Why are we concerned about racism? Because it is not only morally wrong to treat people poorly based on "race", it is senseless as well. The science is very clear: There is no race.

"Whiteness" is a concept made up by a bunch of plantation owners to facilitate their laziness and greed, to legitimize their enslavement of people who were, generally speaking, superior, by virtue of what thay were made to endure.

"Whiteness" was a magic potion so potent that even "one drop of blood" from a black person in your lineage was enough to make you "black", a convenient rule used to justify enslaving their own sons and daughters, born of rape.

There are arguments that many slave owners treated their slaves well, "like family", in some cases. If that seems true to you and you identify as White, as I do, ask yourself this: Would being fed, clothed, sheltered and treated like family make up for knowing that you could be sold, that your children or parents could be sold? That your place was and always would be at the bottom of society? That, if your owner decided that treating you like family meant that he could rape you, your mother, your sister, your wife, or your daughter, there was absolutely nothing you could do to protect them?

Racism allowed less than wealthy "white" people a convenient target for their resentment, while giving wealthy slaveowners a willing and enthusiastic army to police any slave rebellion.

When Chinese people came to the U.S., beginning in the mid-1800's, they were willing to work for less than "White" Americans and European immigrants and became an easily distinguished target of resentment. As with African Americans, persecutions, lynchings, and mob attacks ensued.

The same sorts of things happened to Mexicans who had the misfortune to live in what became U.S. territory as a result of the Mexican-American War. The 1848 Treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo granted them citizenship and property rights; nonetheless, within one generation tens of millions of acres had been transferred to "white" ownership as a result of fraud, theft, or gavernment-sanctioned violence.

And of course, what happened to these people pales in comparison to "white" treatment of Native Americans, for which there is only one word that applies: genocide.

There is no race. Race is a lie; racism is not.

Racism perpetuates the lie of Race, along with its inequities, indignities and atrocities.

People are people and the Golden Rule applies to all of us. Beyond that, a society where everyone is welcome and valued is stronger, richer, more innovative, and just better to live in.

Finally, especially now, we need each other to survive. We need each other as strong and healthy as possible if we are going to meet the challenges of the climate change we have created. There is no place for racism in today's world. We can and must correct our past mistakes and grow up as a nation.

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Descendants of early Black Californians want their ancestors' stolen land back - - This NBC News article discusses how descendants of Black Californians whose land was stolen by whites in the mid 19th century are seeking reparations for their ancestors' losses. In the mid 1850s, California law allowed white squatters to claim up to six hundred acres each of unoccupied agricultural land under the pretext that there were no Native Americans or Mexican settlers living on these lands - even though they had been inhabited for centuries by Indigenous communities. Many former slaves fled or were sent by their owners to California during this period. Many of these Black Americans found gold and used it to buy their freedom and then were able to claim or buy land, which was later illegally taken from them by White people. Descendants of those families are now suing in federal court to force the U.S. government to compensate them for their loss. This is another in a long line of examples that illustrate the extent to which the deck has been systemically stacked against Black Americans.

Every Plantation in the Country Should Be Turned Into a Slavery Museum - - In Germany today, Nazi concentration camps heve been turned into Museums that teach people about the Holocaust, monuments honoring the victims of the regime are everywhere, textbooks look the history squarely in the eye and condemn it, Nazi symbols are illegal, as is Holocaust denial. Here in America, we have a history arguably much worse than the Holocaust. The Nazi regime lasted for just 12 years. Our legalized Holocaust of Slavery lasted for well over 200 years, from 1619 to 1865. It continued illegally for well over 100 years, from the Jim Crow laws, to lynchings to massacres like Tulsa, to Redlining, and to innumerable police murders of Black men and women today. It's past time to come to terms with this disgusting legacy. Yet, people who want to keep us divided are passing laws to outlaw even talking about it in schools, claiming that children might feel some discomfort at learning the truth. This article suggests one practical way to help us come to terms with the past instead of trying to keep it repressed.

Here's What It Means to Be Anti-Woke: You're Pro-Bigot - - Thom Hartmann explores the real meaning of the word "woke" as it is deployed by the people who advocate for it, as opposed to the meaning attributed to it by politicians who have discovered that it, plus ignorance, is a handy shortcut to bigotry. A highly worthwhile read.

