3 Reason's Why You Should Get Up & Go!

We all have those morning's. You know the ones where you wake up groggy, look back on your life with a sleepy mind and wonder how things would be different if..........The truth is, sometimes we all get restless as we wait for a change or try to affect our own change. It's part of being human. But we must never forget the progress that we have already made. We must think about how far we've come, and realize that where we could be may be far worse. It is important to accentuate the positive, get up, and go. This writing required no research, no percentages, and absolutely no data because these are things that we already know but seem to forget when contemplating our journey through this gift that we call life.
1. Some people can't get up and go. There are many people in your state, in your county, or in your neighborhood who simply do not have the ability to physically perform the every day activities that many of us take for granted. They would love to be able to get up and do something as simple as go to the bathroom without assistance, or have the ability to feed themselves. Small tasks we don't deem important, are huge when they are beyond our grasp.
2. As much as you dislike your job, or your boss, or both. There are literally millions of people who would love to be in your shoes. They would take your job in a heart beat, and work much harder for much less money. Some people would count it a blessing if they could earn your salary, and they would not complain. The bottom line is, if you have an opportunity to put food and the table, and pay a bill, or two, or three, it is not something that should be taken lightly. Things could always be worse and have gotten worse for many American's who are now unemployed. Be thankful that you're not in that number, and if you were, thank God that you no longer are.
3. Today is December. 14, 2012. This day will never come again. There will be many other Friday's, and of course December 14 will come again next year. But today is a new day filled with new challenges and opportunities, and while you may feel like you're stuck in the same mundane routine day after day, no two days are ever alike and ever will be alike. We must appreciate each and every day and embrace them with all of the enthusiasm and excitement we can muster because every breathe that we take is a blessing to be savored and utilized, for progress, wisdom, and accomplishment.
When I say get up and go it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to go some place. It is just a metaphor for productivity, and proactivity. In other words, take control of your circumstances before they take control of you. Get up and go!

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Free Radio and The Conservative Melt Down

In The Radio Act of 1927 Congress dictated that the FCC only consider broadcast licensing when doing so serves the public interest. In 1949 the FCC decided to issue a stricter interpretation of the rule stating that in addition to having broadcast's which were pertinent to the public interest, broadcaster's should also do so in a fair manner. The Fairness Doctrine was then issued and enforced.
Under the Fairness Doctrine TV and radio stations holding FCC broadcast licenses had to, devote some of their programming to controversial issues of public importance and allow the airing of opposing views on those issues. This meant that programs on politic's were required to include opposing opinions on the topic under discussion. Another caveat under The Fairness Doctrine stated that Broadcaster's had an active duty to determine the spectrum of views on a given issue and include those people best suited to represent those views in their programming. Additionally, the rule mandated that broadcasters alert anyone subject to a personal attack in their programming and give them a chance to respond, and required any broadcaster's who endorse political candidates to invite other candidates to respond.
The Fairness Doctrine has been challenged numerous times since it's inception on the basis of broadcaster's first amendment free speech rights. In 1969 The case of Red Lion Broadcasting Company vs. The Federal Communications Commission also known as the FCC reached the Supreme Court. The court ruled that although broadcaster's have a right to free speech, the government still had the right to regulate their content because they were in affect, leasing the right to use a government owned medium. However, First Amendment jurisprudence, allowed broadcaster's more speech right's when it came to content. Meaning the first amendment became open to a more philosophical interpretation thereby questioning the constitutionality of the Fairness Doctrine. In response, the FCC began to reconsider the rule in the mid-80's, and ultimately revoked it in 1987.
This decision has been credited with the rise of conservative talk radio in the late 80's and early 90's. These broadcast's started as a platform for conservative view point's and to further the conservative, philosophy. As time went on, these program's began to dominate the airwaves, and became the vast majority of all talk radio broadcast's. They quickly became a big money machine fueled by corporation's who used the fear of those who listened by promoting rhetoric that seem to play on the paranoia of conservative American's. People who don't know, who don't know that they don't know, and who don't want to know, found programming that validated their concern's no matter how unrealistic or far-fetched they were. It is like being afraid of the dark for no reason, and then being happy than you've found someone to give you reason's why you should be afraid. No matter what those reason's are. The comfort is found in the fact that someone is telling you that your concern's are both well placed, and normal.
Propagandist's like Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannidy have earned hundreds of millions of dollars pushing the envelope of absurdity on television and radio in the name if conservatism. But they are really nothing more than self promoting, duplicitous, pseudo-journalist's spreading lies. They eventually cost the Republican Party two elections. Their conservative ideology lacked substance, their assertions, and claims were rarely if ever fact based, and their numerous attacks on President Obama were beyond laughable. First there was the rise of the Tea Party, a radical, racist fringe group who only seemed to be concerned about big government when an African-American announce his candidacy. Then there was the Birther Movement, the insane bastard offspring of the Tea Party who insisted that President Obama wasn't a United States citizen. Last but not least, the G.O.P's arrogant choices in both Presidential, candidates and running mates. Arrogant is the only word which accurately describes that fact that such poorly qualified, and inept candidates were chosen for those election's with the belief that they could actually win. These elements, while not particularly disturbing to some constituents, were the catalyst's for moment's of clarity to those in the party who were capable of critical thinking and analysis. These rare exception's in the party grew in number and realized that the Republican Party had gone to the extreme right of Reagan, and even further to the right of basic conservative view points for a profit. They have realized that it has become less about politic's and more about entertainment. The extremes becoming so extreme, that its proponent's seem like high paid circus clown's. If the GOP doesn't undergo a major overhaul it will go the way of the dinosaur, and the 8 track tape. Fossil's of a bygone era, eclipsed by innovation, and progress.

