WE’RE GOING TO NEED SOME HELP, AND THE TIME IS NOW
It’s Time To Really Give Black Americans Equal Rights
As the Harris/Biden duo bring the United States onto the international stage, it’ll be the perfect time to give Black and Native American citizens the necessary civil rights, habeas corpus, jury of their peers
I’ll say up front that I’m no lawyer and don’t have the right words for what I’m demanding. I’m saying that, specifically for Black people, more specifically for Black men, it’s time to go to extraordinary lengths to redress the injuries done over the past few CENTURIES to Black slaves and their descendants.
I can’t think of any other demographic group that has suffered like the Black Americans or Native Americans. I’ve been paying attention for more than 30 years, waiting for, well, today actually. With all the disruption of this presidential changeover, we may as well get these new, improved civil rights built into the system that Biden and Harris are building right now. Even if they notice, they should be supportive of equal rights, right? I’m sure they will notice and be supportive, but they are also buried in work. We’ll be needing help. Universities and law schools come to mind.
I wish I knew more about what I’m asking for. But it’s a complicated mess. The marginalization of Black men specifically has put them in a position of being near non-citizens. Criminal histories, disrupted social lives, for now I don’t see who could help sort it except for other Black citizens. Which is what a jury of your peers is meant to be!
Habeas corpus is important too. Not my strongest point, but it means that a jury of your peers may want to “take custody” of you, rather than leave you in a cold, distant prison or jail. If you’re imprisoned for a violent crime, then you’ll just be trading cells. At least until your peers decide what should be done. It’s complicated and it isn’t. It should work fine once it’s up and running. The big difference: not being forced in front of an all-white jury. Whew.
This complexity is why I’m advocating the changes, but cannot be precise about how it’s to be done. It’s just that as the U.S. rebuilds, this can be built in. It’s not a competition, it’s more an incorporation. I’ve been waiting for this moment for decades.
