listing of blogs by Dr. Herbert (h. j.) Harris

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The Destruction of Black Wall Street

(Part 2: Systemic Violence)

By H. J. Harris, author of “Solving The Race Issue In America.”

(www.solvingtheraceissue.com) 

From May 27 through June 6, 2021, the world comes together to commemorate the one-hundred-year anniversary of the destruction of Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (https://www.blackwallstreet.org/)

This centennial commemoration is an important event to help us all understand the truth about America. Here the existence and impact of racist hatred and corresponding violence is a highlighted signature of America’s legacy in dealing with black Americans.

There is a movement across many states in this nation to erase the past and rewrite history. It is important that we as good, God loving Americans stand up for truth and historical accuracy.

It is only when we acknowledge the racism of the past and present, that we can move on as a country. Move on to the more perfect union contemplated by the founding fathers of this nation.

Only truth will set America free of the sin, harm, death, and destruction caused by slavery, discrimination, injustice, and systemic racism. 

All Americans should learn about the destruction of Black Wall Street on May 31, 1921 to get a better understanding of what can happen in this country if systemic racism is not addressed.

A more complete understanding of the violence inflicted on the black citizens of Tulsa, Oklahoma in the area known as Black Wall Streetis described in the below excerpt from pages 75 – 76 of “Solving The Race Issue In America” by H. J. Harris. (www.solvingtheraceissue.com).

“Military aircraft used to kill black Americans. 

The bombing of Black Wall street was the first time in American history, during non-military times that a people and their community were bombed from the air! Recent 1999 research has revealed that military aircraft were used in the bombing of homes and businesses of the black citizens of Tulsa. The facts are astoundingly clear that the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) had overwhelming support from the police, government officials, wealthy businessmen and thousands of white supporters throughout Oklahoma.

The bombing and destruction of Black Wall Street was by no means an accident. It did not happen suddenly by an outburst of anger. It did not happen by two opposite races deciding to go to war. It was a well-calculated, meticulous plan to stop a major black economic development and monument that would have emulated itself across the country. The 1921 Tulsa Race Riot was part of a heinous master plan to undermine, halt, and destroy the economic success of industrious black Americans.

The so-called 1921 Tulsa Race Riot was a part of that same sinister master plan alluded to 23 years earlier (in the Coup of 1898) by Rev. C. T. Blackwell in Wilmington North Carolina: “The primary purpose was not to kill but to educate.” … The white people hold the Negroes in the highest respect, so long as they observe their place and position.”

The local press, authorities, the KKK and powerful white men in Oklahoma at that time set out to ignite an all-out race war between whites and blacks. They accomplished their goal.”

The causes and impact of the destruction of Black Wall Street must be studied and understood. We should never forget. This violence and destruction should never happen again.

If the cancer of racism is hidden and swept under the rug of truth and spiritual consciousness, the type of hatred and violence - that occurred in Black Wall Street in 1921 - will continue to fester in the soul of America.

Sooner or later this cancer will destroy America. The spiritual contradiction between the words of America and the deeds of Americans is the sand on which we build our house.

It is important that all Americans – black and white – be a part of the awakening to the truth of the Destruction of Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 31, 1921.

The fact that Black Wall Street existed in 1921 is a tribute to the vision and resilience of black Americans. The destruction of Black Wall Street is a stain on the spirit and truth of white Americans.

We as Americans – black and white - should search our hearts and souls to understand the history and truth of our nation. We should never forget and do what is right.

Acknowledge. Confess. Atone.

© 2021 LifeSkill Institute, Inc., PO Box 302, Wilmington, NC 28402

Learn more about Dr. H. J. Harris’ book “Solving The Race Issue In America” and contact Dr. Harris at: www.solvingtheraceissue.com 

Email: info@solvingtheraceissue.com    Phone: 800-570-4009

About the author: Dr. Herbert H. J. Harris personally experienced the Civil Rights era of the 1950's and 1960's. He attended the 1963 March on Washington and heard Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech at the Lincoln Monument. Harris has been a keen observer, recorder, and participant at pivotal moments of the racial evolution of America. 

The Destruction of Black Wall Street (Part 1)

By H. J. Harris, author of “Solving The Race Issue In America.”

