The Fire This Time

Many might consider the events in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 as the product of black rage, but it is evidence of white rage. This rage is quiet and official, expressing itself in voter suppression and cutting government jobs that disproportionately harm black Americans. The rage expressed itself after the Civil War and during school desegregation, as well as during Barack Obama’s presidency. 

After the Civil War, institutional powers suppressed emancipated slaves through the Black Codes and by denying them their right to own land. Although congressional leaders like Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner advocated for black citizens, white lawmakers continued resisting the empowerment of black people and allowed the Ku Klux Klan to persist its racist activities.

Although Brown v. Board of Education achieved the legal desegregation of schools, Southern members of Congress resisted the Supreme Court decision by claiming each state could refuse to follow its edict. Southeastern states denied income to desegregated schools and provided income to private schools for white children. 

Barack Obama’s presidency was another apparent gain for racial equality, but subsequent events demonstrated further white rage in response to his election. These instances included “A rash of voter-suppression legislation, a series of unfathomable Supreme Court decisions, the rise of stand-your-ground laws, and continuing police brutality […]” (85).