In the expanded version of Part 5 of our series on history, we highlighted these quotes from so-called “black leaders.”
Black Misleaders
As far from the truth as modern mischaracterizations of the Constitutional Convention often are, a multitude of black political leaders, educators, and other persons of influence still are on board with spreading them. Here are several examples. One was presented in the emotionally charged situation of a premature death, and we would not minimize anyone’s grief. Even so, we should be aware that reinforcing the “three-fifths myth,” especially in emotionally intense circumstances, works to solidify that myth as true in people’s minds.
- African-American scholar and historian John Hope Franklin, brilliant though he may have been, wrongly accused the Founders of “degrading the human spirit be equating five black men with three white men.”
- Benjamin Crump, an African-American lawyer representing the family of Michael Brown, who was killed when he was shot by police in Ferguson, Missouri in August of 2014, said at Brown’s memorial service, “The 1787 three-fifths Amendment…said an African American was to be considered three-fifths of a man. But we declare here today, as we pay our final respects to Michael Brown, Jr., that he was not three-fifths of a citizen. He was an American citizen. And we will not accept three-fifths justice. We will demand equal justice for Michael Brown Jr.” The circumstances surrounding Brown’s death were widely misrepresented. Crump also represented Trayvon Martin’s family after his tragic death.
- As we noted last week, in 2015 Jesse Jackson, Sr. wrote, “When the Founders wrote the Constitution, Blacks were considered three-fifths human.” The Constitution of 1787 didn’t mention race even once, so Jackson’s assertion is patently false.
Jesse Jackson in 1983
- Al Sharpton said that according to the original Constitution, “[a]ny black, at any age at any state, was three-fifths of a human.”
- Jeremiah Wright, President Obama’s former pastor, declared in a sermon, Our country has been oppressing folks since it defined African men as three-fifths of a person.”
- US Senator Cory Booker, Democrat from New Jersey, said, “Our founding documents were genius. But not because they were perfect. They were saddled with the imperfections and even the bigotry of the past….black Americans were referred to as fractions of human beings, and women were not mentioned at all.”
- US Representative John Conyers, Democrat from Michigan, said, “Racism has permeated our nation’s history since the beginning. The Constitution referred to slaves as three-fifths of a man.”
- US Representative Elijah Cummings, Democrat from Maryland, in reflecting on standing at the graves of his great-great grandparents, said, “I stood there over the graves and I thought about how their great great-grandson is a member of Congress. [It was only because] some people believed in interpreting the Constitution [in a new and different way that I am permitted] to be here in this institution that used to consider people like me a slave, three-fifths of a man.”
- US Representative Charlie Rangel, Democrat from New York, indicated that the Constitution of 1787 wouldn’t even have deemed him “three-fifths of a guy.”
- Barak Obama, in a 2011 radio interview, declared that the Constitution “reflected the fundamental flaw of this country that continues to this day.”
Here’s another excerpt:
Exploitation
Why do black political leaders hide the truth? Some sincerely believe what they’re saying about the Constitution, but it doesn’t take an expert in human relations to see that some leaders intentionally are fueling anger and resentment in the black community for their own personal gain. Imagine a black leader declaring to his or her African-American audience something like this: “You never have been able to get a fair shake in this country, because when the Constitution was drafted at the dawn of America’s existence, each of your ancestors was considered only three-fifths of a human being! The Liberty Bell didn’t ring out for you—only for white folks!”
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Copyright © 2016 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All Rights Reserved.