(www.solvingtheraceissue.com) 

The present initiative by Republican legislatures across the nation to restrict the teaching of race issues – particularly black American history - is a blatant attempt to rewrite history.

This attempt to rewrite history is an initiative by certain Americans to avoid responsibility for pain, suffering, and damage done to black Americans through slavery and government authorized segregation, discrimination, and systemic racism.

The fact that this assault on the true history of race in America is a coordinated effort by Republican controlled state legislatures is extremely troubling. This thinly veiled attempt to rewrite history is a slap in the face of truth, justice, and equality.

A deeper understanding of the motives of these state legislatures is revealed in the below excerpt from pages 73 – 76 of “Solving The Race Issue In America” by H. J. Harris. (www.solvingtheraceissue.com).

“Many white Americans in power have always wanted to return to the old days of slavery, where black Americans were a second-class powerless race, relegated to serve and obey white people.

As the good minister (in 1898) implied, in America it is always about maintaining the white mans’ domination over all black people.

 The coup of 1898 in Wilmington North Carolina was the opening gambit of a racist game that would again put black Americans under the rule and complete domination of white Americans.

Each time black Americans made significant progress toward realizing the American dream for themselves, certain white Americans did all in their power to undermine and destroy that progress and kill their dreams. 

Black Wall Street

In 1921 white men destroyed a thriving black American community in Tulsa Oklahoma known as Black Wall Street.

At the turn of the century, African (black) Americans in Tulsa, Oklahoma built the most successful Black Community and Business District in the history of the United States…. Black Wall Street. 

At this particular time in history, racial hatred, lynchings, Jim Crow Laws, segregation and discrimination were at an all-time high. 

A unique community of ambitious and fearless blacks built a thriving business district in a 36-square block section of North Tulsa Oklahoma. 

This small town was originally called “Greenwood”and “Little Africa,” but soon earned the nickname, Black Wall Street by the New York Financial District.

The community was comprised of successful black doctors, lawyers, scientists, schoolteachers, oilmen, business owners and entrepreneurs. There were hotels, churches, a hospital, schools, a bus line, private cab companies, general stores, feed and grain stores, a bowling alley, real estate offices, hair salons, restaurants, nights clubs, two movie theaters (one a 700-seater), over six hundred booming businesses. 

There were at least ten black millionaires in Black Wall Street. Six had private airplanes in 1921. Recent research indicates a Paper trail where blacks were financing businesses on New York’s Wall Street

Several successful entrepreneurs in Black Wall Street were in the oil business with Third World Countries during this time. The black dollar recycled and circulated throughout the black community. 

Many white businessmen from South Tulsa would come over to Black Wall Street to borrow money from wealthy blacks. At that time, black Americans could not deposit their money in white banks. Essentially, they were cash rich, but power poor.

On May 31, 1921, the worst Race War in United States history erupted in the streets of Tulsa Oklahoma. After hours of bloody fighting, Black Wall Street was bombed from the air and burned to the ground. All black Americans were rounded up and taken to Internment (concentration-type) Camps. 

Possibly, thousands of black men, women, and children were slaughtered. Dead bodies were dumped in the Arkansas River. Others were buried in mass graves around Tulsa. The actual death count is unknown, and to this day, remains a mystery.”

The causes and impact of the destruction of Black Wall Street must be studied and understood so that this type of violence and destruction can never happen again.

It is important that all Americans – black and white – be a part of the upcoming Centennial Anniversary of the Destruction of Black Wall Street.

There are many major initiatives to commemorate the 100thanniversary of the Destruction of Black Wall Street.  Among these are the Centennial Tulsa Pilgrimage 2021 and the four-day Commemoration & Celebration sponsored by the WORLD CONFERENCE OF MAYORS, INC. and the HISTORIC BLACK TOWNS AND SETTLEMENTS ALLIANCE. More information about this historic conference is available at: https://www.worldconferenceofmayors.org/

Denial of systemic racism and attempting to rewrite the history of race in America will not resolve the issue. It will only perpetuate the issue of systemic racism through ignorance and mistrust.

In the words of Winston Churchill, “those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.”

