Why we must confront the painful parts of US history | Hasan Kwame Jeffries

Prevoditelj: Gordan Prakiš Recezent: Sanda Liker

Not that long ago,

Ne tako davno,

I received an invitation

dobio sam pozivnicu

to spend a few days at the historic home of James Madison.

da provedem par dana u povijesnoj kući Jamesa Madisona.

James Madison, of course,

James Madison je, naravno,

was the fourth president of the United States,

bio četvrti predsjednik SAD-a,

the father of the Constitution,

otac Ustava,

the architect of the Bill of Rights.

arhitekt Povelje o pravima.

And as a historian,

Kao povjesničar

I was really excited to go to this historic site,

bio sam vrlo uzbuđen što ću otići na to povijesno mjesto

because I understand and appreciate the power of place.

zato što razumijem i cijenim moć mjesta.

Now, Madison called his estate Montpelier.

Madison je svoj posjed nazvao Montpelier.

And Montpelier is absolutely beautiful.

I Montpelier je apsolutno predivan.

It's several thousand acres of rolling hills,

On je nekoliko tisuća hektara brdašaca,

farmland and forest,

poljoprivrednog zemljišta i šume

with absolutely breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

s apsolutno predivnim pogledom na planine Blue Ridge.

But it's a haunting beauty,

Ali to je uznemirujuća ljepota

because Montpelier was also a slave labor camp.

jer je Montpelier također bio i robovski radni kamp.

You see, James Madison enslaved more than 100 people

Vidite, James Madison je porobio više od 100 ljudi

over the course of his lifetime.

tijekom svog života.

And he never freed a single soul,

I nikada nije oslobodio nikoga,

not even upon his death.

čak niti kada je umirao.

The centerpiece of Montpelier is Madison's mansion.

Središte Montpeliera je Madisonova rezidencija.

Now this is where James Madison grew up,

Tamo je James Madison odrastao,

this is where he returned to after his presidency,

tamo se vratio nakon svojeg predsjednikovanja

this is where he eventually died.

i tamo je naposljetku preminuo.

And the centerpiece of Madison's mansion is his library.

A središte Madisonove rezidencije je njegova knjižnica.

This room on the second floor,

Soba na drugom katu

where Madison conceived and conceptualized the Bill of Rights.

gdje je Madison smislio i konceptualizirao Povelju o pravima.

When I visited for the first time,

Kada sam prvi put bio u posjetu,

the director of education, Christian Cotz --

direktor edukacije Christian Cotz,

cool white dude --

"cool" bijelac,

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

took me almost immediately to the library.

me gotovo odmah odveo u knjižnicu.

And it was amazing, being able to stand in this place

Bilo je nevjerojatno moći stajati na tom mjestu

where such an important moment in American history happened.

gdje se dogodio toliko važan trenutak američke povijesti.

But then after a little while there,

Ali tada, nakon par trenutaka tamo,

Christian actually took me downstairs to the cellars of the mansion.

Christian me zapravo odveo dolje, u podrume rezidencije.

Now, in the cellars of the mansion,

U podrumima rezidencije su

that's where the enslaved African Americans who managed the house

zarobljeni Afroamerikanci, koji su rukovodili kućom,

spent most of their time.

provodili najviše vremena.

It's also where they were installing a new exhibition on slavery in America.

Tamo su postavljali novu izložbu o ropstvu u Americi.

And while we were there,

I dok smo bili tamo,

Christian instructed me to do something I thought was a little bit strange.

Christian me naveo da učinim nešto što mi se učinilo malo neobičnim.

He told me to take my hand

Rekao mi je da svoju ruku

and place it on the brick walls of the cellar and to slide it along,

stavim na cigleni zid podruma i da je povučem po njemu

until I felt these impressions or ridges in the face of the brick.

dok ne osjetim otisak ili greben na cigli.

Now look,

Gledajte,

I was going to be staying on-site on this former slave plantation

namjeravao sam ostati na ovoj bivšoj plantaži robova

for a couple of days,

par dana,

so I wasn't trying to upset any white people.

tako da nisam htio uznemiriti bijelce.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Because when this was over,

Zato što sam nakon što završi

I wanted to make sure that I could get out.

htio biti u mogućnosti otići.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

But as I'm actually sliding my hand along the cellar wall,

Ali dok sam povlačio ruku po zidovima podruma,

I couldn't help but think about my daughters,

nisam si mogao pomoći da ne mislim o svojim kćerima,

and my youngest one in particular,

posebice o najmlađoj

who was only about two or three years old at the time,

kojoj je tada bilo samo dvije ili tri godine,

because every time she hopped out of our car,

jer bi ona svaki put kada bi izletila iz auta

she would take her hand and slide it along the outside,

svoju ruku povlačila po vanjštini,

which is absolutely disgusting.

