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Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Aug. 23: United Nations International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition

Today, Tuesday, Aug. 23, is the annual United Nations International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. Recently First Lady Michelle Obama called attention to the fact that she, President Obama and their daughters live in a White House that was built substantially by Black slaves.*

In a recent Huffington Post article titled "Why I’m Ready For President Obama To Leave The White House," Lawrence Ware, a philosopher of race teaching in the Bible Belt, says, "Barack Obama must be the most disrespected president in American history."

After giving several examples of that disrespect, particularly from Senate Republicans, Ware says the white supremacy in this country is "here to stay," causing him to lose the hope that he shared with other African Americans when Obama was elected.

"I’m tired of seeing President Obama blatantly disrespected, and my soul is weary from having to see him grin and bear it. I’m ready for President Obama to be free from the burden of having to perform for white supremacy -- and I’m ready to be free from the burden of having to watch him do it," Ware concludes.**

Click here to read Lawrence Ware's article in the Huffington Post. It was originally published in New Black Man (in Exile).

Editor's Notes:

* Click here to read about the role of slaves in building the White House.

** Thanks to Keweenaw resident Joanne Thomas for calling our attention to this Day of Remembrance and to Professor Ware's article.

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