Black Americans do not want to re-live the pain, suffering and injustices of the past. White Americans who believe in the golden ruleshould not want a new generation of black Americans to experience this pain, suffering and injustice.

America is better than this.

© 2021 LifeSkill Institute, Inc., PO Box 302, Wilmington, NC 28402

Learn more about Dr. H. J. Harris’ book “Solving The Race Issue In America” and contact Dr. Harris at: www.solvingtheraceissue.com 

Email: info@solvingtheraceissue.com    Phone: 800-570-4009

About the author: Dr. Herbert H. J. Harris personally experienced the Civil Rights era of the 1950's and 1960's. He attended the 1963 March on Washington and heard Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech at the Lincoln Monument. Harris has been a keen observer, recorder, and participant at pivotal moments of the racial evolution of America. 

Will White Americans Face The Truth About Racism?

By Dr. Herbert (H.J.) Harris, author of “Solving The Race Issue In America” (www.solvingtheraceissue.com)

George Orwell, author of the novel 1984, said: "In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act."

The republican response to President Biden’s State of the Union message was very troubling.

The republican claim that America is not a racist country clearly ignores the history and present reality that most black Americans live every day.

It was even more troubling that President Biden echoed the same sentiment– that America is not a racist nation - the next day at a press conference. 

The truth is: as long as republicans and well-intentioned democrats continue to deny that America is infected by systemic racism, the injustice and impact of racism will never be resolved.

It is painful to realize that Americans in power continue to diminish and deny the great harm, damage, and injury inflicted by some white Americans on black Americans from the beginning of this nation. 

It is even more disturbing that this – America is not a racist nation – statement and thinking is in complete disrespect of the black Americans who suffered or were killed without recourse for over 246 years, from 1619 through 1865. 

It is dismissive of the suffering of black Americans for over 156 years, from 1865 to the present., Black Americans who endured the Black Codes, Jim Crow, segregation, discrimination, injustice, and police brutality.

The statement – America is not a racist nation - is in disrespect of thousands of black men and women who were lynched in America.

Quoting from page 12 of “Solving The Race Issue In America:”

“According to the Equal Justice Initiative, 4,084 African-Americans were lynched between 1877 and 1950 in the South. (Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror (Report) (3rd ed.). Montgomery, Alabama: Equal Justice Initiative.)”

The statement – America is not a racist nation- is disrespectful of the worldwide Black Lives Matter movement.

This belief by the republicans and some democrats undermines all attempts to resolve the race issue and create the reality of life, liberty, and justice for all contemplated in the Declaration of Independence.

But truth will prevail. There is a solution to the issue of racism in America.

The solution has been staring us in the face from the beginning of this nation. It has been hiding in plain sight in the Bible we hold sacred and dear.

America has been and continues to be in violation of the Second Commandment expressed by Jesus at Matthew 23:39 – “… Thou Shalt Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself.”

No person or group of people, black or white, should be treated as a slave for hundreds of years. No person should be discriminated against, underpaid, over worked, nor shot dead by law enforcement.

The justice provided to black Americans for the killing of black men and women – though appreciated and appropriate – is hollow. No amount of money paid to the family, nor time for George Floyd’s murderer will fill the void for George’s daughter or his family.  No measure of justice can replace the emptiness in the families of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Duante Wright, Breonna Taylor and many others killed by those who are supposed to protect and serve.

Justice may provide comfort, but only truth can set us free.

If this denial of racism continues, America is doomed to repeat the sins of the past and perpetuate the systemic racism that festers in the soul of this nation.

Quoting from page 36 of “Solving The Race Issue In America”

“The spiritual process needed to save America is clearly set forth at Numbers 5:7. 

“Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed.”

In the 25th chapter of Matthew, Jesus describes the day of judgment.

To paraphrase and summarize: in the day of judgement, the righteous and sinners are sent to heaven or hell. 

“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

The way black slaves were treated in the past, and the manner in which black Americans are treated today gives a clue to how God may treat America.

If America truly desires to solve the issue of racism, a spiritual approach must be taken. The steps are:

1. We must acknowledge the existence of racism.

2. We must ask forgiveness for the harm caused.

3. We must make atonement for the harm caused.

America will have to account for what has been and continues to be done to the least of them – black Americans.

