It did not take long for the drafter of the Marriage Vow to figure out that it made strange bedfellows with the "slavery passage."

"Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA's first African-American President."


I guess that's what happens when you jump into things without thinking.  They solicited an additional signer in Rick Santorum before dropping the passage which now reads: click here.  Also, without the slavery passage, there is no need to embellish it with the following study which did not support or verify the slavery passage in the first place:  The Consequences of Marriage for African American Families.

I was able to determine this on my own because things are a lot different now than when were in 1860.  I can read, form my own perspectives, and write and share my opinions.  We are the Frederick Douglasses of our day.

Malcolm would be proud.  He once explained that we had become a different people than we were in slavery. We have become more educated, more conscious, and are making better decisions.  Thank you to George Geder for also writing about this topic. See Michele Bachmann Thinks Slavery Times Were Better for Black Children.  I appreciate all my followers on Facebook and Twitter for reading and sharing as well.

I am especially appreciative to Jason Linkins at the Huffington Post who said:

"Didn't want to stay together for the children, The Family Leader? Oh well, it may have disappeared from the pledge, but the internet never forgets." See "The Family Leader Drops Controversial Section From Marriage Vow Pledge."

We have separation of church and state so that no one religious group can force their doctrines upon any citizens of this country.  The false belief that people of a darker race were put on this earth here to serve the others because they were somehow perceived to be inferior or generally less than human and in need of direction of other races is a doctrine used to justify the enslavement of African people for hundreds of years.

It is impossible to form an alliance with anyone who sees you as less than equal.  Years of European and American Colonialism rested in the belief that we needed to be conquered and forced to be subservient to be considered acceptable.  When you begin to exercise your agency which is a purely human characteristic, you are interfering with some who still hold to this old frame of reference, and the reaction will many times be aggression,  control, and contempt.

It is wonderful that the slave passage has been blotted out, however, when will we see the perceptions that put it there in the first place blotted out as well?  Until then, it behooves us not to forget:

Image via Wikipedia

Michele Bachmann, 1st signer of original Marriage Vow

                                     Image via Wikipedia                                                  Rick Santorum,                                   2nd signer of original Marriage Vow

Image via WikipediaIf you just watch and listen long enough, people reveal who they truly are.  Given  a certain measure of influence and power, humility subsides, and tongues yield revealing anger, hate, and pride.  Conservative Bob Vander Plaats through his organization, Family Leader released a vow on marriage and the family. As complex as our social and economic issues are that we face, he complicated things even further by including slavery:

"Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA's first African-American President." Learn more.

Now in case you were to assume he would not be able get someone else to sign something so atrocious, Michele Bachmann, GOP candidate for President, wanted to be the first one to step forward to sign!  Either she did not read it, or is just as insensitive herself.  Either way, neither makes her Presidential material. Unfortuately, she believes that "Thomas Jefferson was the exception" as one of the Founding Forefathers who owned slaves.  No mention is made here about George Washington:  Michele Bachmann. I did take the liberty to post this article on her Facebook page, however, she probably is not interested in a open dialog on the subject. They removed my post.  That speaks volumes in and of itself.

If they really cared about the plight of African American children in particular, they would not say they were better off enslaved, neither would they infer that single African American parents are not as equipped to rear their children as slaves were.

If they were really sensitive to the plight of the African American family, they would consider the effects of the evil practices forced upon slave families.   During slavery, the African American male had no say as to what happened to his wife or children.  He was made a breeder and forced to impregnate slave women of all ages who were ready to have children with no regard to whether he was related to the women or not.

At any moment of the day or night, the sanctity of the relationship he had with his wife fell victim to his master and overseer as he helplessly stood by while they had their way.  Many sought wives from different plantations so they did not have to witness these events.  The birth of a daughter brought bought both joy and pain as mothers and fathers feared the approach of a day they could not keep from dawning.

 To insinuate that African Americans were better off during slavery, also implies that they were better off suffering the cruelty and violence that accompanied slavery. Would they dare tell a Jewish brother or sister that the terrible Holocaust was good for them?  I should say not!  I do not have to strain too hard to hear what Martin  Luther King Jr or Malcolm X would have to say today.  Come 2012, let's not be what Malcolm called Chumps!