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The Casualties of Incarceration (Doing Time With Mom & Dad)

There have been numerous studies done, and unending research detailing the rate of incarceration in the United States, which now leads the world in the number of it's citizen's currently in custody. The number of those incarcerated has quadrupled since 1980 from 500,000 to 2.3 million. This staggering figure beats former leader's in incarceration like Russia and South Africa, and appears to be on the rise. But what about the children of those doing time? Are they casualties of a prison system which seeks to incarcerate rather than rehabilitate, or just innocent victims caught in the middle?
Studies show that 1 in 28 children have at least 1 parent who is incarcerated. It has also been discovered that 63% of Federal prisoner's and 55% of state prisoner's are the parent's of children under the age of 18. Between 1995 and 2005, the number of incarcerated women in the U.S. increased by 57% compared to 34% per for men. A whopping 75% of all incarcerated women are mothers, and at least 46% of all imprisoned parents lived with at least one of their minor children, prior to entry.
The average age of children with an incarcerated parent is 8 years old, and 22% of the children are under the age of 5. There is a disparate impact on families of color, with African-American children nine times more likely and Hispanic children three times more likely than white children to have a parent in prison. The reason's for this disparity are many but it no secret that African- American's have always received harsher sentences that any other ethnic group due to a culture of systematic disenfranchisement. But I digress.
Having a parent who is behind bars can cause both physical and emotional instability, behavioral problems, and shame because of the stigma attached.
These children suffer abandonment issues and often have low self esteem.
My initial curiosity on this subject was sparked by a children's book that I saw online entitled, "The Night Daddy Went To Prison" (photo below). At first I thought that it was just a parody, or a sick joke. But upon further investigation I found out that it was very real. There has actually been a story book or manual designed to help children cope with innocence lost as a result of a parent being caged. There was a time when children's books taught them how to go potty and brush their teeth. Now it's a whole different ball game. One in which the children are being forced to deal with an adult situation. To some, this may seem like a question of responsibility or lack their of, and you may ask yourself why a truly concerned parent would put themselves in a position where being institutionalized is possible or even necessary. But prison's are filled with innocent people, who have been ripped away from their families in the name of justice. How do we reconcile the irrefutable damage done to their offspring? Even the children of the guilty are not guilty themselves, they just become casualties of the prison industrial complex learning to cope by reading a story book.

