It seems that every day there is another shooting or murder of a Black person by the police state here in the Midwest, especially in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Ironically, during slavery, these two states led the country in helping Blacks, who were under threat of persecution and mistreatment in the Southern states. Here they could seek and obtain refuge.
In the 1940s, the owners of industry imported Blacks by the busload to this section of America to supplement their workforce while the white men went off to war. During those years, the Blacks worked in Southeastern Wisconsin, which included Racine and Milwaukee. They were said to have made more money per capita than those living elsewhere in the country. Soon after the white males returned fromWW2, the Black workforce was relegated to the lower paying employment positions such as foundry or, grounds and floor maintenance.
Positions such as drill press and machine operator were denied to Blacks because they were considered too complicated for the uneducated coloreds. The simple truth was that those positions made top dollar in the shops and were reserved for whites. However, as time
went on, there were exceptions. Some found work in assembly plants. However, that employment was only obtained when the white labor force could not complete the needs of production.
But all good things must come to an end, and the mid 90’s seen the creation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA. On Nov 20, 1993, then Senator Joe Biden was one of the 61 voters who stood in favor of the bill, voting against the 38 no’s.
Over the years this agreement caused a myriad of industry to be farmed out to foreign countries. This move was devastating to the economy, especially in the Midwest. The jobs that had sustained both whites and Blacks disappeared over time and eventually, they were left to fend for the service-oriented employment positions. Although, without a doubt some whites felt the pain of a strained economy, Black communities were left in a much worse fiscal situation. It should go without explanation of who received the better paying jobs at that time.
It was not long after the signing of the trade agreement that a proliferation of gang membership, drug dealing, and other illegal occupations took hold in the disenfranchised neighborhoods, thus
leading to a much higher and stringent rate of incarceration of Blacks, especially in the Midwest prisons. Looking in retrospect, It does appear to have been a purposely designed effort aimed at minorities of color. Consider the fact, that in 1993 President Clinton, signed NAFTA into law, and a year later with the continued help of Senator Joe Biden, Clinton was also able to push
through The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which over many years led to the unjust long-term incarceration of thousand of Black and Brown people, particularly males.
There are those who will deny that all the above was formatted and introduced by design; however, a look at the proliferated rate of incarceration for Blacks in Wisconsin and across the nation starting with the decline of industry and the launch of the Federal Crime Bill, will
more than likely show a steep increase of imprisonments as proof to this hypothesis. Furthermore, the crime bill also included money for the construction of new prisons, and guess who were the intended occupants?
These are but a few of the social ills leading to the atrocities that correlate in the making of a racist America. It is no secret that racism has always existed in one form or another across America, including the purported liberal states, such as Wisconsin and Minnesota. So it should stand to reason, as base as it may be, why the police and members of white supremist groups feel free to hassle, assault, and murder Blacks and other minorities of color at will, for they have been considered dispensable for years.
At this juncture in time, the racism is so extreme in America, that these murders are often, if not always, deemed justifiable by the judicial system. This includes the courts, juries, and a high percentage of the population in the white community.
C.T. 04/19/21 Chester Todd’s One Black man’s Opinion OBM