"A law is unjust if it inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law."
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Letter from the Birmingham Jail
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Letter from the Birmingham Jail
What if we black Americans quit paying taxes?
When the British colonists were mistreated by the crown and denied certain privileges as tax-paying citizens, they refused to pay taxes. Taxes are the governments compensation for the services they provide. Unfortunately in the United States, the quality of these services oscillates depending on the skin color of the citizen. We as black Americans continue to receive a sub-standard package of American liberties, despite the labor and life we have placed in American soil. Our elected officials rest on the accomplishments of 50 year old legislation. Our police force cannot distinguish whether we are worth protiecting or destroying. Government subsidized housing is a prison in waiting. Welfare payments help in maintaining poverty rather than eliminating it. The government has not done it's due diligence in protecting black citizens, or conferring and maintaining the rights we were to receive upon our inclusion into the citizenry. We are long overdue in receiving the full measure of our rights. If we continue to be treated as less than citizens, then it is reasonable to respond accordingly.
Paying taxes is one example of a number of laws we would be within our conscience to break. Black Americans put our bodies and blood into building this country but were absent during the discussions on creating a new polity. Black Americans were not invited as a special interest group to review the Constitution upon it's signing. I shudder to think of the cruel irony felt by slaves upon hearing existence of a Declaration of Independence and learning that their bonds would remain. For almost 100 years those bonds remained until the President Lincoln freed the southern slaves.While I am grateful for the liberty my ancestors recieved, they were freed into yet another foreign world, struggling to become fluent in capitalism and politics when days earlier it was illegal for them to be able to read. The legal and financial framework of this nation preceded the Emancipation Proclamation. A class of thousands of new citizens with no education flooded the workforce with nothing more than a desire to make things better for their children. Despite these derelict beginnings, black people learned to survive and eventually thrive until it became en vogue to demean us, terrorize us, and treat us like animals once again. This country was not made for us. We continue to try to be a part of it, but like a scorned lover we continue to be rejected. What will it take for us to be accepted as Americans?
Paying taxes is one example of a number of laws we would be within our conscience to break. Black Americans put our bodies and blood into building this country but were absent during the discussions on creating a new polity. Black Americans were not invited as a special interest group to review the Constitution upon it's signing. I shudder to think of the cruel irony felt by slaves upon hearing existence of a Declaration of Independence and learning that their bonds would remain. For almost 100 years those bonds remained until the President Lincoln freed the southern slaves.While I am grateful for the liberty my ancestors recieved, they were freed into yet another foreign world, struggling to become fluent in capitalism and politics when days earlier it was illegal for them to be able to read. The legal and financial framework of this nation preceded the Emancipation Proclamation. A class of thousands of new citizens with no education flooded the workforce with nothing more than a desire to make things better for their children. Despite these derelict beginnings, black people learned to survive and eventually thrive until it became en vogue to demean us, terrorize us, and treat us like animals once again. This country was not made for us. We continue to try to be a part of it, but like a scorned lover we continue to be rejected. What will it take for us to be accepted as Americans?
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