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As America grapples with shifting values and increasing chaos, we face an unsettling question: Could Black Americans find themselves pushed back to a time reminiscent of the 1870’s Post-Reconstruction era, where legally they had no rights whites had to respect?
The threat is real, particularly under the grip of Elon Musk and Donald Trump who do not see Black Americans as their equals.
Both have been criticized for their respective harsh racial views and have a history of negative statements and treatment of Black people. This duo stands at the forefront of a dangerous potential that could propel Black Americans into a societal landscape devoid of the hard-won rights and dignity they gained during the civil rights era of the 1960’s.
Trump has faced allegations of racism throughout his career. For instance, his company was sued in the 1970s for housing discrimination against Black renters. He also promoted the debunked “birther” conspiracy which claimed Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
In 1989, he placed ads in four New York newspapers calling for the death penalty for five Black men convicted of raping a white female jogger in New York’s Central Park. When the young men were exonerated, Trump never apologized.
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Meanwhile, Musk-owned companies have faced lawsuits charging racial discrimination. For example, Tesla has been accused of fostering a racially hostile work environment at its Fremont, California factory. Allegations include the use of racial slurs by co-workers and supervisors, as well as claims that complaints to human resources were ignored. A California judge recently allowed nearly 6,000 Black workers to proceed with a class-action lawsuit against Tesla, citing a pattern of discrimination of Black workers at its Fremont electric car factory.
Last year, according to a CNBC report, a federal jury awarded $3.2 million to a Black former Tesla worker who sued the company in 2017 over vitriolic racial harassment and daily racist epithets at the Telsa plant. In a 2022 blog, a Telsa spokesperson said it “strongly opposes all forms of discrimination and harassment.”
Looking at the Post Reconstruction of the mid 1800’s, we see a disturbing pattern of reactionary forces that drastically pushed Black Americans into an era of terror, segregation, and severe discrimination—a pattern that seems to be resurfacing today. In the aftermath of the Civil War and Emancipation, Black males gained the right to vote, and around 1870, there were 16 Black men serving in Congress alongside hundreds more in state legislatures.
Many became property owners signaling a hopeful period of progress.
However, that optimism was short-lived; within two decades, a fierce backlash emerged that systematically ousted Black legislators from office and established a culture of White Supremacy. The ensuing Jim Crow era was marked by brutal lynchings, rampant disenfranchisement, and a systematic denial of legal rights.
Today, the Trump-Musk duo treats Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) not as vital components of a thriving democracy but as a “disease” to be eradicated. They are dismantling Black History programs, rolling back billions in federal initiatives that support healthcare, education, housing for people of color, and stopping the essential life-saving l aid needed in developing nations governed by Black leadership.
If this relentless assault on Black Americans goes unchecked, what safeguards do we have to prevent history from repeating itself? To save our nation and even the soul of America, we must unite to challenge the forces that seek to undermine progress, ensuring that the lessons of the past are not lost in this dangerous resurgence. The clock of history should not be ticking backwards.
Dr. Barbara Reynolds is a former USA TODAY columnist, a veteran journalist and author
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