I agree. As far as I know it was roughly 400 years ago (the 600 came from the person that I was responding to).

I’m still not buying the point that they did not have any real control in the matter. I don’t know of any movement amongst them to get off of these lands. If anything, this is probably why their fight for national recognition (many of the nations including the one my family belongs to) has been difficult. Again, out of site, out of mind–unfortunately.

You want to get rid of crime in black neighborhoods then there needs to be creation of economic opportunities. Unfortunately our “black leaders” seem intent on be complaining rather than being problem solvers. Reminds me of when Jesse went to Venezuela to meet with Chavez. Instead of talking to Chavez about ways to make an economic alliance between Chavez and blacks in the US he went there for a meaningless photo op and some press coverage.

And as far as Native Americans go… they really did not have a lot of say in the matter of their isolation. It was either that or continue to be decimated by Manifest Destiny.

Sure it did, but who asked for the isolation?

The U.S. government had NO role in that what so ever?

You have just illustrated just about every post that Duane has had in the last few months. We as a people just don’t read!!!

I have never liked talk shows because it tends to form an echo chamber effect, and it encourages one to talk off the cuff without thinking, under the auspecies of being intellectual. Bennett stepped in it because he attempted to play the political/cultural race game, as a conservative even. He should have been smarter than that, and in order to make the race baiters irrelevant, one has to be smarter than that.

Brian,

Name me at least ONE ethnic group that has been perpetually handicapped by events that happened 600 + years ago?

Grecians?

Chinese?

Jews?

–You could make an argument for Native Americans, but personally I think that it was a bad move to isolate themselves from the rest of the world on reservations. Although I completely understand the intent, it just plays right into that “out of sight, out of mind” that many people have towards cultures they are not familiar with.

The Roma people (Gypsies) are one of the only ethnic groups out there I would say is still experiencing TRUE AND INSTITUTIONALIZED bigotry (meaning that in many areas throughout Europe, laws are not written to protect their rights. Also, they have been consistently held down economically throughout Europe. Also, these people do not have a “motherland”

I haven’t even touched the thousands of Africans who come to this country off of the heels of real persecution–and still many of them are able to move beyond the status of many black Americans.

Don’t get me wrong, slavery did leave an impact of black American culture, but you have to keep it in perspective to the other groups that I have mentioned.