At the dawn of the century, 123 years ago, W. E. B. Du Bois published a remarkable book, titled The Souls of Black Folk. Drawing back the veil that separated black and white Americans, he portrayed in lyrical prose a people of separate and unequal status.
Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, just three years after the Civil War, Du Bois studied at Fisk University, then became the first African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard. Sociologist, teacher, activist and author, he fought a resurgent racism that relegated African Americans to the lowest rung of society, denied them voting, and terrorized them with violence.
In his introduction, Du Bois wrote: “The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line.” I submit that it is still true today.
Tomorrow, as we celebrate Juneteenth, the day enslaved folk in Texas finally learned they were free, we must look again at race as the defining marker in President Trump’s campaign to remove millions of black and brown people from America.
In the 21st century, as in Du Bois’ time, we are witness to the orchestrated dehumanization of people of color. Consider the slander coming out of the White House against Haitians, Mexicans and Somalis. Consider the targeting of minority officials, judges and politicians. Consider the redistricting of voting maps to exclude African Americans.
Consider the daily arrests of our immigrant neighbors—the vast majority who are black or brown. Taken from their families, they are flown to detention prisons to await deportation.
The Brookings Institute reports that in Trump’s second term, well over 100,000 children have been separated from their parents. (Remember the outcry in 2018 when about 5,500 children were removed from their parents?)
There are now some 70,000 immigrants held in 371 detention centers in the United States, and the Trump administration wants more. An estimated 290,000 have already been flown to other countries, the most going to Mexico. But not all are sent to their countries of origin. The New York Times reports plans to send 1,100 Afghan refugees, who aided the United States during the war, to the Congo.
At the same time President Trump has opened the door to 10,000 white South Africans to re-settle in America.
Some 13 million of our neighbors are still vulnerable to deportation, either because they are undocumented or have had their temporary protective status (TPS) removed. Besides revoking their TPS, Trump is now targeting immigrants applying for Green Cards. He is also targeting Dreamers, young adults who came here as small children. As he said in his campaign rallies, he wants them all gone.
Under the guise of immigration enforcement, the federal government is waging what can only be described as ethnic cleansing, the term used when a country systematically attempts to remove residents of a certain race, ethnicity or religion. This is a crime.
In his landmark book, Du Bois hoped white folk would come to know black folk, that they would take to heart their essential humanity and intrinsic value as full members of the American community. The same is true about the millions of immigrants, the majority black and brown, who want nothing more than freedom to live in safety, raise their families, work and be a part of the American dream.
America needs immigrants, families, hard workers, builders, care providers, entrepreneurs. But more than that, we need to know the Soul of Immigrants and affirm their humanity. As in 1903, America needs a change of heart.
Ben Jacques Stories 