Stamped from the Beginning

Stamped from the Beginning

by

Ibram X. Kendi

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Stamped from the Beginning: Chapter 10: Uplift Suasion Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Benjamin Banneker is a free Black man born to a free biracial woman (who was herself the daughter of multiple generations of free interracial marriage) and an enslaved Black man. A talented tobacco farmer, his inherited farm provides him enough free time to devote himself to reading and writing. In 1790, Benjamin Franklin, now 84, gives a speech to Congress demanding the end of slavery, which he characterizes as an “inconsistency” in “the land of liberty.” He dies shortly after, but the ensuing debate rages on. Proslavery advocates argue that Black people’s supposedly inferior characteristics mean that they will not be able to properly cope with freedom. In 1790, the first law defining American citizenship is passed; it states that only “free white persons” can be citizens.
Although some influential political leaders like Benjamin Franklin are starting to come around to the idea of abolition, this passage highlights the wider problem underlying the entire situation: because they do not count as citizens (or even as full people) under American law, enslaved people themselves get no say in whether slavery continues to exist.
Themes
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Segregationists and Assimilationists vs. Antiracists  Theme Icon
Media, Institutions, and the Transmission of Knowledge Theme Icon
The Invention of Blackness and Whiteness Theme Icon
The Illogic of Racism Theme Icon
Assimilationists fervently argue that if Black people are granted freedom, they will be capable of using it properly (which they understand to mean acting like white people). Of course, the whole debate is beside the point, as enslavers are not actually concerned about anything other than losing the profit and power they gain from slavery. In 1791, in the midst of these discussions, Banneker writes a letter to Jefferson. He invites Jefferson to offer real assistance to Black people and help stop the “train of absurd and false ideas and opinions” about them. Banneker’s letter is clearly and resolutely antiracist. In his response, Jefferson assures Banneker that no one wants slavery to end more than he does and notes that he is impressed by Banneker’s intellect.
Kendi emphasizes that the whole debate over Black people using freedom responsibly is entirely beside the point. As Kendi shows throughout the book, when it comes to the issue of race time is often wasted over arguments that do not need to happen. This is because racist ideas only exist to justify racist policies, so there is little point in getting caught in the trap of arguing about racist ideas if the ultimate goal isn’t changing racist policies.
Themes
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Segregationists and Assimilationists vs. Antiracists  Theme Icon
The Illogic of Racism Theme Icon
The ongoing Haitian Revolution, meanwhile, is a manifestation of every enslaver’s worst fear. In 1793, Congress passes the Fugitive Slave Act, which allows enslavers to pursue Africans who’ve fled and criminalizes those who assist the escapees. To Jefferson, the Haitian Revolution is a “tragedy.” During the 1790s, the number of free Black people in the North increases while the enslaved population declines. Abolitionists pressure those who are free to live respectable lives—attend church, become educated, marry, behave soberly—in order to “prove” that Black people should be allowed freedom. This comes to be known as “uplift suasion”; it places the responsibility for eradicating racist ideas on Black people themselves.
The passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1793 is an important piece of evidence against the idea of gradual progress when it comes to the matter of racism. The story of slavery is not one of steadily increasing freedom that ultimately leads to abolition. In fact, as time goes on, slavery becomes even more brutal and oppressive. Indeed, the reason for this enhanced brutality is greater resistance and agitation on the part of the enslaved, which in turn leads enslavers to double down on their repressive tactics.
Themes
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Segregationists and Assimilationists vs. Antiracists  Theme Icon
The Illogic of Racism Theme Icon
Uplift suasion is grounded in the racist idea that Black people have to disprove the negative stereotypes with which they are associated. It also misses the point that racist ideas are not logical and thus cannot be disproved anyway. However, this did not stop both white and Black activists from being optimistic about what uplift suasion could accomplish in the 1790s.
People do not necessarily invest in doomed tactics such as uplift suasion while knowing they will fail. Most of the time, they genuinely believe they will help eliminate racism. This leads to a lot of pointlessly wasted time and energy. 
Themes
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Segregationists and Assimilationists vs. Antiracists  Theme Icon
The Illogic of Racism Theme Icon