Interpreting Matthew 25:46, will America “go away into everlasting punishment, or will America go into life eternal?”

It is clear from the mindset of deflection and denial that politicians, lawmakers, judges, and the media cannot resolve the racism issue. Certain politicians are willing to use revisionist history as a ploy to avoid the reality of racism.

According to an article by Andrea Salcedo in The Washington Post on April 28, 2021, regarding a Louisiana lawmaker’s suggestion to teach the ‘good’ of slavery:

“The incident is the latest firestorm over GOP efforts across the country to push similar legislation that would ban critical race theory, which examines the way policies and laws perpetuate systemic racism. Last month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said he intended to create civics curriculums without “unsanctioned narratives like critical race theory.” Similarly, …, the Idaho House passed a bill looking to prevent schools and universities from teaching critical race theory, the Associated Press reported.”

The Choice is up to us.

The religious and spiritual leaders of America must together seek the spiritual approach.

Attorney Benjamin Crump, Rev. Al Sharpton, Bishop William Barber, and other Generals of Justice spoke truth at Andrew Brown, Jr.’s funeral.

Racism is real. 

Enough is Enough.

© Copyright 2021 LifeSkill Institute, Inc., P.O. Box 302, Wilmington, NC 28402

“Solving The Race Issue In America” by H. J. Harris is available on Amazon and most digital booksellers. Contact Dr. Herbert (H J) Harris at: info@solvingtheraceissue.com

Website:​ www.solvingtheraceissue.com  Phone: 800-570-4009

  America – the Killing Field

By H. J. Harris, author of “Solving The Race Issue In America.”

(www.solvingtheraceissue.com) 

We were taught that the term “Killing Field” applied to mass killings in Cambodia during the era of the Vietnam War. The Khmer Rouge regime – the Communist Party - killed and buried millions of citizens.

The trial of George Floyd’s murderer reminds the world that black men and women may be killed with impunity by some of those who are supposed to protect and serve. 

The defendant’s attorney is asking the jurors and the world to ignore their eyes and close their ears as witnesses to this crime against humanity.

Many citizens fear that the cancer of racism and hate is deep in the soul of America and the hearts of some Americans. This concern is very real. 

We remember the filmed beating of Rodney King in California. Police officers beat Rodney King with night sticks, kicked him, punched him while he was helpless on the ground. The jurors in the Rodney King case acquitted three of the officers and could not reach a verdict on the fourth officer. They chose to close their eyes and ears to the truth and facts shown in the video. No one was held accountable for the assault on Rodney King by those who were supposed to protect and serve.

History shows that America has long been a killing field for black Americans.

From the birth of this nation through the end of the civil war, white Americans had absolute authority over the life and death of black Americans. The US Supreme Court in the Dred Scott decision 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1857) essentially ruled that a black American had no rights that the US Courts are bound to respect.

In other words, life and death of black Americans was at the whims and fancies of the white Americans in power.

God only knows how many black men and women have been killed from the birth of this nation through the end of the Civil War. A slave who would not be broken was at the peril of being killed. One who was disrespectful, or unruly, or attempted to run away could be killed at will of his master. When a slaves’ so-called bad behavior outweighs his or her property value to the master, consequences could be deadly. To the slave master, a slave was property, not requiring respect as a human being.

There is extensive documentation on the number of black men and women who were hanged by white people in America. Quoting from pages 12 – 13 of “Solving The Race Issue In America” (www.solvingtheraceissue.com):

“More than 73 percent of lynchings in the post-Civil War period occurred in the Southern states. According to the Equal Justice Initiative, 4,084 African Americans were lynched between 1877 and 1950 in the South. (Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror (Report) (3rd ed.). Montgomery, Alabama: Equal Justice Initiative.)

This “official” number of lynchings is very conservative since many lynchings of black Americans were never reported. Lynchings were often led by upstanding, prominent Christian white men who had black men and women hung from trees, their bodies burned, mutilated, and dismembered—often on hot Sunday afternoons, after church and prayer….

Lynching in America was a ritual of interracial social control and sadistic sport rather than simply a punishment for a crime.”

Based on the above figures, a black person was hung every 9 days for 73 years from 1877 through 1950. For black Americans, on the issue of hanging – America has indeed been a killing field.