The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together - - A Zero-sum game is one where, in order for any one player to win, another must lose. The people responsible for Racism in America portray it as a zero-sum game: If "Black" people gain, then "White" people must lose. In reality, all our lives are diminished, we all lose, except, of course the wealthy, who concocted the whole story to divide us and to prevent them from being held accountable for their theft of our wealth. Heather McGhee shows how these ideas have affected all of us and how we can change things for the better.

Why Just 'Adding Context' to Controversial Monuments May Not Change Minds - - It appears that visitors often ignore (or become hostile to) information that conflicts with what they already believe about history. This article explores the phenomenon and offers some alternatives.

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A Lesson from Belgium in How to Deradicalize Your Town - The Atlantic - - During a time when disenchanted young men and women across Europe were rushing to enlist in ISIS, a city in Belgium created an atmosphere that led its residents not toward, but away from extremism. In fact, not one of them left. This article, an excerpt from the author's book on the topic, explains how they did it

As We Honor Dr. King, We Must Remember What He Truly Stood For - - This essay, by Bernie Sanders highlights the deep hypocracy of much of the praise we hear for Dr. Martin Luther King.

Descendants of early Black Californians want their ancestors' stolen land back - - This NBC News article discusses how descendants of Black Californians whose land was stolen by whites in the mid 19th century are seeking reparations for their ancestors' losses. In the mid 1850s, California law allowed white squatters to claim up to six hundred acres each of unoccupied agricultural land under the pretext that there were no Native Americans or Mexican settlers living on these lands - even though they had been inhabited for centuries by Indigenous communities. Many former slaves fled or were sent by their owners to California during this period. Many of these Black Americans found gold and used it to buy their freedom and then were able to claim or buy land, which was later illegally taken from them by White people. Descendants of those families are now suing in federal court to force the U.S. government to compensate them for their loss. This is another in a long line of examples that illustrate the extent to which the deck has been systemically stacked against Black Americans.

Every Plantation in the Country Should Be Turned Into a Slavery Museum - - In Germany today, Nazi concentration camps heve been turned into Museums that teach people about the Holocaust, monuments honoring the victims of the regime are everywhere, textbooks look the history squarely in the eye and condemn it, Nazi symbols are illegal, as is Holocaust denial. Here in America, we have a history arguably much worse than the Holocaust. The Nazi regime lasted for just 12 years. Our legalized Holocaust of Slavery lasted for well over 200 years, from 1619 to 1865. It continued illegally for well over 100 years, from the Jim Crow laws, to lynchings to massacres like Tulsa, to Redlining, and to innumerable police murders of Black men and women today. It's past time to come to terms with this disgusting legacy. Yet, people who want to keep us divided are passing laws to outlaw even talking about it in schools, claiming that children might feel some discomfort at learning the truth. This article suggests one practical way to help us come to terms with the past instead of trying to keep it repressed.

Facebook knew its algorithms were biased against people of color - The Washington Post - - This article illustrates how the greed for profit at Facebook led to a racist outcome. Internal memos revealed that executives chose to allow racist hate speech to go unchallenged, while aggressively removing "content directed at White people, Americans and men".

Here's What It Means to Be Anti-Woke: You're Pro-Bigot - - Thom Hartmann explores the real meaning of the word "woke" as it is deployed by the people who advocate for it, as opposed to the meaning attributed to it by politicians who have discovered that it, plus ignorance, is a handy shortcut to bigotry. A highly worthwhile read.

The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together - - A Zero-sum game is one where, in order for any one player to win, another must lose. The people responsible for Racism in America portray it as a zero-sum game: If "Black" people gain, then "White" people must lose. In reality, all our lives are diminished, we all lose, except, of course the wealthy, who concocted the whole story to divide us and to prevent them from being held accountable for their theft of our wealth. Heather McGhee shows how these ideas have affected all of us and how we can change things for the better.

Why Just 'Adding Context' to Controversial Monuments May Not Change Minds - - It appears that visitors often ignore (or become hostile to) information that conflicts with what they already believe about history. This article explores the phenomenon and offers some alternatives.