In one of his most celebrated speeches, Frederick Douglass asked, “What, to the slave, is the Fourth of July?”—blasting the hypocrisy of a nation that celebrated equality and liberty as founding principles, while allowing millions of people to be held in bondage. In that same tradition, People’s World’s Chauncey Robinson examines the legacy of slavery and the growing demand for reparations. The conclusion is stark: the enslavement and oppression of Black people is embedded in the DNA of U.S., and world, capitalism.
Read more at People’s World.
Further reading on the subject:
Edward Baptist. The Half has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of U.S. Capitalism. New York: Basic Books, 2014.
Sven Beckert and Seth Rockman, eds. Slavery’s Capitalism: New Essays in Economic Development. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016.
More from CPUSA on white supremacy, capitalism, and the fight for equality:
Dee Miles, The urgency of now: African-Americans and women
Joe Sims and Jarvis Tyner, Leninism and the African American national question
Scott Hiley, Class struggle or identity politics?
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Chauncey K. Robinson believes that writing, in any capacity, should help to reflect the world around us, and be one of the tools to help bring about progressive change. Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, she has a strong belief in people power and working class strength. As a social media content creator and writer for People's World she seeks to make sure that topics that affect working class people, peoples of color, and women are constantly in the spotlight and part of the discussion.
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