ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOHN HILLER/STAFF ILLUSTRATOR
Jordan Smith
Opinion Columnist
[email protected]
“We the people of the United States.” These are the opening lines of the Constitution that explains a white, yet vast America. We should be outraged. The laws of the Constitution should be amended to fit marginalized groups freedom of speech, due process, voting rights, gun ownership and freedom of religion. Those who are marginalized should be privileged to exercise rights that should be afforded to them. While it is true that the Constitution of the United States does not mention race, Supreme Court Justice Roger Taney stated the majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford that black people were “unfit to associate with the white race in social or political relations, and so far inferior that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.” The black man was bought, sold, beat and treated and seen as merchandise for the white man. Taney’s statement was the fixed opinion of the white race. No one thought to dispute this matter or think on the correctness of his viewpoint. The highest court in the nation decided that white people were so far superior to black people. The Constitution as well never intended to recognize blacks as citizens or humans, so why would a black individual have legal standing in the courtroom? The Constitution was made for the white man, confirming white supremacy. Donald Trump, the highest elected official, has begun to silence NFL players free speech of kneeling during the national anthem “in a desperate plea for the country to recognize injustice and inequality over the disproportionate deaths of blacks bodies” according to The Root. Trayvon Martin, Willie James McCoy, E.J. Bradford, and William Brown are just a few innocent black individuals who died because of the white man’s love for guns. Black protestors are seen as “un-American,” disrespecting the troops, and the anthem in their attempt to show why black lives matter. In their attempt to save black lives conservatives and the Republican party politicize innocent deaths while protecting their constitutional gun rights. Dylann Roof, Stephen Paddock, Omar Saddiqui Mateen, Adam Lanza are all white men who committed horrific mass shootings but the deaths of guiltless victims were blamed on video games and mental health. Where is this sympathy for non-white individuals not afforded the same constitutional rights of gun ownership? Where is the outrage when it comes to protecting those who are often marginalized? A 2017 Harvard University Harris poll showed only 35 percent of white Americans had a positive view of Black Lives Matter. According to June Rasmussen poll, only 23 percent of Republicans believe the Trump Administration has been aggressive in deportations. White immigrants like Melania Trump who used “chain migration” that is “repeatedly and vehemently denounced by President Trump” according to the New York Times is only afforded by white people. Due process is a white thing but what about the illegal deportations of immigrants without due process? This is nothing new. The voices of the marginalized have been silenced and their voices disrespected. We must expose, disrupt and redirect the laws that this country was built on.
