By Rodney LaBruce

Insofar as the American public wants to believe there's been progress, they often overlook a simple truth: I don't want to be given anything by you. I just want you to leave me alone so I can do it for myself. – James Baldwin.

Early labor in colonial America relied heavily on white European indentured servants. These individuals worked for a fixed term, after which they could gain freedom, land, and rights. However, as the demand for labor grew, this system no longer provided enough long-term workers. Plantation owners sought new sources of labor.

Native Americans were frequently enslaved or used as forced labor, but they resisted through escape or defiance. Their deep knowledge of the land made them difficult to enslave on a large scale.

Africans were ultimately selected for slavery for several reasons. They didn't speak the language or understand the land, making it difficult for them to navigate or organize resistance. Coming from different tribes, many Africans couldn’t even communicate with each other, which made planning escapes nearly impossible. For landowners, this made them the ideal choice. They could be dehumanized, treated as property, and held in bondage for life, with little fear of outside concern or intervention.

The question arises: How could one group of people treat another so brutally? Early on, some may have hesitated to buy or sell slaves, or perhaps observers needed some form of justification. The dehumanization of Africans through language became a deliberate tool to make slavery morally acceptable to Europeans and white colonists. A racial hierarchy was constructed, portraying Africans as inherently inferior and less than human. This dehumanization eased the consciences of those who participated in and benefited from slavery’s brutality.

Over time, pseudo-scientific theories developed, further entrenching the idea that Africans were biologically inferior. These ideas painted Black people as naturally suited for hard labor and subservience, providing another layer of justification for slavery.

Legal codes, such as the Virginia Slave Codes of the 17th century, codified racial distinctions between "white" and "black" people, embedding inequality into law. Africans were stripped of rights, and slavery became hereditary, a system passed down through generations. Africans were labeled as "savages" and "heathens," language that further stripped them of humanity.

As slavery grew more profitable, it became increasingly necessary to justify it. Viewing Africans as property rather than people allowed the institution to persist. This dehumanization wasn’t just about rationalizing slavery—it was about maintaining control. It allowed white Europeans to distance themselves from the moral implications of their actions.

After the Civil War and toward the end of Reconstruction, laws such as vagrancy laws and "Black Codes" were enacted to control newly freed African Americans, restricting their movement, labor, and freedom. These laws were designed to uphold white supremacy and laid the groundwork for the Jim Crow system of racial segregation.

Many Southern states passed Black Codes to strip African Americans of their rights, forcing them into exploitative labor systems such as sharecropping or convict leasing, both of which mirrored slavery. Vagrancy laws criminalized poverty and unemployment among African Americans. Black people without jobs or permanent residences were arrested and fined. If they couldn’t pay the fine, they were forced into labor to "pay off" their debt, often working for white landowners or companies.

The phrase "law and order" emerged as a coded way to disguise the oppression of African Americans under the guise of public safety and morality. It wasn’t simply about crime prevention—it was about maintaining the racial hierarchy and keeping African Americans "in their place." This language concealed the racial motivations behind harsh laws and policing while appealing to white citizens uncomfortable with racial equality.

Convict leasing allowed African Americans, especially men, to be arrested under vagrancy laws and sentenced to hard labor. Prisoners were leased to private companies, where they worked under brutal conditions. This system effectively continued the practice of enslaving African Americans long after slavery was formally abolished.

Historically, Southern white Democrats played a central role in perpetuating slavery and ensuring its protection within the Constitution. They were responsible for the violent repression of thousands of former slaves during and after Reconstruction, and they suppressed African American voting rights for decades. However, by the 1930s, a more liberal faction of the Democratic Party emerged, mainly from the North, advocating for minority rights. This shift left Southern white Democrats feeling disenfranchised.

At the same time, the Republican Party, struggling with a dwindling traditional base, began appealing to disillusioned Southern whites. This became known as the "Southern Strategy," an effort to capitalize on the frustrations of Southern whites who no longer felt aligned with the Democratic Party. In 2012, Senator Lindsey Graham remarked that the Republican Party was "not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business for the long term," reflecting the party’s struggles to maintain its base. Today, many argue that the Republican Party continues to craft policies that appeal to this demographic, particularly in the South.

Presidents Nixon, Reagan, and eventually Trump escalated this strategy, each using coded language to reinforce racial and social control without explicitly mentioning race. These "dog whistles"—phrases like "States’ Rights," "Tough on Crime," "War on Drugs," "Welfare Queen," and "Superpredators"—served as euphemisms. They subtly invoked race, class, and inequality while allowing politicians to appeal to racial anxieties in a way that was palatable to the public. This language has been an enduring tool to sustain systems of inequality under the guise of neutral or positive terms.

Beneath the surface of rhetoric lies a clear agenda aimed at holding back the progress of African Americans. This isn’t a chapter from history; it’s the story we’re living right now. The Democratic Party also has a complicated and often troubling past when it comes to race, but let’s be honest: the Republican Party has long employed tactics designed to preserve a social order that keeps Black people at the bottom.

The coded language used today paints Black people as lazy, dangerous, dependent on drugs, and always seeking handouts. But the reality—the statistics—tells a different story. As James Baldwin so powerfully said, "I don't want to be given anything by you. I just want you to leave me alone so I can do it for myself." That’s the heart of the matter. It’s about removing the barriers, not handing out favors.