Becoming the Ancestors We Wish We Had

On April 29, the U.S. Supreme Court issued Louisiana v. Callais, gutting the Voting Rights Act. Eight days later in Tennessee, the legislature wiped out the only Black majority district in the State – in Memphis, a Black majority city.

Galveston, Texas 1904: The United Daughters of the Confederacy’s Catechism for Children:

[13] How were the slaves treated?With great kindness and care in nearly all cases, a cruel master being rare, and lost the respect of his neighbors if he treated his slaves badly. Self interest would have prompted good treatment if a higher feeling of humanity had not.[14] What was the feeling of the slaves towards their masters?They were faithful and devoted and were always ready and willing to serve them.1

My great grandaunt, Alice Atkinson Neighbors (1889-1966), worked for the UDC when it taught that catechism to school children. I can hear her voice now:

“Whites and Negroes got along just fine until the Yankees started meddling.”

In Callais, the Supreme Court tells us that “Black voters are doing just fine, and it’s time the legal system stops meddling with the votes.”