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Different Last Names, The Decline of Marriage In The African-American Community

This may sound odd but, each and every time I read a story about African- American youth, I have a habit of searching for the parent's last names, hoping that they are the same. Nine times out of 10, I'm disappointed. No matter how many articles I read or how many blogs I write. My habit and disappointment don't seem to change. I guess I can either chalk it up to being old fashioned or being in denial. But I find it increasingly difficult to accept the "new normal".
73% of all African-American children are born out of wedlock, compared to 53% of Latinos and 25% of whites. Researcher's have consistently found that children who are born outside marriage face elevated chances of falling into poverty, failing in school or suffering emotional or behavioral problems.
Analyst's and intellectual's have summarized a number of theories in reference to this subject. Everything from there being a lack of eligible Black men, to unemployment and poverty. Both reasons are viable, but when we compare African-American's to other ethnic groups who also have poverty within their ranks, and the numbers are still disproportionate, we have to ask ourselves what the root causes are, and then dig a little deeper.
African- American's are the only ethnic group who were enslaved here in America, and we are still suffering the after effects of this atrocity. The decline in Black marriage cannot totally be blamed on poverty, and socio-economic disparity because there was a time when slaves wed simply by jumping the broom, and they were poor. Who was more impoverished than slaves?
As I have stated previously, Thomas Jefferson's preferred method of unusual cruelty when it came to punishing his slaves was to separate them from their families. He preferred this method more than physical torture because he realized that destroying the African family tore the very fabric of their being. Jefferson wasn't the only one to use psychological warfare to break his captives. This kind of tactic was widespread, and did more damage to African's at that time, and African-American's today than any whip, chain or shackle. Generation's of Black people have unknowingly passed on dysfunctional behavior from generation to generation, and then what once wasn't a choice became an option because it became acceptable.
Today this affect is more prevalent than ever and what was once an action on the fringe has now almost become an after thought in an ever growing counter culture for African-American's. In other words, the stigma is gone. When there is no tradition of marriage in the community, and there is no tradition of marriage in families, it almost seems peculiar to make such a commitment. Individual's also tend to internalize. Then the question becomes, "Why should I?" Marriage in the African-American community is just not a priority any more because the cultural tradition has changed. Many Black men feel that sex is a necessity that they can indulge in without repercussions, or responsibility. Some believe that self gratification is the only gratification. Wives and children make it impossible to live a life in constant pursuit of satisfaction. Things like time, attention, money, and support have now become much less desirable in the face of pleasing ones self. Especially given the fact that more often than not, these men were raised without father's in their homes to set a standard or example. The cycle continues and history repeats itself.
As long as I can remember there have always been unwed mother's in the Black community but, there was a time when you would hear about the girl down the block getting pregnant, she would disappear for 9 months, and then return as if nothing ever happened. Whisper's and speculation would permeate the neighborhood, and many a nosey neighbor could be overheard whispering whenever she walked by. Those days, are long gone. It has become quite the norm in the Black community to have the baby without the marriage. So much so, that it has become synonymous with our community.
Women are not pressing the father's of their children to marry them simply because it was not part of the structure of their families. They honestly don't know any better because they haven't seen any better or experienced any better. Being a man's wife is unfathomable because there is no point of reference for many African- American women to follow, just the status quo. The bottom line is that a cycle has begun, one that is both disturbing, and not at all beneficial to those involved. Children from single parent homes mimic and continue what is normal for them. Boys growing into men trying to figure out how to treat a woman who is neither mother or sister, and girls growing into woman trying to figure out how to be successful in non-sibling male relationships. A never ending repetition which can be broken if there is a strong desire to be different. This is not a sweeping indictment of all of those who have found themselves in this position. Some men and women bear the scars of broken promises and dreams deferred. It is even a possibility that former or current significant other's are not worthy of marriage. But everybody? There must be some accountability. Until then, there will be generations of children with last names that differ from their mother's. Children given their father's last names for no other reason that a possible child support claim.

