangerous<br />
enemies <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> U.S. bourgeoisie. The Afrikan masses,<br />
whose labor and land provided <strong>the</strong> wealth that <strong>the</strong> Empire<br />
extracted from <strong>the</strong>ir colony, were rebellious and unwilling<br />
to peacefully submit to <strong>the</strong> old ways. The Empire needed a<br />
loyalist force to hold and pacify <strong>the</strong> colony.<br />
The U.S. Empire's solution was to turn <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
Afrikan colony into a neo-colony. This phase was called<br />
Black Reconstruction.* Afrikans were promised<br />
democracy, human rights, self-government and popular<br />
ownership <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> land - but only as loyal "citizens" <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
U.S. Empire. Under <strong>the</strong> neo-colonial leadership <strong>of</strong> some<br />
petit-bourgeois elements, Afrikans became <strong>the</strong> loyalist<br />
social base. Not only were <strong>the</strong>y enfranchised en masse, but 40<br />
Afrikans were participants and leaders in government:<br />
Afrikan jurors, judges, state <strong>of</strong>ficials, militia captains,<br />
Governors, Congressmen and even several Afrikan U.S.<br />
Senators were conspicuous.<br />
This regional political role for Afrikans produced<br />
results that would be startling in <strong>the</strong> Empire today, and by<br />
<strong>the</strong> settler standards <strong>of</strong> a century ago were totally<br />
astonishing. The white supremacist propagandist James<br />
Pike reports angrily <strong>of</strong> state government in South<br />
Carolina, <strong>the</strong> state with <strong>the</strong> largest Afrikan presence in<br />
government:<br />
"The members <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Assembly issued forth from<br />
<strong>the</strong> State House. About three-quarters <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> crowd<br />
belonged to <strong>the</strong> African race. They were such a looking<br />
body <strong>of</strong> men as might pour out <strong>of</strong> a market-house or a<br />
courthouse at random in any Sou<strong>the</strong>rn state. Every Negro<br />
type and physiognomy was here to be seen, from <strong>the</strong><br />
genteel serving-man, to <strong>the</strong> rough-hewn customer from <strong>the</strong><br />
rice or cotton field. Their dress was as varied as <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
countenances. There was <strong>the</strong> second-hand, black frockcoat<br />
<strong>of</strong> infirm gentility, glossy and threadbare. There was <strong>the</strong><br />
stovepipe hat <strong>of</strong> many ironings and departed styles. There<br />
was also to be seen a total disregard <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> proprieties nf<br />
costume in <strong>the</strong> coarse and dirty garments <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> field.<br />
"The Speaker is black, <strong>the</strong> Clerk is black, <strong>the</strong><br />
doorkeepers are black, <strong>the</strong> little pages are black, <strong>the</strong> Chairman<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Ways and Means is black, and <strong>the</strong> chaplin is<br />
coal black. At some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> desks sit colored men whose<br />
types it would be hard to find outside <strong>the</strong> Congo. It was<br />
not all sham, nor all burlesque. They have a genuine interest<br />
and a genuine earnestness in <strong>the</strong> business <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
assembly which we are bound to recognize and<br />
respect.. .They have an earnest purpose, born <strong>of</strong> conviction<br />
that <strong>the</strong>ir conditions are not fully assured, which lends a<br />
sort <strong>of</strong> dignity to <strong>the</strong>ir proceedings."<br />
This dramatic reversal outraged <strong>the</strong> Confederate<br />
masses - who saw <strong>the</strong>ir former "property" now risen<br />
over <strong>the</strong>m. The liberal Reconstruction governments swept<br />
away <strong>the</strong> social garbage <strong>of</strong> centuries, releasing modern<br />
reforms throughout Sou<strong>the</strong>rn life: public school systems,<br />
integrated juries, state highway and railroad systems, protective<br />
labor reforms, divorce and property rights for<br />
women, and so on.<br />
What was most apparent about Black Reconstruction<br />
was its impossible contradictions. Now we can say<br />
that while it was a bold course for <strong>the</strong> Empire to embark<br />
upon, it so went against <strong>the</strong> structure <strong>of</strong> settler society that<br />
it could only have been temporary. Afrikans were organized<br />
politically into <strong>the</strong> loyalist Union Leagues (which were<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten armed), organized militarily into state militia companies,<br />
and all for <strong>the</strong> purpose <strong>of</strong> holding down some<br />
Euro-Amerikan settlers both for <strong>the</strong>mselves and for <strong>the</strong><br />
U.S. Empire. Yet, at <strong>the</strong> same time <strong>the</strong> Empire wanted<br />
Afrikans disarmed and disorganized. This neo-colonial<br />
bourgeois government <strong>of</strong> Black Reconstruction was<br />
doomed from its first day, since it promised that Afrikans<br />
would share <strong>the</strong> land and <strong>the</strong> power with settlers.<br />
The Afrikan petit-bourgeois leadership in government<br />
made every effort to stabilize relations with <strong>the</strong>