Consider the murders of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers, Emmett Till, Viola Liuzzo, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and other freedom fighters – known and unknown. To these victims of racism and hate, America is a killing field.

When we consider the long list of black people who died at the hands of police over the last few years, the results are revealing:

* According to a CBS news report of September 10, 2020, 164 black people were killed by police in the first 8 months of 2020.

* According to The Washington Post article updated April 17, 2021, 982 people have been shot and killed by police in the last year. Black people are killed by police at twice the rate of white people.  Yet black people make up only 13% of the U. S. Population.

As the jury deliberates in the trial of George Floyd’s killer, the names of other black people who died at the hands of police comes to mind. Where is the justice for them?

America is a killing field for the many black people who died at the hands of police - among them: George Floyd, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Duante Wright, Breonna Taylor, Philando Castile, Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray, Tamir Wright, and a list too long to include in this writing.

Where does this all lead?

Will America continue to be a killing field for black men and women?

Will the jury in the case against George Floyd’s killer accept the shallow, hollow attempts by the defense to explain the unexplainable?

Will these jurors deny the truth of what their eyes have seen, and their ears have heard and let George Floyd’s killer go free? 

Or will these jurors watch, hear, and feel the suffering and death of George Floyd – so vividly shown in the trial? Will they see it for what it is – the murder of another black man on a killing field in Minneapolis. 

Is America truly the city on hill endowed with God’s abundant blessings?

Or are we the killing field in which truth, justice, and humanity are buried?

America can send a powerful message to the world that crimes against humanity will be punished.

The jury is out.

The world is watching.

Time will tell who we really are as a nation.

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© Copyright 2021 LifeSkill Institute, Inc., P.O. Box 302, Wilmington, NC 28402

Learn more about “Solving The Race Issue In America” and contact

Dr. Herbert (H J) Harris at: www.solvingtheraceissue.com 

Email: info@solvingtheraceissue.com    Phone: 800-570-4009

Will there ever come a time a black man can ride and not die?

By Dr. Herbert Harris, author of “Solving The Race Issue In America” (www.solvingtheraceissue.com)

Will there ever come a time when unarmed black men and women can drive safely on the streets of America?

When will those Americans who carry Bibles in their hands, the constitution in their pockets, and hatred in their hearts finally open this holy book and read the words: do unto others as you would have them do unto you?

Will they ever read the second paragraph to the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Will there ever come a time when the good people of this nation – the moral majority – finally read that passage in the Bible that says: when you do it to the least of them, you do it to me. You do it to my son. You do it to my daughter

Black and white Americans read the same Bible. They quote the same scriptures. Yet, many bible readers stand silent as black men and women die at the hands of those sworn to protect and serve.

Certain ministers tell us that Jesus loves us – invite us to pray. Yet these same ministers stand silent as the cancerous sin of racism devours the heart and soul of America.

Some Americans blame dead black men and women for not being obedient – for not being compliant.

They seek explanations for that which cannot be explained. There are no explanations or excuses for killing an unarmed, handcuffed black man by kneeling on his neck for over 9 minutes. There is no justification for killing Daunte Wright at a traffic stop; or Philando Castile, or Michael Brown; or a bloodstained list of others who were killed unjustly. It reminds us of the lynching of black men in the past, on Sunday afternoons – after church – where the congregation could watch in silent acquiescence.

There are no explanations to make right the killings of black men and women – human beings created by the same God that gives life to all beings.

Who can cure the cancerous sin that devours America?

Must God make the rocks cry out? 

Who will confront the hatred, racism, and white supremacy that grows each day in this land of the free and home of the brave? What treatment is there for the cancer of American racism that seems to be growing throughout the world as hatred of Blacks, Jews, and Asians. 

The lawmakers and politicians cannot cure the sin because many of them perpetrate racism, lies, and hatred by omission, commission, or resounding silence.

The courts cannot cure the cancer because they have been or continue to be used to justify and perpetuate racism, lies and hatred. 

Religious leaders – black and white – have the power to make a choice!

They can speak out for truth and justice for the least of them.

Or they can continue to deny, avoid, or dispute the reality that black Americans experience every day in this country.