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CHANGE !

There are few certainties in life. We are all familiar with the fact that there are certain things in life that are just inevitable. Change is just as certain and as inevitable as the sun rise, and changing season's. Some fight it, and some refuse to change because they are bound by habit. Even those with habits that seem detrimental to their progress find it hard to move on. It is much easier to stick with a negative routine than it is to make a positive change. I began this writing thinking about some my counterparts, some of whom still live in their own little microscopic piece of the world. This living in compasses each and every facet of their lives, and has left them with no desire for change because of both complacency, and contentment. These feelings are dangerous and do not promote growth in humanity. Especially in African- American's. There are many of us, such as those young men in Chicago who seem bent on self destruction, who live their lives from one day to the next, only concerned with making it through another 24 hours. They don't see the benefits of changing or realize that the possibility actually exist. In all honesty a lot of people just don't want to change, and the fact that other's do, or feel the need to, shakes their very foundation. You could move to another state, marry the love of your life and take yourself out of your comfort zone, all in the name of change for progress, and this will inspire hatred in those who do not have the courage to take the necessary step's to better themselves.
Change starts in your mind. You could move from earth to the moon, and every planet in between, but if you were a psychopath on earth changing your location without changing your mind is a grand exercise in futility. A lot of people
are so arrogant that they actually believe that a change in venue will cause an integral difference in their lives because they refuse to have the slightest bit of accountability. But if you put a monkey on Mars, guess what, it'll still be a monkey. All things must change, all people should change, and there is no progress without change.

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13 & 137

Timothy Russell, age 42, and Malissa Williams, age 30 were shot and killed in a barrage of bullets after leading Police on a high speed chase through the streets of Cleveland, Ohio. The chase began when an unidentified Officer reported gun fire coming from the vehicle parked outside the Cuyahoga County Justice Center in downtown Cleveland on Nov. 29th. Another officer also reported hearing shots, and sparked the chase near Police headquarters.
ABC Cleveland reported that more than 30 officers were involved in the 25-minute chase, which ended behind a middle school in East Cleveland. In a scene that sounds like it came straight out of a Hollywood epic, 13 officer's fired 137 rounds into Williams and Russell's vehicle. The initial investigation uncovered no weapon or firearm inside of the vehicle, and no shell casings indicating that shots had been fired. Any bullet holes found in the Police cruiser's were as a result of their own gun fire. All 13 officers's were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by a task force including the local police department, the county police, the county prosecutor and the state criminal bureau is investigating.
This has to be the most excessive use of force that I have ever heard of, and at first glance the source of my outrage was the fact that those officer's probably would not have emptied their weapon's firing at a vehicle with white occupant's. But after reading this story several times, I began to wonder why any sane human being would lead the Police on a 25 minute chase and think that it would turn out to be anything but disastrous. Far too often these stories break and we as African-American's seem to totally ignore the fact some of us act like fools. It almost seems as if we let racism distract us from thinking in-depth. While there is no reason to fire so many shots at anyone, Police shooting African-American's down like dogs, is nothing new. There are times when we cannot avoid being victims. But there are also times when we can. We must think before we act. Unlike like other's we cannot afford the luxury of ineptitude.

