'White Supremacy': a poem
Some said that, with Obama, it was past —
That racism was done. It couldn’t last!
But they forgot our history’s basic twist.
Our origins are white-supremacist.
Our founders, all of European stock,
On superiority assumed a lock;
Considered all but white to be quite savage …
Theirs to control, command, confine — and ravage!
Though slavery’s the major exhibition,
Other tragedies deserve more exposition.
Schools for “Indians,” their culture to erode;
The KKK, the lynchings, and Jim Crow.
No matter what we think or how we act
White supremacy’s embedded; that’s a fact.
For our culture, institutions, and our laws
Were created and designed to serve The Cause.
To get a loan; a house to own; and voting rights
The main condition was: you must be White.
Boys of color get the lecture, “Just behave!
For to the so-called law, you may be prey!”
DeSantis and his cronies make the case:
We must not look this history in the face.
Their purpose is both obvious and cruel —
Have White supremacists regain their rule!
Carolyn McGiffert Ekedahl is the former deputy inspector general for inspections at the Central Intelligence Agency and co-author of “The Wars of Eduard Shevardnadze.”