UNAPOLOGETICALLY BLACK OP-ED
People of Color Owe a Debt of Gratitude to Black People
Black Americans paved the way for civil rights we all enjoy
Where would this country be if it weren’t for the contributions of Black Americans? If history is any indication, America would be significantly less accepting of people of color. For instance, moral arguments from abolitionists, like Angelina Grimké, developed in response to Black enslavement and helped pave the way for the freedom all citizens enjoy. Grimké said, “If it is a self-evident truth that all men, everywhere and of every color are born equal, and have an inalienable right to liberty, then it is equally true that no man can be born a slave, and no man can ever rightfully be reduced to involuntary bondage and held as a slave.” The injustices Black people endured while enslaved in America became the wind beneath the wings of the abolition movement. But, what often gets left out of the conversation is that abolition protected other people of color from enduring slavery. Likewise, racial segregation and discrimination were legally permitted until challenged by a Black-led civil rights movement, a response to Jim Crow-era violence and legislation targeting Black citizens.