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Father and Sun

There are some things that are universal. They transcend race, culture, and time. The one thing all men have in common is the fact that we all want a son. This is driven by a desire to have a smaller version of ourselves. Someone that we can raise, shape, and mold to be better versions of who we are. We want to insure that they can live brilliant lives in which they can fulfill their wildest dreams and realize the potential that we see in them. We want our male offspring to rule the world, and take the universe by storm. Having all intentions on using our experiences to steer them away from the petty mistakes and pitfall's that may have hindered or delayed our own greatness. Our goal is to polish them so that they their shine will rival that of the sun. At least, that is the goal for those of us who readily accept and take pride in the responsibility of raising a boy into a man. Some of us believe that simply making a baby makes us a father, but wild animals make babies so being able to plant a seed in and of itself is not a monumental accomplishment. The standard for fatherhood is often misunderstood, misinterpreted, and miscalculated. Every little boy wants to be like his father, and every grown man will measure himself by his father's example. If not us, who will they follow. The prison's are full of young men who have been left in a position in which they've had to guide themselves. Too many boy's have been left with the impossible task of shaping and molding themselves through trial and error. The only thing about trial and error is the fact that, one error can have you on trial, and the judicial system is both unbalanced and unforgiving. So it is up to us as father's to live our lives as men who are worthy of imitation, adulation, and admiration. We must constantly teach our sons by example because children watch us far more than they listen to us. We must cultivate their attributes, and help them work through their flaws so that they are able to shine as men, and inspire a spirit of individualism, and independence.
We should never underestimate the power of our example. The influence of a father figure, or mentor is immeasurable.
My teenage son is taller than I am but he still looks up to me. I strive each and every day to be the best man that I can be, so that I am able to be the best father that I can be, and while his eyes are on me, my eyes are on God. I call on the Ultimate father to help me be a better father.

This is dedicated to my son B.J.B., a perfectionist, athlete, and future doctor.

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Despicable Acts

This past Saturday morning, 25 year old Kansas City Chiefs linebacker, Jovan Belcher, fatally shot his girlfriend 22 year-old Kasandra Perkins, after an argument in their home. Belcher then drove to Arrowhead Stadium, where he fatally shot himself in the head while in the stadium's parking lot.
Belcher and Perkins left behind a 3 month old daughter named Zoe who is now in the custody of Belcher's mother. Zoe will never know her parents. At three months old it is doubtful that she will have any recollection of being held in her mothers arms or comforted by her father's touch. There is no doubt that her father was a disturbed young man who made a selfish decision, and as a result she must some day be forced to reconcile his actions. Being saddled with the stigma surrounding her parents murder-suicide is a forgone conclusion. I can only assume that Belcher did not consider what effect his actions would have on his infant daughter, who will live the majority of her life as an orphan.
There are an estimated 1500 murder-suicides in the United States each year.
Research reveals the following:
Fathers who kill their children, then themselves, are usually older than the mothers.
Older couples in murder-suicides are more likely to have medical illnesses.
Older men are more likely to kill themselves.
Younger couples are more likely to have a history of verbal discord.
Firearms are the favored weapon.
Victims are overwhelmingly female.
Estrangement is typically the biggest contributing factor.
There are two types of people whose behavior could set off alarms.
The first is a middle aged man who is facing separation or estrangement from is wife or girlfriend, is depressed and has access to firearms.
The other is an older male who acts as the primary care giver to a spouse or significant other who is ill or debilitated. Often times he has a sickness of his own that had been recently diagnosed, severe depression, and access to firearms, according to a study done by Dr. Scott Eliason which was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.
Sometimes people want to kill themselves because they believe that someone has stopped loving them. Then that person becomes the target.
"A person who is miserable about the loss of affection in their life achieves compatibility again with this person by execution," said Dr. Frank Campbell, the executive director of the Baton Rouge Crisis Intervention Center in Louisiana. He's been studying suicide for more than two decades and travels around the world to investigate suicide scenes.
"When one commits murder-suicide, they create acceptable consequences to them, they are now with that person in a way they can control," Campbell said.
This is by far the most disturbing information that I have ever read. Jovan Belcher seemed to be living the dream, a career in professional football, a million dollar contract, a beautiful family, and the endless possibilities that come with having your whole life ahead of you. Unfortunately he found some of the ups and downs that came with his life, too much to bear. Living life in a state of reality is not easy for those of us who choose to do so. But, like my father once told me, " If you don't control your circumstances, your circumstances will control you". Controlling your circumstances does not mean murdering someone and then killing yourself causing irreparable damage to the innocent people who are involved, and there are always innocent people involved in some way, shape or form. Belcher's mother is now the only parent that her Grand daughter will ever know.
According to the research, the profiles of those who commit these acts of violence involve women, guns, and depression. Perhaps 3 of the most complicated subjects known to man. However, we must gain some insight into a man's decision to destroy a woman that he loves because there is no feeling of reciprocity. This is an insane, irrational choice that benefits no one. It is impossible to solve a problem by killing it. The only result is tragedy, and pain. Suicide is never a way out, just a way into a place where your pain on earth will multiply exponentially, and never end.
Jesus is the answer to the question, and the positive solution to your pain. If nothing else, we must always remember two things, he didn't create life for us to take it away, and he will never put more on us than we can bear. During our times of brokenness, we must trust in him and not in our own understanding. We are not people people but he is a perfect God.

