Quite frankly, who cares if the Union would have fallen apart if slavery was ended? The Union should be grateful that people such as David Walker was poisoned, otherwise white Americans may not have a Union to gloat about. Any time slavery is excused for saving some “union,” that is an insult to blacks who died during the middle passage, slaves and to all black people who live in this racist society.

Do people really understand slavery? The denial of humanity? The denial to education? The denial to live with certain “inalienable rights?” The denial to live with justice, freedom and equality? Slaves were stolen from their homeland, forced to endure a “middle passage,” tortured physically and psychologically, raped, had their tongues cut out and sold like animals. In the words of Redford, “let us not forget” that the white Founding Fathers were racists, slave owners and that America would not be what it is without the blood and work of my black ancestors.

While the three-fifths compromise was not necessarily a product of particular Founding Fathers, it is still dehumanizing and racist. How can a person be delineated as property just to give Southern racists more representation? We need to realize these racist Founding Fathers are not great men unless you benefit from the current liberal institutions. As Charles Mills argues in his book “The Racial Contract” — “We the people meant we the white people.”

Kyle Mays

social relations and policy senior