If our religious leaders – black and white – cannot come together to speak out and take action for justice, equity, and truth, then America is doomed.

Let us consider how America practices its religion.

Excerpt from Page 53 of Solving The Race Issue In America (www.solvingtheraceissue.com):

“How does America practice its religion?

If America is truly “One nation under God,” let us look at how America practices its religion and worships its God. The separation and segregation that exists in America today starts in the Churches of America. From 11:00am to 12 noon on Sunday morning is the most segregated and separated hour in America. This is the hour that most American Christians worship their God.” 

The scripture is clear: to whom much is given, much is expected.

God will not be mocked.

The Bible we claim to cherish and the prayers we offer up to God must not only be in our lips, but in our hearts, our minds, our spirits, and in our feet.

We must put on the whole armor of God – righteousness, truth, and justice - and say together:

Enough is Enough.

© Copyright 2021 LifeSkill Institute, Inc., P.O. Box 302, Wilmington, NC 28402

Learn more about “Solving The Race Issue In America” and contact

Dr. Herbert (H J) Harris at: www.solvingtheraceissue.com 

Email: info@solvingtheraceissue.com    Phone: 800-570-4009

The Day America Died! (Part 3: The New Jim Crow)

By H. J. Harris, author of “Solving The Race Issue In America.”

(www.solvingtheraceissue.com) 

As we move further into this new year, I ask myself, “Where is the America I was taught to trust and believe in?”

Things are happening right now in America that I thought could never happen in this land of the free and home of the brave. Are we brave enough to face the truth?

“Did America die? When did this happen? Is America on life support?”
 

Perhaps America died when certain leaders and their enablers refused to accept that the 2020 election was fair, proper, and free of election fraud.  They ignored the findings of the US Supreme Court, the Attorney General, the Election Security Agency, and virtually every other court and state election board in the country.

Is it a blow to the heart of America when the validated vote of the American people – the cornerstone of the American democracy - is disputed by certain leaders with baseless, false, unsupported allegations of election fraud.

Perhaps America died when a white policeman murdered George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for over nine minutes. The world watched in real time as George Floyd cried for help and called for his dead mother, as the life drained from his body onto a hard, cold Minneapolis street.

Is it a sucker-punch to the belly of America that the lawyers representing the policeman who kneeled on George Floyd’s neck want us to believe that George died of drugs or other physical ailments? These lawyers are asking the jurors and the world to ignore what our eyes saw, and our ears heard for over nine minutes. This line of defense has been done before. Remember the filmed beating of Rodney King.

Perhaps America died on January 6, 2021 when a violent group of the former president’s supporters attacked and occupied the United States Capitol. This mob halted the constitutional process of certifying the Electoral College votes and forced our legislators – in the Citadel of Democracy - to put on gas masks, run for cover, and evacuate the building.

According to the New York Times (1/11/2021), five people lost their lives in the Capitol Assault of January 6, 2021.

Perhaps America dies today – when her soul is once more under fatal attack.

An article by Amy Gardner in The Washington Post (3/11/2021) reveals that Republican lawmakers in 43 states have proposed at least 250 laws that would restrict voting rights.

This current national assault on voting rights is taken from the racist playbook of voter suppression that seems to be required reading for republicans throughout the nation. 

The playbook for voter suppression was developed from a coup that took place on American soil – “the Coup of 1898 in Wilmington, North Carolina.”

After the legitimately elected government of Wilmington, North Carolina was overthrown in the “Coup of 1898,” white legislators in the state government enacted “Jim Crow” laws that would suppress the rights of black voters. The state legislature passed laws requiring voters to pay poll taxes, pass literacy tests, “grandfather clauses” – anything that would undermine and excluded black people from voting. 

Once North Carolina showed the way, similar “Jim Crow” voter suppression laws spread throughout the south – virtually eradicating gains by black Americans after the Civil War.

In 1898, the goal of the state legislators was to prevent the re-occurrence of the 1898 liberal political victory that had been destroyed by the “Coup of 1898.”

Today we have the “New Jim Crow.”The true goal of today’s national assault on voting rights is essentially the same as in 1898 – to ensure that the victories by the democrats in winning the presidency and control of the US Senate would never be repeated in upcoming elections.