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The Death's of Jordan Russell Davis, Critical, & Analytical Thinking

It is becoming inevitable. It's a story that seems to repeat itself in grim detail. Another African-American child has been shot by a coward. A middle- aged Caucasian man who is laying the ground work in order to use Florida's controversial "stand your ground" law to defend his actions. The latest victim is 17-year-old Jordan Russell Davis. Davis who was unarmed, was shot and killed by 45-year-old Michael David Dunn outside of a convenience store in Jacksonville, Florida after an argument involving loud music. On this past Friday night Dunn and his girlfriend who were in town for his son's wedding, pulled up next to a car with 4 teens inside playing loud music. While his girlfriend was in the store he told them to turn the music down, an argument ensued. Dunn then drew his weapon, and fired 8 or 9 shots at the vehicle hitting Davis twice as he sat in the back seat. The other teens were not injured. Once his girlfriend came out of the store, Dunn took off leaving Davis broken, and bloody at the scene. That night, Dunn (an avid gun collector), spent the night with his girlfriend at a near by hotel. Perhaps he would have literally gotten away with murder had it not been for attentive bystanders who jotted down his license plate number. Police arrested Dunn at his home in Satellite Beach, Florida the following morning, on one charge of murder and three charges of attempted murder.
On Monday Dunn pled not guilty in Brevard county court stating that he felt threatened so he took action. This is the premise for the "stand your ground" law.
Davis, a High School junior had just gotten a job a McDonalds to make some extra money.
"At Thanksgiving the day before his death, he said he was thankful to God for his family." His teary-eyed mother, Lucia McBath, said in a recent interview.
She also said that the fact that Dunn drove off after the shooting was unconscionable.
Ron Davis, the victim's father, added,
"I was looking forward as a parent to being there when he got married, and being there when he found love. All the things that I'm not going to be able to do is what pains me."
Over the years I've heard this story far too many times. It is one that has become too familiar. The details, the year, and the circumstances may be different but the tragedies are all the same. Young African-American men killed or brutalized for no justifiable reason.
The fact of the matter is that this world is never going to change, and while we cannot control the actions of others we can certainly control our own. It seems as if our youth have no concept or idea as to how to think critically or analytically. Critical thinking means that you are able to look at a situation or occurrence, and make reasonable assumptions based on both the known and the unknown. Analytical thinking is the ability to effectively analyze a situation, and draw conclusions that are conducive to accurate assessments. These concepts seem to be lost on our youth yet they are essential to every day life. Questions like ("What might happen if I keep arguing with this stranger?") or ("Why does this man feel brave enough to argue with a car full of black teenagers?"), require a certain thought process. Knowing that for every action, there is a reaction requires depth of thought in order to gauge the possible reactions. They must realize that the reaction can sometimes be fatal. For the victims and their families. Did Jordan Davis deserve to be murdered for playing loud music? Definitely not! Michael Dunn is a cold-blooded, callous, murderer who will probably reside in a special place in hell.
I am not a perfect man, nor was I a perfect teenager, and it is only by the grace of God that I am alive today. My goal is to help all young African-American boys and men live. I specify because we have overwhelmingly become the victims of trigger happy, gun toting lunatics in fear of our skin color. As Black people in America we must think about our actions, and choose our reactions carefully because failure to do so could cost us our lives, a consequence which is more prevalent in our life span than any other human beings on the planet. We have to give our children the tools they need to avoid being just another victim of social injustice. There are some jewels of wisdom that come with age, but in order to age, you must live to get older.