što je apsolutno odvratno.

And then --

I tada,

and then, if I couldn't get to her in time,

tada, ukoliko nisam do nje stigao na vrijeme,

she would take her fingers and pop them in her mouth,

ona bi svoje prste stavila u usta,

which would drive me absolutely crazy.

što me totalno izluđivalo.

So this is what I'm thinking about while I'm supposed to be a historian.

To je nešto o čemu razmišljam dok bih trebao biti povjesničar.

(Smijeh)

(Laughter)

But then, I actually do feel these impressions in the brick.

Ali tada sam zbilja osjetio te otiske na cigli.

I feel these ridges in the brick.

Osjetio sam te grebene na cigli.

And it takes a second to realize what they are.

I treba samo sekunda da shvatite što je to.

What they are

To su

are tiny hand prints.

otisci malenih ruku.

Because all of the bricks at James Madison's estate

Zato što su svu ciglu na imanju Jamesa Madisona

were made by the children that he enslaved.

napravila porobljena djeca.

And that's when it hit me

I tada sam shvatio

that the library

da knjižnica,

in which James Madison conceives and conceptualizes the Bill of Rights

u kojoj je James Madison zamislio i konceptualizirao Povelju u pravima,

rests on a foundation of bricks

leži na temeljima od cigle

made by the children that he enslaved.

koju su napravila djeca koju je porobio.

And this is hard history.

I to je teška povijest.

It's hard history, because it's difficult to imagine

To je teška povijest jer je teško zamisliti

the kind of inhumanity

tu vrstu nehumanosti

that leads one to enslave children

koja vodi do toga da netko porobi djecu

to make bricks for your comfort and convenience.

kako bi mu pravila cigle za njegov komfor i ugodu.

It's hard history,

To je teška povijest

because it's hard to talk about the violence of slavery,

jer je teško govoriti o nasilju ropstva,

the beatings, the whippings, the kidnappings,

o premlaćivanjima, bičevanjima, otmicama,

the forced family separations.

nasilnim razdvajanjima obitelji.

It's hard history, because it's hard to teach white supremacy,

To je teška povijest jer je teško podučavati o bjelačkoj nadmoći,

which is the ideology that justified slavery.

što je ideologija koja opravdava ropstvo.

And so rather than confront hard history,

Tako da radije nego da se suočimo s teškom povijesti,

we tend to avoid it.

mi je izbjegavamo.

Now, sometimes that means just making stuff up.

Ponekad to znači jednostavno izmišljanje stvari.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say

Ne mogu vam ni reći koliko sam puta čuo ljude da kažu

that "states' rights" was the primary cause of the Civil War.

da su prava država bila primarni uzrok Građanskog rata.

That would actually come as a surprise

To bi zapravo bilo iznenađujuće

to the people who fought in the Civil War.

ljudima koji su se borili u tom ratu.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Sometimes, we try to rationalize hard history.

Ponekad pokušavamo racionalizirati tešku povijest.

When people visit Montpelier --

Kada ljudi posjete Montpelier,

and by "people," in this instance, I mean white people --

a kada kažem "ljudi", trenutno mislim na bijelce,

when they visit Montpelier

kada posjete Montpelier

and learn about Madison enslaving people,

i nauče o Madisonovim porobljenim ljudima,

they often ask,

često pitaju:

"But wasn't he a good master?"

"Ali, nije li on bio dobar gospodar?"

A "good master?"

"Dobar gospodar?"

There is no such thing as a good master.

ne postoji nešto kao dobar gospodar.

There is only worse and worser.

Postoji samo loš i lošiji.

And sometimes,

Ponekad

we just pretend the past didn't happen.

se jednostavno pretvaramo da se povijest nije dogodila.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say,

Ne mogu vam ni reći koliko sam puta čuo ljude da kažu:

"It's hard to imagine slavery existing outside of the plantation South."

"Teško je zamisliti da ropstvo postoji izvan plantaža na Jugu".

No, it ain't.

Ne, nije.

Slavery existed in every American colony,

Ropstvo je postajalo u svakoj američkoj koloniji,

slavery existed in my home state of New York

ropstvo je postojalo u mojoj rodnoj državi New York

for 50 years after the American Revolution.

i to 50 godina nakon Američke revolucije.

So why do we do this?

Dakle, zašto to činimo?

Why do we avoid confronting hard history?

Zašto se izbjegavamo suočiti s teškom povijesti?

Literary performer and educator Regie Gibson

Književni izvođač i edukator Regie Gibson

had the truth of it when he said

je bio u pravu kada je rekao

that our problem as Americans is we actually hate history.

da je naš problem kao Amerikanaca to da zapravo mrzimo povijest.

What we love

Ono što volimo

is nostalgia.

je nostalgija.

Nostalgia.

Nostalgija.

