Oh Louisiana

What hast thou done now?

Photo by Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash

You’ve probably heard by now that Louisiana law requires the Ten Commandments to be placed in all public classrooms in the state. W. Kamau has a fun, yet, scary take on it.

Louisiana Gosh Darn

One of the scary parts is this.

And before you get all, “Well, that is just that silly Louisiana bull-pucky! No need for me to worry,” other states - and not just southern ones - are working on the exact same legislation for their schools. And the passing of this law is certainly encouragement for them. Ironically this whole thing is the result of Trumpism, even though Trump has never seen a commandment he hasn’t broken or disrespected.

That “other states and not just southern ones are working on the exact same legislation for their schools.”

"I hope and I pray that Louisiana is the first state to allow moral code to be placed back in the classrooms," Horton said. "Since I was in kindergarten [at a private school], it was always on the wall. I learned there was a God, and I knew to honor him and his laws."

Similar bills requiring the Ten Commandments be displayed in classrooms have been proposed in other states including Texas, Oklahoma and Utah. However, with threats of legal battles over the constitutionality of such measures, no state besides Louisiana has succeeded in making the bills law.

Legal battles over the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms are not new.

cbsnews.com

Whenever I see the lines of separation of church and state being blurred, I think about political and social influences to push beliefs and personal agendas.

Then my next thought takes me to how the bible was used to justify slavery and even rewritten to make slaves think this was their rightful place.

Washington’s Museum of the Bible displays a “slave Bible,” published in 1807, which removed portions of Scripture including the Exodus story that could inspire rebellious thinking.

Some ministers promoted the idea that Africans were the descendants of Ham, cursed in the book of Genesis, and thus their enslavement was fitting.

“That biblical interpretation is made up of whole cloth in the 15th century,” Noll said. “There’s just no historical record of any seriousness to back it up. It’s made up, at a time when Europeans are beginning to colonize Africa.”

Slaveholders frequently noted that the Israelites of the Old Testament owned slaves.

Washington Post

As I’m developing my Vicksburg series based on Peter Crosby’s life, I know I’m including the Black church. This will be a continuous set piece throughout.

I also really want to convey the complexities of our ancestors grappling with what was given to them, yet, hanging on to at least part of their religious beliefs in order to keep them going. To persevere through these horrible times. What anchored their resilience to push through.

They had to see beyond the lies and embrace what they knew what was true. As Rev. Jesse Jackson would say, to “keep hope alive.”

When we look at the past, we can easily see what was going on and why. Though sometimes when you’re in the present, you can’t see the forest for the trees.

I see that for many in this present time.

I hope that as I write Peter’s story, I can illustrate that in nuanced ways. And just maybe some readers can see the forest and the trees in their present life.

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And don’t forget, for my paid subscribers, we have a monthly zoom call the last Saturday of the month to discuss history.

This month, it will be this Saturday, June 29^th at 11am (pst) – Noon (pst). We can touch on anything I’ve touch on thus far, or chat about something new.

I’ve sent the link to paid subscribers but will also send a reminder link an hour before we start.

Looking forward to chopping it up with you all!

Best,

Danita