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In 1793, Benjamin Rush falsely informs Black people that they are immune from yellow fever, an untruth that results in thousands of avoidable deaths. Jefferson, meanwhile, is days away from retiring as secretary of state when he receives a patent application from Eli Whitney. Whitney’s hope that his invention, a cotton gin, will drastically speed up production of fabric comes true. Uplift suasion, never a reliable strategy to begin with, has no chance against the tsunami of profit generated by “King Cotton.”
As the example of Benjamin Rush’s false information shows, one of the most sinister and dangerous forms of racist ideas is medical racism, as it causes immeasurable suffering.
Themes
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Segregationists and Assimilationists vs. Antiracists  Theme Icon
Media, Institutions, and the Transmission of Knowledge Theme Icon
The Invention of Blackness and Whiteness Theme Icon
The Illogic of Racism Theme Icon
In 1796, Thomas Jefferson is running for president against John Adams. Benjamin Rush makes what he believes to be the extraordinary discovery of Henry Moss, a Black man with vitiligo, a condition that lightens skin. Moss has been exhibited across the country, perceived by some as a “freak” while heralded by others as an assimilationist miracle. Jefferson, who never sees Moss himself, knows a number of “white Negroes”—who likely have albinism—because they are enslaved on his own plantation. However, Jefferson does not share the excitement of “physical assimilationists,” believing that whitened skin or features does not stop a Black people from being Black.  
The fact that Henry Moses’ skin condition is celebrated as miraculous by many of the most prominent thinkers of his era highlights how racist ideas corrupt people’s common sense, perception of the world, and ability to act ethically. The desire to physically turn all Black people in the U.S. white seems like something out of a science fictional nightmare, yet it is a genuine wish harbored by some of the most esteemed leaders of the era.
Themes
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Segregationists and Assimilationists vs. Antiracists  Theme Icon
The Invention of Blackness and Whiteness Theme Icon
The Illogic of Racism Theme Icon
In 1797, Rush tells Jefferson that he is writing a scientific paper in which he proposes that Black people’s dark skin is “the effect of a disease.” Rush, an abolitionist who considers himself a champion of racial equality, claims that this fictional skin disease causes Black people’s supposed laziness, hypersexuality, and insensitivity to pain. He argues that Moss is evidence that “Nature had begun to cure Black people.” The Northern assimilationists who support Rush’s views come to hate Jefferson, whom they view as proslavery and anti-Black. Nevertheless, Jefferson wins the presidential election when he runs for a second time in 1800.
This passage contains further examples of how racist thinking can take the form of supposedly scientific ideas, which are nevertheless completely false. Even though Rush is an abolitionist, the culture of slavery in which he lives has shaped his views, making him embrace the completely false notions that Black people are lazy and insensitive to pain.
Themes
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Segregationists and Assimilationists vs. Antiracists  Theme Icon
Media, Institutions, and the Transmission of Knowledge Theme Icon
The Invention of Blackness and Whiteness Theme Icon
The Illogic of Racism Theme Icon
Shortly after he is elected, it is revealed that Jefferson is the father of several children with Sally Hemings. However, the rape of Black women by white men is so common at the time that this doesn’t trigger much of a scandal, and in 1804 Jefferson is successfully reelected for a second term. To many, the rape of enslaved women—and the corresponding hypersexualization of Black women in the public imagination—are permanent parts of American society. Among those who are troubled by slavery, many accept it as a “necessary evil.” Others are sympathetic to the plight of the enslaved but terrified of a vengeful race war. As the national territory expands westwards and cotton profits soar, the question of abolition is further marginalized. In this economically booming, increasingly secular environment, the polygenesis theory gains new life.
The second part of this passage contains an important point about the variety of reasons why people who oppose slavery might still also oppose abolition. For some, the reasoning is straightforwardly economic: slavery is a massive generator of profits and to eliminate it would radically alter the landscape of the country (and particularly the South). Others do not believe that slavery can be economically justified but fear living among free Black people, either because of their racist views or because they think that Black people will seek revenge for slavery.
Themes
Discrimination, Racist Ideas, and Ignorance Theme Icon
Segregationists and Assimilationists vs. Antiracists  Theme Icon
Media, Institutions, and the Transmission of Knowledge Theme Icon
The Invention of Blackness and Whiteness Theme Icon
The Illogic of Racism Theme Icon