We love stories about the past

Volimo priče o prošlosti

that make us feel comfortable about the present.

koja nas čine komotnima u sadašnjosti.

But we can't keep doing this.

Ali ne možemo to nastaviti raditi.

George Santayana, the Spanish writer and philosopher,

George Santayana, španjolski pisac i filozof,

said that those who cannot remember the past

rekao je da su oni koji ne mogu zapamtiti povijest

are condemned to repeat it.

osuđeni ponavljati je.

Now as a historian, I spend a lot of time thinking about this very statement,

Kao povjesničar često razmišljam o ovoj izjavi

and in a sense, it applies to us in America.

i ona se ustvari odnosi na nas u Americi.

But in a way, it doesn't.

Ali na neki način i ne.

Because, inherent in this statement,

Zato što je svojstveni dio ove izjave

is the notion that at some point,

shvaćanje da smo u nekom trenutku

we stopped doing the things

prestali činiti stvari

that have created inequality in the first place.

koje su stvorile nejednakost u prvom redu.

And a harsh reality is,

Ali kruta stvarnost jest,

we haven't.

da nismo.

Consider the racial wealth gap.

Uzmite za primjer rasni jaz u bogatstvu.

Wealth is generated by accumulating resources in one generation

Bogatstvo se generira akumuliranjem resursa u jednoj generaciji

and transferring them to subsequent generations.

i njihovim transferom na sljedeću generaciju.

Median white household wealth

Medijalna vrijednost bogatstva bijelih kućanstava

is 147,000 dollars.

je 147 000 dolara.

Median Black household wealth

Medijalna vrijednost bogatstva crnih kućanstava

is four thousand dollars.

je 4 000 dolara.

How do you explain this growing gap?

Kako objašnjavate ovaj rastući jaz?

Hard history.

Teška povijest.

My great-great-grandfather was born enslaved

Moj pra-pradjed je rođen u ropstvu

in Jasper County, Georgia, in the 1850s.

u Okrugu Jasper u Georgiji 1850-ih.

While enslaved, he was never allowed to accumulate anything,

Dok je bio u ropstvu, nije mu bilo dozvoljeno ništa akumulirati

and he was emancipated with nothing.

i nije bio ničime emancipiran.

He was never compensated for the bricks that he made.

Nikada nije dobio kompenzaciju za cigle koje je napravio.

My great-grandfather was also born in Jasper County, Georgia, in the 1870s,

Moj pradjed je također rođen u Okrugu Jasper u Georgiji 1870-ih

and he actually managed to accumulate a fair bit of land.

i on je zapravo uspio akumulirati lijepi komad zemlje.

But then, in nineteen-teens, Jim Crow took that land from him.

Ali tada mu je 1910-ih Jim Crow oduzeo tu zemlju.

And then Jim Crow took his life.

Tada mu je Jim Crow oduzeo i život.

My grandfather, Leonard Jeffries Senior,

Moj djed Leonard Jeffries Stariji

was born in Georgia,

je rođen u Georgiji,

but there was nothing left for him there,

ali mu tamo nije preostalo ništa

so he actually grew up in Newark, New Jersey.

pa je zapravo odrastao u Newarku u New Jerseyju.

And he spent most of his life working as a custodian.

Proveo je većinu života radeći kao domar.

Job discrimination, segregated education and redlining

Radna diskriminacija, segregirano obrazovanje i uskraćivanje usluga

kept him from ever breaking into the middle class.

sprječavali su ga da se ikada probije u srednju klasu.

And so when he passed away in the early 1990s,

I tako kada je ranih 1990-ih preminuo,

he left to his two sons

nije ostavio dvojici sinova

nothing more than a life-insurance policy

ništa osim police životnog osiguranja

that was barely enough to cover his funeral expenses.

koja je bila jedva dovoljna da pokrije troškove njegovog pogreba.

Now my parents, both social workers,

Moji roditelji, oboje socijalni radnici,

they actually managed to purchase a home

zapravo su uspjeli kupiti dom

in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York, in 1980,

u dijelu Brooklyna Crow Heights u New Yorku 1980. godine

for 55,000 dollars.

za 55 000 dolara.

Now Crown Heights, at the time, was an all-Black neighborhood,

U to vrijeme je Crown Heights bio većinski crni kvart

and it was kind of rough.

i bilo je na neki način teško.

My brother and I often went to sleep,

Moj brat i ja smo često išli na spavanje,

by the mid-1980s,

tijekom 1985-ih,

hearing gunshots.

slušajući pucnjeve.

But my parents protected us,

Ali moji roditelji su nas štitili

and my parents also held onto that home.

i moji roditelji su također zadržali taj dom.

For 40 years.

Četrdeset godina.

And they're still there.

I još uvijek su tamo.

But something quintessentially American happened

Ali nešto suštinski američko se dogodilo

about 20 years ago.

prije otprilike 20 godina.

