[ExI] are we not just one race, the human race?

MB mbb386 at main.nc.us
Sun Mar 23 02:18:54 UTC 2008


Damien writes:
>
> It depends when and whom you have in mind. The USA wasn't an imperial
> global power until after WWII, and the great "melting pot"
> immigrations were half a century before that, I think.
>
> It would interesting to learn how many black would-be immigrants
> there were from Africa prior to, say, 40 years ago. I'm not sure many
> would have been that eager in 1850 or 1950 to undertake the journey
> to the land of freedom and opportunity. (Although clearly there were
> plenty of Chinese and other Asians who made sacrifices to come here
> even when they must have known they'd face  a degree of rejection and
> even persecution from those already arrived--but then look at what
> they were fleeing. And at least the US allowed them in, unlike
> Australia with its repulsive White Australia Policy--law until,
> incredibly, 1975).
>

The US developed rules and guidelines about who was permitted. IIUC they had quotas
on how many of what kind: Irish, Italian, Eastern European, Roman Catholic, German,
Jew... And health exams. These guidelines were not set in stone, either, they were
subject to change. I can well imagine there were rules about Africans, considering
the trouble the US already had in that regard. Wasn't there evem an effort to ship
Africans *back*?  Isn't that were Liberia came from? (I'm historically challenged,
folks)

Weren't many Chinese brought here and treated like slaves in the west - lured with
false promises of great riches?

If I were an African I'd not want to come to a place where Africans were *assumed*
to be slaves from the get-to. That would be a very problematical situation indeed.
The fact that there were free black Americans (some of whom who had slaves, IIUC)
still would not ease my mind. Those folks were known in their communities, and could
be spoken for and protected if need arise.  A stranger would not have that security.

Are our hispanic people now facing a similar situation - assumed to be illegal? I
don't know, but I've heard whispers that many men who work on construction crews
here are illegals. But they may all have Green Cards, which is more than my
son-in-law can get. :(

Regards,
MB






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