A refresher in African American history is in order.
Kidnapped Africans were first brought as slaves to the future USA in 1565, at St. Augustine, now in Florida. Three centuries later, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves solely in the treasonous Confederacy; slavery in the USA was only constitutionally outlawed by the 13th Amendment, the first of the three Reconstruction Amendments.
Then the 14th Amendment gave the newly freed slaves citizenship; it also penalized any state that barred their voting by reducing its Congressional representation, a never-enforced provision. The 15th Amendment gave the former slaves the right to vote.
To gain the Presidency in 1876, Republicans agreed to end Reconstruction. Economic, political, social and educational progress by southern African Americans ended in a wave of terror. The former slaves were returned to the near-slavery of peonage and sharecropping.
The white South enforced this state of affairs with lynchings and even massacres; for instance in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1898; in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1921. Police bigotry brings racial violence even to the present day.
Throughout, Black people have suffered from affirmative action for white people: limited access to education, jobs, housing, health care, even grocery stores; and to home ownership loans, the white American middle-class source of wealth accumulation.
Larry Koenigsberg
Eugene
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519
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