The Case for a New Great Migration in the US | Charles M. Blow | TED

翻译人员: Jenny Huang 校对人员: Sue Lu

In the summer of 2020, after the murder of George Floyd,

2020 年夏天， 乔治·弗洛伊德被谋杀后，

we saw one of the largest series of protests for racial justice

爆发了一系列美国史上规模最大之一的

in American history.

声援种族正义的抗议活动。

Millions of people, mostly young, a plurality white,

数百万人参与其中，多数是青年和白人。

poured into the streets to assert that Black Lives Matter,

他们涌上街头， 坚称“黑人生命至关重要”，

and to demand police accountability and racial justice.

并要求警察承担责任和维护种族正义。

Some optimistically thought that this was the beginning

一些人乐观地认为这是种族觉醒的开始。

of a racial reckoning.

We painted murals on the streets.

我们在街上画壁画。

We took down statues.

我们拆除了雕像。

Members of Congress, draped in kente cloth,

披着肯特布的国会议员 在首都的解放大厅跪下。

took a knee in the capital's Emancipation Hall.

But just three years later, we are engulfed in a full backlash.

但仅仅三年后，我们就陷入全面的反弹。

We have seen a raft of bills, in statehouses across the country,

我们看到全国各州议会提出一系列法案

to restrict voting and protests,

限制投票权利和抗议活动，

as well as bills meant to restrict how race, gender and history

并且还限制关于种族、性别和历史

can be discussed in schools.

在学校里的讨论。

Wokeness,

觉醒，

a mantra during the Black Lives Matter movement,

一个‘黑人生命至关重要’运动的口号，

was converted into a pejorative, and used against the movement.

被转换为贬义词来贬低该运动。

This is, unfortunately,

不幸的是，

a repeat of the tired and exhausting dance

这是令人疲惫厌倦的历史重演，

that America does: when Black people make progress --

而美国乐此不疲：每当黑人取得进步时，

some white people feel threatened and respond with force.

一些白人会感到威胁，并以武力回应。

This seems to happen in a major way every 50 years or so.

这类事件似乎每隔 50 年就会重演。

The advances of Reconstruction were followed by Jim Crow.

随着美国南北战争后的重建， 接踵而至的是歧视黑人的吉姆·克劳法。

The advances of the Great Migration,

在大迁徙的进展中，

which was the relocation of millions of African Americans,

数百万非裔美国人，

primarily from the rural South to cities in the North and West,

从南方农村迁往北部和西部城市，

was met with the violence of Red Summer.

遭遇了史称“红色夏天”的白人暴乱。

The advances of the Civil Rights Movement were followed by mass incarceration.

在民权运动取得进展之后， 随之而来的是大规模监禁。

I, for one, am sick of this dance.

我已经厌倦了这种历史的重演。 （观众：赞同）

Audience: Yes.

(Applause)

（掌声）

I am sick of taking two steps forward and one step back.

我厌倦了黑人权益运动 每向前走两步就要向后退一步。

Sick of the periods when progressives grow weary

我不喜欢进步派变得疲倦不堪， 而保守派变得恶毒。

and conservatives grow vicious.

Sick of being told that now is not the moment

我厌倦了被告知现在不是最佳时机

for the most ambitious efforts towards actual justice.

致力于实现真正的正义。

I want to sidestep all of that.

我想避开所有这些阻力。

I want a plan for equality now,

我现在就想看到一个争取平等的计划，

one that does not require marching and pleading,

一个不需要游行和乞求的计划，

one in which Black people can access true American equality

让黑人能通过行动获得真正美国式平等，

by their own actions.

One that cannot be so easily regressed or reneged upon.

一个不会轻易倒退或放弃的平等。

And I just so happen to have such a plan.

而我碰巧构思了这样一个计划。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

Energizing reverse migration by encouraging even more Black people

激发反向移民的活力， 鼓励更多的黑人

to leave cities in the North and West and return to the South.

