100 sats \ 8 replies \ @Bell_curve 25 Aug \ parent \ on: America Divided on the Legacy of Slavery charts_and_numbers
It has zero influence on current society because so much has changed since 1865.
It serves as an anchor for grievance and identity politics.
Like @Undisciplined said, preposterous.
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The thing is, even if all it did is serve "as an anchor for grievance and identity politics" that's still an influence on our society.
An obvious, if benign, influence is the demography of the country. I don't know that there's any moral significance to there being far more black people in the Old South, but it is to some extent a legacy of slavery.
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A pernicious influence
Regarding demography and geography, what about the great black migration after 1945?
Many blacks left the south and moved north and west
How many cities have MLK Blvd or street? Is that a legacy of slavery?
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Obviously, black people have moved all over the country. I don't even see what that has to do with anything. The rural deep south has lots of black people, in part because that's where their ancestors were brought as slaves.
Are MLK Blvd's a legacy of slavery? Maybe. That's the sort of thing I meant when I said the prompt is overly vague.
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One effect of the Great Migration was that blacks moved away from rural to urban areas including the South. Where do most blacks in Alabama live? Cities (not rural) such as Birmingham
Urban life is not a legacy of slavery
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That's all well and good, but county slave population 200 years ago has predictive power on black population in a county today. The only interpretation of that (that makes sense) is legacy of slavery.
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You are exhibit A!
I rest my case
I forgot about the race card.
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The racist says what?
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