About 20 years ago,

Prije otprilike 20 godina

they went to sleep one night in an all-Black neighborhood,

otišli su na spavanje jedne noći u crnom kvartu

and they woke up the next morning

i sljedeće su se jutro probudili

in an all-white neighborhood.

u bijelom kvartu.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

And as a result of gentrification,

Kao rezultat gentrifikacije,

not only did all their neighbors mysteriously disappear,

ne samo da su svi njihovi susjedi misteriozno nestali,

but the value of their home

nego je i vrijednost njihovog doma

skyrocketed.

drastično porasla.

So that home that they purchased for 55,000 dollars --

Tako da je taj dom koji su kupili za 55 000 dolara,

at 29 percent interest, by the way --

uz kamate od 29 %, usput,

that home is now worth 30 times what they paid it for.

sada vrijedio 30 puta više nego su ga platili.

Thirty times.

Trideset puta.

Do the math with me.

Izračunajte sa mnom.

To je 55 000 puta 30, puno nula -

That's 55,000 times 30, carry the zeros --

That's a lot of money.

to je puno novaca.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

So that means,

To znači

as their single and sole asset,

da njihova jedina imovina,

when the time comes for them to pass that asset on to my brother and I,

kada dođe vrijeme da prijeđe na moga brata i mene,

that will be the first time in my family's history,

to će biti prvi put u cijeloj obiteljskoj povijesti,

more than 150 years after the end of slavery,

preko 150 godina nakon kraja ropstva,

that there will be a meaningful transfer of wealth in my family.

da će postojati značajniji transfer bogatstva u mojoj obitelji.

And it's not because family members haven't saved,

I to nije zbog toga što članovi moje obitelji nisu štedjeli,

haven't worked hard,

nisu mukotrpno radili,

haven't valued education.

nisu cijenili obrazovanje.

It's because of hard history.

To je zbog teške povijesti.

So when I think about the past,

Kada razmišljam o prošlosti,

my concern about not remembering it

moja zabrinutost o tome da je se ne sjetimo

is not that we will repeat it if we don't remember it.

ne leži u tome da ćemo je ponoviti ukoliko je zaboravimo.

My concern, my fear is that if we don't remember the past,

Moja zabrinutost, moj strah leži u tome da ako ne zapamtimo prošlost,

we will continue it.

nastavit ćemo je.

We will continue to do the things

Nastavit ćemo činiti stvari

that created inequality and injustice in the first place.

koje su stvorile nejednakost i nepravdu u prvom redu.

So what we must do

Ono što moramo činiti

is we must disrupt the continuum of hard history.

jest omesti kontinuitet teške povijesti.

And we can do this by seeking truth.

A to možemo tražeći istinu.

By confronting hard history directly.

Izravno suočavajući se s teškom povijesti.

By magnifying hard history for all the world to see.

Povećavajući je povećalom da je cijeli svijet vidi.

We can do this by speaking truth.

To možemo učiniti govoreći istinu.

Teachers teaching hard history to their students.

Da učitelji uče svoje učenike tešku povijest.

To do anything else is to commit educational malpractice.

Sve drugo bila bi kriva obrazovna taktika.

And parents have to speak truth to their children,

Roditelji moraju svojoj djeci govoriti istinu

so that they understand

kako bi razumjela

where we have come from as a nation.

odakle smo kao nacija došli.

And finally, we must all act on truth.

Završno, svi se moramo ponašati shodno istini.

Individually and collectively,

Individualno i kao kolektiv,

publicly and privately,

javno i privatno,

in small ways and in large ways.

na mikro i makro razini.

We must do the things that will bend the arc of the moral universe

Moramo činiti stvari koje će savijati moralni univerzum

towards justice.

prema pravdi.

To do nothing is to be complicit

Činiti ništa znači biti suučesnik

in inequality.

u nejednakosti.

History reminds us

Povijest nas podsjeća

that we, as a nation,

da mi, kao nacija,

stand on the shoulders of political giants

stojimo na ramenima političkih divova

like James Madison.

kao što je James Madison.

But hard history reminds us that we, as a nation,

Ali teška povijest nas podsjeća da mi, kao nacija,

also stand on the shoulders of enslaved African American children.

također stojimo na ramenima porobljene afroameričke djece.

Little Black boys and little Black girls

Malenih crnaca i crnkinja

who, with their bare hands, made the bricks

koji su svojim golim rukama napravili cigle

that serve as the foundation for this nation.

koje služe kao temelj ove nacije.

And if we are serious about creating a fair and just society,

Ako smo ozbiljni u tome da stvorimo pravedno i fer društvo,

then we would do well to remember that,

tada se moramo toga sjetiti,

and we would do well to remember them.

tada se moramo sjetiti njih.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)