End of Slavery

June 19, 1865 is the last day of institutional slavery in the United States and a day worth celebrating. The 21st century reckoning with that past is as important to recognize as it is to mark the historical event. White supremacy is an integral part of the history of the United States from the very beginning. All but two US Presidents who were adults prior to the Civil War owned slaves. The White House, the home of the President, the highest office in the land, was built by enslaved people. I know all this, and yet I was still niave enough to think that we had come a long way. That was before I did a deep dive into Balzac's The Human Comedy, where man is stripped down to the basest and most common of desires, and religion is an instrument of the rich and powerful. We are indeed doomed to repeat our mistakes unless we are loud and clear that this is indeed who we were and who we will continue to be unless we do an about face.