The Unreconstructed North Madana Kloss 4th


The word that sums up this article is duality. As we simplify, we regularly misremember and therefore misunderstand. Although many of you have not grown up in the northeast, I did, a product of Boston, Massachusetts and Washington D.C. The truth is much messier than the myth, and if we are to overcome the unfinished revolution from the era of Reconstruction in the 1860s and the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, then I think we need a movement. An organized, led, massive movement needs to form to bring this country forward.

The Northeast epitomizes the heroification process as told in Lies My Teacher Told Me. People seem to remember The South as the the part of the nation that was plagued with racism, therefore they make the presumedly educated assumption that the North was all good and free of racism. This is heroifying the north and causing people to misunderstand. Just because the northern states weren't as upfront or supportive of racism, it doesn't mean that it was completely free of racism. I believe that the Reconstruction is still in place, perhaps not the name, but the concept. I think that the progress will be achieved both gradually with intermittent setbacks but also with massive, organized protests. There has been progress over the years, but recently there have been many setbacks that are causing us to reconsider our progress. The death of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Darrien Hunt, etc. are bringing about a very prominent revolution. The setbacks are leading to massive, organized protests. People are coming together in solidarity to fight for justice. Both are effective in my opinon, as long as the protestors remember the common goal of fighting for justice and revealing the corruption and guilt of the justice system. Also, people assuming that the Northerners are all good are also assuming that the Southerners are all bad. I'm positive that there are Southerners fighting for justice and fighting against racism as well.


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