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Jefferson's Hidden Legacy of Slavery

Those who document history have always taken artistic license when it comes to creating an accurate narrative. Whether the subject is the first Thanksgiving, the voyage of Christopher Columbus, or Thomas Jeffersons signing of The Declaration of Independence. Much has been said about each event, and if we take all of the information at face value, one might think that the very details of each tale are unequivocally true. They have been passed on in one history book or another, and taught to generation after generation as if the exactitude of the text is simply supported by the fact that it is in a text book.
The legend of Thomas Jefferson is that of a founder father, and one of the drafter's of the Constitution. The fact of the matter is that had he found the descendants of my African-American father or yours, he would have either purchased them like cattle or sold them to buy luxury items for his family. Jefferson owned approximately 175 slaves at the time that he signed the Declaration of Independence. While many of his contemporaries, including George Washington freed their slaves both during and after the revolution, Jefferson continued to buy and sell human beings, and was one of the biggest advocates of slavery at the time. Not only did he have a deep commitment to slavery, he was also opposed to private manumission (the act of a slave owner freeing their slaves), and public emancipation. Over a 50 year period Thomas Jefferson remained the master at Monticello, buying and selling Blacks. When Jefferson died, he failed to live up to the promises of his own rhetoric. His will emancipated only five slaves, who were the children he fathered with Sally Hemmings. The 295 slaves left behind were condemned to the auction block, including Hemmings who was his long time mistress.
Jefferson took great pride in punishing his slaves in an unusually cruel way. He would sell them away from their families and friends, and routinely split families in retaliation. He was a proponent of humane criminal codes for white citizens but he advocated harsh, and barbaric punishment for slaves and free blacks. Jefferson even went so far as to propose a law which would make free Black people Outlaws, even though they were born in the United States. He was also in favor of expelling the offspring of white women and Black men from Virginia. This hyprocracy is depraved and ironic in nature given the fact that Jefferson himself fathered bi-racial children with one of his slaves. In addition, he avoided any opportunity to promote racial equality, and as a state legislator he blocked the consideration of any law that would have eventually ended slavery in Virginia. As President he acquired the Louisiana territory and did nothing to stop the spread of slavery into this expansion. When one of his neighbors (Edward Coles) considered emancipating his own slaves, Jefferson was quoted as saying,
"Free blacks were “pests in society” who were “as incapable as children of taking care of themselves."
During any given 10 year period this merciless "founding father" sold at least 85 humans. Jefferson destroyed families without a second thought, because he believed that Blacks lacked human emotions. “Their griefs are transient,” he wrote, and their love lacked “a tender delicate mixture of sentiment and sensation.”
Jefferson claimed he had “never seen an elementary trait of painting or sculpture” or poetry among blacks and argued that blacks’ ability to “reason” was “much inferior” to whites’, while “in imagination they are dull, tasteless, and anomalous.” He conceded that blacks were brave, but this was because of “a want of fore-thought, which prevents their seeing a danger till it be present.”
His ignorance, and bigotry rivaled that of any Klansmen or cold-blooded racist in modern times, and his reasoning was a result of his own wicked imagination, and bias.
Jefferson even had a theory in reference to where blackness came from. He speculated that it came “from the color of the blood” and concluded that blacks were “inferior to the whites in the endowments of body and mind.”
This represents an interesting paradox. Separating the legend from the man is a hard pill to swallow for some, and inconceivable to others. But sometimes the truth hurts, especially if it has been blurred through a skewered version of history. But this is one truth that we should definitely hold self evident. One of the framers of The Declaration of Independence only desired to declare white people independent and keep black people dependent.

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