This national movement of voter suppression can be the final deathblow to the American heart, soul, spirit, and dream. 

The voter suppression movement started in 1898 lasted for over 60 years – until the bloody civil rights movements of the 1950’s and 1960’s.

If this Republican initiated movement for voter suppression is not addressed immediately, it can undermine the democratic foundation necessary for America to live out its creed – that all people are created equal with certain unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Throughout history, the high ideal and authenticity of the American dream has consistently and continuously been assaulted and attacked by the forces of evil.

When political, religious, and spiritual leaders stand by in silent acquiescence as these attacks occur, the sins of the past will be relived in the present and perpetuated in the future.

Abraham Lincoln understood the dilemma when he said, “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”

Lincoln proclaimed that a house divided against itself cannot stand.

A single blow does not kill the giant. The “New Jim Crow” - a thousand small blows of hypocrisy, lies, deception, injustice, and insincere apologies weakens the giant until it is no morel

America dies a little each day as the smoldering embers of racism and injustice are fanned by flawed leaders who proclaim the American dream for some, while subjecting other Americans to unspeakable suffering of fear, poverty, injustice, and pandemic.

America dies a little each day when our citizens, our political leaders, and most of all our religious leaders, stand by in quiet acquiescence, as our country turns it back on the Golden Rule – do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Our children are watching. What example shall we give? 

We have a choice. We can be the “better angels” that Abraham Lincoln described in his First Inaugural Address. We can follow the light and walk the talk so eloquently set forth by the founding fathers – “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” 

Or we can continue in the darkness of untruths and bitter division. We can build our house upon the sands of lies, hypocrisy, injustice, and fear … “and when the rains descend, and floods come, and the winds blow and beat upon the house that is America, it will fall, and great will be the fall of it.”

When did America die?

The answer America is not in our stars, but in ourselves.

Are we brave enough to face it?

© 2021 LifeSkill Institute, Inc., PO Box 302, Wilmington, NC 28402

Learn more about “Solving The Race Issue In America” and contact

Dr. Herbert (H J) Harris at: www.solvingtheraceissue.com 

Email: info@solvingtheraceissue.com    Phone: 800-570-4009

We should not be shocked at the violence against Asian Americans!

By Dr. Herbert (H. J.) Harris, author of “Solving The Race Issue In America.” (www.solvingtheraceissue.com)

As the news reports that eight people – six of them Asian women – were killed by a gunman in Georgia, we should not be surprised.

According to the Global Citizen, “Over the past year, at least 3,800 hate incidents against Asian Americans have been reported amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which activists say were stoked by misinformation and rising anti-Asian rhetoric from political figures and media pundits.” (Joe McCarthy – March 17,2021)

There is a virus running rampant in the body and soul of America. 

What virus is attacking America?

What virus is alive in America that caused the violence and killing of native Americans as their homeland was stolen?

What virus is alive in America that caused millions of kidnapped Africans to be dehumanized and subjected to the vicious institution of slavery for hundreds of years?

What virus attacks America that causes a young man to enter prayer service in a church in Charleston South Carolina and coldly execute nine people worshiping their God.

What virus infects America that causes a policeman to kill a man by kneeling on his neck for over 8 minutes?

What virus is alive in America that causes a man to hunt and kill eight people – six of the Asian women - in massage parlors in Georgia?

What is this virus? 

It is the American virus of ungodly racism.

This nation was carved out of the racist genocide of indigenous native Americans.

America has never resolved the issue of racism based on the sin of slavery.

This American virus was present at the creation of this nation as the founding fathers extolled their reverence for God while practicing the ungodly sin of slavery.

In fact, America was so infected by this virus of racism and addiction to free slave labor that the Civil War ensued where over 600,000 Americans lost their lives.

What is this sin of slavery that causes the American virus?

Slavery is the total disrespect of humanity – a total hatred of God’s unique creation.

Slavery is the original sin – the root cause of racism – the American virus that continues to live in the body and soul of America.

As with COVID, the virus is no respecter of persons. It manifests as violence against native Americans as their lands were taken. It manifests as violence against black people, through the slavery experience, segregation, discrimination, and police brutality. It spreads to Japanese Americans banished to internment camps during the Second World War. The virus manifest in the inhumane treatment of Hispanic families who cross the border seeking a better life. 