离开北部和西部的城市返回南方，

And I want them to do so, primarily,

我希望他们这样做，主要是

to concentrate and increase their political power,

为了集中和增强其政治力量，

to have greater influence over and access to state power.

更有机会影响和获得国家权力。

(Applause)

（掌声）

States control the lion's share of many of the issues

各州控制着大部分对黑人 至关重要的议题：

crucial to Black people:

criminal justice, judicial processes, election administration, education --

刑事司法、司法程序、选举管理、教育——

that's just to name a few.

这些仅是几例。

And this plan wouldn't create a new condition,

另外，这个计划不会造成新的局面，

but rather restore a historical condition.

而是恢复历史状况。

At the end of the Civil War,

南北战争结束时，

three southern states were majority Black --

南部的三个州黑人占多数——

South Carolina, Mississippi and Louisiana.

南卡罗来纳州、密西西比州 和路易斯安那州。

Three others, Alabama, Florida and Georgia,

另外三个州，阿拉巴马州、 佛罗里达州和乔治亚州，

were within eight percentage points of being majority Black.

黑人只差 8% 就占人口多数了。

Indeed, 90 percent of all Black people at the time in this country

事实上，当时所有黑人中有 90％

lived in the American South.

生活在美国南部。

Enslavers had flooded the region with captive Black people,

奴隶主让该地区充斥着被俘的黑人，

producing, for themselves and the country, staggering wealth.

为自己和国家创造了惊人的财富。

They never imagined that, one day, those Black people would be free,

他们从未想过有天这些黑人会获得自由，

let alone that the 14th and 15th Amendments would make them citizens,

第 14，15 修正案令其成为公民，

and, at least the Black men, voters.

而且，黑人男性还成为了选民。

This made Mississippi a center of power during Reconstruction,

这使密西西比州成为重建期间权力中心，

because in places like Mississippi, at least for a time,

因为在这样的地方，至少一段时期内，

Black men were the majority of registered voters.

黑人占登记选民的大多数。

The state sent scores of Black representatives to the statehouse,

该州为州议会选出了数十名黑人代表，

and it gave America its first two Black senators.

并选出了美国史上最早两名黑人参议员。

But, cue the music,

但是，请听音乐响起·，

because the backlash dance was about to begin.

因为历史反弹的舞步即将开始。

Fearing what they called “Black domination,”

由于害怕所谓的“黑人统治”，

white terrorists in the South began a coordinated campaign of violence

南方白人恐怖分子开始一场协作暴力运动

and voter suppression.

来压制黑人选民。

They clawed back enough power to call constitutional conventions,

他们夺回足够权力然后召集制宪会议，

during which they wrote white supremacy into the DNA of those states.

将白人至上写入了这些州的基因里。

That codified oppression became known as "Jim Crow."

这种编纂成法的对黑人的压制， 就是众所周知的“吉姆·克劳”。

So you have chronic racial terror,

因此，就有了长期的种族恐怖、

a suffocating legal structure,

令人窒息的法律结构

and a lagging economy in the South.

以及南方落后的经济。

That came at the same time that northern factories

在同一时间，北方工厂正在招聘工人。

were recruiting workers.

This push and pull helped to launch the Great Migration.

这种推和拉就帮助启动了大迁移。

In the wake of that migration,

之后，

only slightly more than half of all Black people in America

美国黑人中只有略过一半还留在南方。

remained in the South.

In short,

简而言之，

one of the reasons that Black people lost their majorities

黑人在南方各州失去占比多数

in southern states

其原因之一

was because of terrorism.

就是恐怖主义。

And as America and the world have learned all too well,

正如美国和世界的共识，

you can never let terrorists win.

你永远不能让恐怖分子获胜。

And that is one of the reasons --

这也是我相信——

(Applause)

（掌声）

That is one of the reasons

黑人应该回到南方的理由之一。

that I believe that Black people should return to the South.

