October 25, 2020
GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
Vol. 25, Issue 39
PLAN YOUR VOTE
THE GLOVES ARE OFF By: Roy Douglas Malonson
WHERE’S OUR 40 ACRES AND A MULE?
By: N.L. Preston
Have you ever heard the phrase, “40 acres and a mule?” If you have, depending on your age and wisdom, you may or may not know what that means. The saying is tied to “reparations,” which is what many African Americans feel is owed to them by the government for being kidnapped and forced into slavery, and rightfully so. REPARATIONS is defined as “the making of amends for a wrong one has done, by paying money to or otherwise helping those who have
been wronged.” If you think of that term in modern day, you could compare it to a city or state paying an innocent person for a wrongful imprisonment. But how do you pay someone back for the greatest atrocity known to mankind -- slavery -- which had generations of our people suffering back breaking servitude, beatings, rapings, and separations of families who still have never found each other? Some say it is simple -- PAY -- especially with the wide economic gap
between Blacks and Whites in this country, with Blacks still doing twice the work for half the pay, in addition to other disadvantages in education, purchasing homes, starting businesses and the inability of passing down generational wealth. THE FIRST SLAP IN THE FACE As the Civil War was winding down, Union leaders gathered a group of black ministers in Savannah, Ga. with the intention of helping the newly-freed slaves in the area.
It was announced that Gen. William T. Sherman’s Special Field Order 15 set aside land along the Southeast coast so that “each family shall have a plot of not more than forty acres of tillable ground.” That plan later became known as “40 acres and a mule.” All was settled and it appeared the freed slaves would get a fresh start, but after President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, President
Reparations cont’d page 6
The strength of a candidate, sometimes, depends on the strength behind their endorsements, and one of America’s, arguably, most beloved presidents - Barack Obama - has decided to step out from the sidelines to make the most powerful endorsement in this election. President Obama this week began to stomp the trail on behalf of his former vice president, Joe Biden, in an effort to get Donald Trump out of office. Obama is visiting key battleground states to rally support for Biden, particularly trying to boost enthusiasm among Black men, Latinos and younger voters. Former first lady Michelle Obama is a powerful speaker, and has already been campaigning for Biden with her “it is
what it is” messaging, but the country has been waiting for her husband to take his place center stage. Many have wondered why it has taken so long for Obama to come out from behind the scene and endorse the many Democratic candidates who need him, but David Axelrod, a longtime adviser to Obama, explains it is a good plan. “In terms of his value, it’s been smart not to overuse him,” Axelrod said. “They’ve been using him in targeted digital appeals to constituencies that Democrats need to arouse in this election: young people and people of color, who did not come out in the numbers that Hillary Clinton had hoped four
Biden cont’d page 6