Letter to the editor: Reflecting on insidiousness of slavery

The op-ed “Juneteenth is about more than the end of slavery” (June 19, TribLive) is one of the most important columns to be printed in any newspaper, and I am most appreciative for it.

Historically it is recognized that slavery was the most insidious aspect of the new nation, morally, socially, and economically, and I believe it should have either been ended in the new Constitution, 1787-plus, or a clear date written in with whatever necessary accommodations, compensation for slavers, and slaves.

I also agree with the column that 100-plus more years of immoral, illegal, economically regressive policies were the nation’s continued failure.

For today, I believe one of, if not the most, important domestic concern, one of three, is the marked differences between our fellow Black citizens and the larger society, in educational outcomes, family finances and crime statistics. Either one sees this needs to be addressed or one would have been baffled by and radically opposed at the time to slavery’s end, and civil rights progress in our time.

For anyone out there who violently disagrees, they need to, in the words from the ’60s, “Go back where you came from,” some pathetic hole in old Europe. America is not for you.

D’Anthony Kennedy

Plum