Marginalized, Neglected, Exploited, and Oppressed, and Still We Rise: the Legacy of Black Resistance
By Norman Franklin
Norman Franklin
Oppression, in its many forms, has been a reality of life, in all cultures, social structures, democracies and autocracies, for as long as humanity has existed.
Oppression occurs when people grow their own sense of power, comfort, and security at expense of others. It employs the use of violence, coercion, and corruption that makes life easier for some and harder for others. It’s a concise and comprehensive definition I stumbled upon during Google research.
People, individuals and ethnic groups, respond to oppression in varied ways; African Americans tend to respond to oppression with defiance, with resistance that counters, challenges and moves them into the system to change systemic oppression.
I do not want to compare scars and wounds, nor presume that anyone’s suffering from oppression is greater than another’s. I do want to showcase the resilience, and the defiance of African Americans in responding to oppression.
The nearly four centuries of the transatlantic slave trade, 246 years of chattel slavery in America, and more than 75 years of Jim Crow segregation did not subdue the spirit nor bow the head of the African American.
It was a journey of resilience. An African American served two terms as Commander-in-Chief, despite a Republican Senate determined to make him a one term president; an African American woman now serves as Vice President of the United States.
These are exceptional individuals. But the common man is no less a testimony of resilience. I present these three men who refused to be pressed down by the thumb of oppression. Their responses bear witness that resilience is in the DNA of the African American.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla, felt comfortable in his dismissive response to a young African American. The 25- year-old, Maxwell Frost had firsthand experience with police abuse, gun violence in his community, and people of color being marginalized and neglected. Frost confronted DeSantis at a political event in Orlando. He wanted the governor to act on gun violence. “Nobody wants to hear from you,” DeSantis retorts. Maxwell Frost was elected to represent Florida’s 10th Congressional District. The Governor will probably want to hear from him now.
Harry Dunn defended the Capitol against the January 6 mob attack. The rioters yelled racial epithets at him, something he had not experienced in his 15 years on the force. The Republican Congress was dismissive of the bravery, and the sacrifices of the Capitol Police force. They made mockery. The J6 Committee investigation was a political witch-hunt according to the Republican Congress.
“On January 6th, I defended our democracy from insurrectionists as a Capitol Police Officer,” Dunn wrote in announcing his congressional run. “Today, I’m running for Congress to stop Trump’s MAGA extremist and ensure it never happens again.” Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District stretches between Baltimore and Washington DC.
Yusef Salaam, on Dec. 20, 2023, took the oath of office for the city council. He will begin to serve the ninth district, borough and county of New York City on January 1, 2024. Thirty-four years earlier, the 15-year-old, as one of the ‘Central Park Five,’ was convicted of rape. He spent seven years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.
It was a rush to justice. A breach of his rights under the Constitution he now pledges to faithfully serve. A white woman, jogging late evening in Central Park, was brutally raped. A gang of Black youth were alleged to have committed the crime. Groups of Black youth often strolled in the park, they have that right as citizens.
In 2002, one man, Matias Reyes, a murderer and serial rapist, confessed to the rape. The DNA he provided matched the evidence found at the scene.
The court of public opinion convicted them. Mayor Koch called the teenagers “monsters.” Donald Trump, millionaire real estate developer, called for swift justice. The eighty-five thousand dollars he spent on ads helped shape public opinion. “Bring back the Death Penalty,” screamed from the pages of his ads.
Police investigators disregarded evidence and coerced confessions. There was not any evidence that linked the five young Black men to the crime.
All five served their sentences. The felons lived under the shadow of the crime; Mr. Salaam moved back into the Schomburg Plaza housing development with his mother in Harlem. He was a felon and a registered sex offender living under the shadow of oppression. In 2002, a judge removed the shadow of the crime, he voided their convictions.
The 49-year-old Yusef Salaam is Harlem’s Nelson Mandela, a New York Times article said. If we do not bend and fold up under the weight of the “knee on the neck,” we learn endurance, gain wisdom, develop resilience, and we are inspired to work to make things better. “Everything, every single thing, that I experienced has prepared me for this,” Mr. Salaam is quoted as saying in the Times article. “I needed to be in the belly of the beast, because now I can see that those who are closest to the pain need to have a seat at the table.”
Who better understands justice than those who have been denied it. Thirty-four years later this is the oath of the marginalized, the exploited, the oppressed Blackman ready to serve and to work within the system to help change the system.
“I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New York. I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of council member of the ninth district, in the borough and county of New York, in the City of New York, according to the best of my ability.”
America will change. The marginalized, the exploited and the oppressed who refuse to be pressed down and silenced will rise up and work to change the system into a more equitable society.
February is designated the month-long celebration of the struggles and triumphs, the accomplishments and contributions of African and African Americans in the making of this great nation. I encourage you to dig deep and learn, there is a great wealth of courage, genius, wisdom and resilience to be uncovered.