Eras of racial struggle and progress in America
In our graph, we identify and define eras of racial struggle in America and their devices. Colonialism is defined by chattel slavery, Segregation by Jim Crow, and Integration by ethnocide. These moments illustrate the historic and ongoing challenges faced by Black Americans.
This infographic is inspired by a very similar image, which can be found all across the internet when you type “Slavery wasn’t that long ago” or “Slavery timeline”. Meant to visualize just how recent this bout of history truly is and circumvent narratives that would paint our shared past as distant.
We adapted the structure not just to visualize the recency of slavery but to showcase ongoing injustices. While other illustrations often frame race naturalistically, we highlight the function of race as an device of injustice and its role in each era.
The current era reveals the struggle against systemic pressures to assimilate and conform. These pressures reinforce a power dynamic of imposed choices. Creating the faults of integration we see today. True freedom entails independence from these external controls, empowering us to cultivate our own identity and way of life.
To truly dismantle systems of oppression, we must challenge the very notion of race — not accepting it as natural, nor reshaping it to fit superficial ideals of equality like ‘all races are equal’ or ‘I don’t see color.’ Through this struggle of race throughout the eras, we see how it is intricately tied to societal injustices. Race is not inherent to the human condition; it has been created for and wielded as a tool of colonialism. Today, injustices persist, perpetuated within the framework of race.
In our timeline, a question mark punctuates a point in the near future — a moment where Black Americans will decide on a path leading to greater social, cultural, and political agency. We envision this future as one defined by the pursuit of statehood. While this transition may not happen immediately, we can begin embodying this ideal now by transforming how we interact with each other and our surroundings. Cultural commons will shape this new social paradigm, rooted in our founding principles.
- Cultural Integrity: We uphold the preservation and enrichment of Black American cultural heritage as a foundational value.
- Unity and Collectivism: We promote a sense of unity, belonging, and collective effort to strengthen the wellbeing of our community.
- Autonomy and Self-Determination: We advocate for self-governance and the ability to shape our own cultural identity and destiny.
These principles lay the groundwork toward a new social contract. Our vision for the future is one where Black Americans are no longer constrained by race. Instead, we see a future where we can define our own identities, cultivate our culture, and build a society that reflects our values and aspirations. This is the promise of statehood — a future where we have the power to govern ourselves, preserve our heritage, and thrive on our terms.