Today, the virus rears its ugly head as violence against Asian people in America – in Georgia message parlors. 

Ultimately the virus – the American virus - causes violence and hatred against anyone different from the perpetrators – some white Americans. 

The attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and the underlying false claims of election fraud are a further manifestation of this American virus. 

What is the solution? What is the vaccine?

How can this virus of racism and hatred be destroyed?

History has shown that the American virus cannot be destroyed through the courts.

The courts, and in particular the US Supreme Court, reflect the morals and values of Americans. As such, the courts are infected by this same American virus.

The US Supreme Court validated slavery in the Dred Scott Decision (Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857).  In Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896), the US Supreme Court repackaged the slave paradigm in a “separate but equal” interpretation. This “separate but equal” doctrine gave a legal foundation to “Jim Crow and Black Laws” that institutionalized the American virus of racism in all levels of American society.

The American virus cannot be destroyed by politics and legislation. 

The Declaration of White Independence and the Coup of 1898 - in which a legitimately elected government in Wilmington North Carolina was violently overthrown - were a result of this American virus.

The Coup of 1898 set the stage for segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement of black citizens throughout the south and, to an extent, throughout the country.

The recent racist violence against Asians is a further manifestation of the American virus. The attempted Coup of January 6, 2021 and the recent nationwide attempt by some Republican legislators to disenfranchise black American citizens is further evidence that the American virus is alive, well, and growing.

America is a at crossroad. 

Will this nation finally resolve the American virus of racism and hatred?

Or will America and Americans continue to deny, ignore, deflect, or tolerate the systemic racism that is the virus on the body and soul of this nation?

Dr. King understood the deadly nature of the American virus when he wrote his last book, “Where do we go from here - Chaos or Community?”

Is there a cure for the American virus?

The cure for the American virus is a spiritual solution clearly described in the Bible that Christians – black and white – are supposed to live by.

Three spiritual steps are required to resolve racism and destroy the American virus:

1. Acknowledge the sin of racism and slavery. Study the history. Learn from the past.

2. Ask forgiveness for past and present transgressions on behalf of the ancestors and ourselves.

3. Make atonement and be healed.

If these spiritual steps are not taken at this critical moment in history, the American virus will continue to consume, and eventually destroy this nation.

Who must take the lead to implement this spiritual solution?

Americans of the faith community – black and white church leaders – must take affirmative action to implement the spiritual solution.

The words of Edmund Burke, over 200 years ago, gives a unique insight into the relationship between the way one’s religion is practiced and the way one’s government operates.

“True religion is the foundation of society, the basis on which all true civil government rests, and from which power derives its authority, laws their efficacy, and both their sanction. If it is once shaken by contempt, the whole fabric cannot be stable or lasting.” (Edmund Burke (1729-1797), English orator and statesman.)

(Excerpt from “Solving The Race Issue In America” – www.solvingtheraceissue.com)

The faith leaders of America cannot sit quietly – many have done in the past - as the American virus devours our nation. We cannot be bystanders as racist bullies attack, maim and kill our citizens.

Many Americans who perpetrate racism, storm the Capitol, or otherwise disregard human dignity attend churches. These same Americans hear sermons eloquently delivered on the Sabbath about the word of God and how to live our lives.

The faith leaders must actively affirm the dignity of humanity: that all people are created equal, endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The Bible says: “to whom much is given, much will be required.” (Luke 12:48)

America has been truly blessed in so many ways. With these profound blessings, much is expected of America and Americans.

We are better than the racism that infects us. We are better than the acts of violence and cruelty we have inflicted on others.

America can be the “City on the Hill – the Guiding Light” admired and respected by all.

Choose this day whom we will serve.

America must choose the spiritual vaccine against the virus of racism.

Choose good. Choose love. Choose God!

Amen.

© Copyright 2021 LifeSkill Institute, Inc., P.O. Box 302, Wilmington, NC 28402

Learn more about “Solving The Race Issue In America” and contact

Dr. Herbert (H J) Harris at: www.solvingtheraceissue.com 

Email: info@solvingtheraceissue.com    Phone: 800-570-4009