If Black people today had their pre-Great Migration percentages

如果今天的黑人在南方各州 拥有大迁移之前的百分比，

in southern states,

they could again vote to ensure more equitable state-level policies,

他们就能再次投票确保更公平州级政策，

and they could put more pressure on the federal government,

他们就能对联邦政府施加更大压力，

because they could control or form the controlling interest

因为他们可以控制的选举团选票

for more Electoral College votes

多过加州和纽约州的总和。

than California and New York state combined.

And that's important here in America,

这在美国很重要，

because each state has as many electors as they have Members of Congress.

因为每个州的选举人数量 与国会议员一样多。

And when you go to vote for president,

而且，当你去投票选举总统时，

you're actually voting for that candidate's slate of electors.

你实际上是投给总统候选人的选举人。

It is those electors who determine the presidency.

决定总统职位的是这些选举人。

Black people could also be decisive

在选举几位州长和参议员时， 黑人也可以起决定性作用。

in electing several governors and senators.

Now, in an ideal world,

在理想的世界里，

we wouldn't need to concentrate Black voting power

我们不需要集中黑人投票权

to achieve equality.

来实现平等。

Any composition of voters should provide equality for all people.

任何选民组合都应为所有人提供平等。

But we don't live in that ideal world.

但我们并非生活在理想世界里。

In the world that we occupy,

在我们的现实中，

anti-Black racism is still openly manifest in policy and power,

反黑人种族主义仍然 公开体现在政策和权力中，

and candidates who support those policies continue to win

支持这些政策的候选人继续获胜

and continue to block progress.

并继续阻碍进步。

Now, there are multiple challenges and unknowns

现在，我的计划面临多种挑战和未知数，

that a plan like this could face,

but it has three major things going for it.

但它有三大优势。

First, there is a precedent for it to succeed.

首先，它有成功的先例。

In the April 1972 issue of "Playboy" --

在1972年4月号的《花花公子》中，

and before you say that, yes,

如你所想，是的，

some people used to read it for the articles.

有些人曾将这个杂志当作信息来源。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

It featured a piece by writer Richard Pollak,

那期收录了作家理查德·波拉克

entitled "Taking Over Vermont,"

一篇题为 “接管佛蒙特州” 的文章。

in which Pollak proposed

波拉克在文中就提议 美国被疏远的年轻人那样做。

that the nation's alienated young do just that.

Pollak's article sprang from an obscure 1971 paper

文章源于 1971 年一篇晦涩论文，

entitled "Jamestown Seventy,"

论文标题为 “詹姆斯敦七十人”，

published at Yale by two law students.

作者是两名耶鲁大学法学院学生。

In it, the authors put forth the tantalizing idea

在论文中，作者提出了一个诱人观点，

that they called "radical federalism,"

称为 “激进联邦制”，

the migration of large numbers of people to a single state,

即大量人口迁移到一个州，

for the express purpose of effecting a peaceful political takeover of the state

其明确目的是通过选举程序

through the elective process.

和平接管该州政治。

Indeed, many young people were already moving to Vermont

事实上，在这些观点被写出来之前，

before these things were written.

许多年轻人已经搬到了佛蒙特州。

But the plan worked.

但是这个计划奏效了。

As writer Yvonne Daley has noted,

正如作家伊冯娜·戴利指出的那样，

"Vermont was transformed,

“佛蒙特州发生了变化，

electing more progressive politicians per capita

人均选出的进步政治家,

in the intervening years than any state,

之后的几年中，比任何州都要多。

and enacting legislation that routinely resulted

而且颁布的立法通常使佛蒙特州

in Vermont ranking among the most liberal states in the union."

位居联盟中最自由的州之列。”

I am proposing that, in the same way that young white liberals

我提议，正如年轻的白人自由主义者

moved en masse to one of the whitest states in the union

出于政治意图集体移居 联盟中白人占比最大的州，

with a political intent,

that young Black people move to some of the Blackest states,

年轻的黑人出于相同的政治意图

with the same political intent.

