In his 1965 classic “Dark Ghetto,” Kenneth Clark argued that Black people in America exist as a largely powerless “subject people” who are victims of greed, cruelty and racial insensitivity. Most importantly, they fear their former masters. Such is still the case in Kentucky.
Black people in the Bluegrass State certainly have good reason to be fearful because their men, women and children are constantly under threat in an increasingly racially hostile state. Troublingly, their persecutors are becoming even more callous and brazen. The latest example occurred when John Marshall, the chief equity officer of Jefferson County Public Schools, dared to deliver an opinion on the condition of Black people in Kentucky.
Marshall wrote on his personal social media account, “A few young(er) Black professionals and students called me this morning and asked, ‘What’s a strategy moving forward?’ My response, ‘REGARDLESS of the rooms, meetings, classes, etc., you’re in, know THE MAJORITY of whites couldn’t care less about you and have no issues harming you or yours. Strategy. Count the number in your presence and divide by at least half. That’s where you start.’”