Emma Talbott

Opinion contributor

Before the first fireworks go off to celebrate our nation’s Fourth of July birthday, we need a come-to-Jesus-Mohammad-and-Buddha moment. To put it simply, we have much to celebrate, but there is much to lament about a nation that still remains broken by race.

This was never more apparent than the misguided rhetoric of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is absolutely confused about the subject of reparations. His was an old, tired argument — that everyone who committed these sins against my enslaved ancestors are now dead, and besides that was a long time ago.

You and I, sir, disagree on what was a long time ago. It was not a long time ago, and the effects of this horrendous period in our country’s history are very much felt today.

Mr. McConnell, like many others both black and white, has much to learn about this period and its far-reaching effects right up to this moment. This is not about placing personal blame today, even though that could be argued when negative behaviors continue today. It is about holding the nation accountable for the crime of slavery and what must be done to right the wrongs that impact our lives on a daily basis.

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I wish to inform the senator that the vast majority of Americans need an education on race matters. Even Germany with its horrific history demands that school children learn the truth of their country’s atrocities so that they don’t try to return to a place that is beyond description. Our American schools still skirt the issue and try to reframe the issue of slavery by using terms like servants to describe the enslaved people on these shores. This does an injustice to all of our children by leaving them clouded in darkness and misunderstanding.

The nation built much of its economy on the backs of enslaved people, tried to strip us of our culture and has not taken a foot off of our collective necks without a fight, often to the death. Surely McConnell cannot believe that black people are on an equal footing with those who have had every advantage by nature of their appearance. I cannot blend in nor do I wish to. My enslaved ancestors’ DNA is written across my face.

Reparations are about leveling the playing field in every aspect of life. How so? It comes about through improved educational opportunities, better housing that we were denied up until recently — not 150 years ago. It’s about mentoring programs in corporate America, in colleges and universities. It’s about finding ways to educate you and other clueless white Americans on how the vestiges of slavery still impact our lives today. Of course, not all are clueless but far too many are. It’s about understanding how those of us who have “made it” have done so in spite of the laws unequally applied and brutality visited upon us even today.

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McConnell, you stand before the mics pompously spouting off about what the nation should not do, but I’m writing to tell you what the nation should and must do.

I call you out on this long unresolved issue of reparations as the granddaughter of enslaved Kentuckians in Bloomfield, Bardstown and Shepherdsville who would be disappointed if I didn’t take a stand against your confusion. I call you out as a foot soldier of the civil rights movement who knows what it is to be “whupped up” on and spat upon for wanting to eat a hamburger in a five-and-dime store. I call you out as a child who wanted to go to any of our beautiful Olmsted public parks but could not.

I call you out as the product of schools that were crumbling with portable outhouses adjacent to the main building. Yet we little “colored” children learned in spite of the physical building because of dedicated parents and competent and amazing teachers who believed in us. I call you out as a person who was affected by redlining and had to fight to open up Louisville neighborhoods. As a young, newlywed couple, my husband and I know the frustration and pain of trying to rent even a modest apartment and being told that the apartment was rented when we showed up. We were forced to file the first open housing complaint in my beloved city of Louisville after the Open Housing Ordinance passed. And the list goes on.

You, sir, don’t need to tell us, but we must tell you because you are totally in left field on this matter. We must tell you because you cannot be the spokesman for the nation in this matter; you are too uninformed and confused to do so. Your lack of knowledge on the long-term effects of slavery is glaring, and it is apparent that you are just shooting from the hip and parroting what has been told or taught to you. You really should study and learn from scholars, multiple leaders and everyday citizens who have lived as second-class citizens. We are the ones who can help you set the record straight.

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As long as you do not understand the ramifications of the system of chattel slavery in our country, we will not be able to move forward. As long as you think you have the upper hand in such matters because you have ready access to the media, you help the problem fester and grow. I would rather see you grow than see the problem grow.

There is a saying: When the student is ready the teacher will appear. I hope you will be ready soon to sit at the feet of those who can help you navigate the avenues our nation can take to offer reparations in a meaningful and profound way.

One thing is for sure, reparations are coming, and I hope you and I live to see them.