移居到一些黑人占比最大的州。

The second thing that the plan has going for it

第二个有利于该计划的因素是

is that the reverse migration is already happening.

反向迁移已经在进行中。

Reporters have been chronicling this for at least a decade.

记者对此的记录已至少持续了十年。

I myself am part of the reverse migration,

我本人也是反向迁移的一部分，

moving from Brooklyn to Atlanta in 2020.

于 2020 年从纽约布鲁克林 搬到了亚特兰大。

In fact, Georgia is a nexus of the reverse migration.

事实上，佐治亚州是反向迁移的纽带。

Still, the reverse migration is nowhere near as robust and energetic

尽管如此，反向迁移远没有

as its predecessor.

以前的大迁徙那么强大有力。

To match the scale of the Great Migration,

为了与大迁徙的规模相匹配，

the reverse migration needs an adrenaline boost,

反向迁移需要类似肾上腺素的刺激，

and that is exactly what I am trying to provide.

而这正是我想要提供的。

And third, the reverse migration is already paying dividends

第三，反向移民已经带来了红利，

in the form of more state-level power.

具体反映在增强了州级权力。

In 2020, Georgia flipped from red to blue,

2020 年，佐治亚州从红色变为蓝色，

for the first time since Bill Clinton won the state in 1992.

这是自 1992 年比尔·克林顿 赢得该州以来的首次。

(Cheers and applause)

（欢呼和掌声）

And the voters also elected two Democratic senators,

选民们还选出了两名民主党参议员，

one Black and one Jewish.

一名黑人和一名犹太人。

(Cheers and applause)

（欢呼和掌声）

The coalition of voters that made that possible

推进这些事件的选民联盟

was led by Black voters,

由黑人选民领导，

who constituted a majority of those voting for Biden,

根据选举估计，

according to election estimates.

支持拜登的选民多数是黑人。

The success of the Democratic Party's gains in Georgia

民主党在佐治亚州的成功

can in part be attributed to a rise in the Black population in this state.

部分归因于该州黑人人口的增加。

In the early 1990s, when Bill Clinton won,

在 90 年代初， 当比尔·克林顿获胜时，

Black people were about a quarter of the state's population.

黑人约占该州人口的四分之一。

In 2020, they were about a third of the state's population.

2020 年，他们约占 该州人口的三分之一。

Now, in theory, my proposal isn't partisan.

理论上，我的提议不是党派性的。

The point is freedom, not party loyalties or party punishments.

这是关于自由，而非党派忠诚或惩罚。

But in 2020,

但是在 2020 年，

the candidates chosen by the vast majority of Black people won,

绝大多数黑人支持的党派候选人获胜，

making Georgia a model for resurgent Black power in the South,

佐治亚州成为南方黑人权力复兴的典范，

and for me and the plan that I advanced,

而对我提出的计划来说，

making Georgia proof of concept.

佐治亚州验证了其可行性。

It is one thing to diagram a problem,

用图表描述问题是一回事，

to render it in poetry and passion,

就如用诗歌和激情来陈述表达一样，

to build a case.

It is something of a different order

但倡议一个计划则完全是另一回事。

to propose a plan.

This is the difference between talking or asking,

这就是谈论、请求、

or pleading and demanding,

乞求或要求与行动之间的区别。

and just doing.

As Frederick Douglass once said about escaping slavery,

正如弗雷德里克·道格拉斯（Frederick Douglass) 在谈到逃离奴隶制时所说的，

"I prayed to God to emancipate me.

“我向上帝祈祷让我获得解放。

But it was not until I prayed with my legs that I was emancipated."

但是直到我用双腿祈祷， 我才得以解放。”

I am asking as many Black people in America who are able

我向所有能如道格拉斯一样行事的黑人

to do like Douglass.

提出一个请求，

To pray with your legs and migrate.

用双腿祈祷 —— 迁移。

Thank you very much.

非常感谢。

(Cheers and applause)

（欢呼和掌声）