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

譯者: GUO JHEN WANG 審譯者: Yi-Ping Cho (Marssi)

Not that long ago,

不久前

I received an invitation

我接受邀請

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

到詹姆斯．麥迪遜故居待個幾天

James Madison, of course,

沒錯，就是詹姆斯．麥迪遜

was the fourth president of the United States,

美國的第四任總統

the father of the Constitution,

憲法之父

the architect of the Bill of Rights.

權利法案起草者

And as a historian,

我身為歷史學家

I was really excited to go to this historic site,

能造訪這樣的歷史當然非常興奮

because I understand and appreciate the power of place.

因為我了解也欣賞這個地方的魔力

Now, Madison called his estate Montpelier.

麥迪遜稱這地方為蒙特佩利爾

And Montpelier is absolutely beautiful.

這裡真的是很漂亮的地方

It's several thousand acres of rolling hills,

占地數千英畝的山丘

farmland and forest,

with absolutely breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

還有藍嶺山脈絕美的風景

But it's a haunting beauty,

但這是令人「難忘」的美景

because Montpelier was also a slave labor camp.

因為蒙特佩利爾 曾經也是奴隸勞改營

You see, James Madison enslaved more than 100 people

麥迪遜在他的一生

曾奴役超過 100 人

over the course of his lifetime.

And he never freed a single soul,

而且他從未釋放任何一個人

not even upon his death.

就連臨終那一刻也沒打算

The centerpiece of Montpelier is Madison's mansion.

蒙特佩利爾的中心 就是麥迪遜的故居

Now this is where James Madison grew up,

這就是他長大的地方

this is where he returned to after his presidency,

也是他總統卸任後回來的地方

this is where he eventually died.

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

在他故居的中間有一個圖書室

This room on the second floor,

就在二樓

where Madison conceived and conceptualized the Bill of Rights.

他就在這裡構思出權利法案

When I visited for the first time,

當我第一次來這裡的時候

the director of education, Christian Cotz --

教育總監克里斯提安．柯斯

cool white dude --

一個看起來很酷的白人小夥子

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

took me almost immediately to the library.

馬上就帶我去圖書室

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

能夠站在這個地方真的很棒

where such an important moment in American history happened.

美國史上的一個重要時刻就在這裡發生

But then after a little while there,

但待在這邊一會後

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

克里斯提安帶我下樓到故居的地下室

Now, in the cellars of the mansion,

故居的地下室

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

就是非裔美國人被奴役的地方

他們大半輩子都在這裡打理這座宅第

spent most of their time.

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

當時那裡正要辦一場 關於美國奴隸制度的新展覽

And while we were there,

當我們在那邊的時候

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

克里斯提安叫我做一件 我覺得有點奇怪的事情

He told me to take my hand

他叫我把手

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

放在地下室磚牆上，然後沿著牆走

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

直到我感受磚塊上的隆起

Now look,

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

我要在這個曾經囚禁奴隸的地方

for a couple of days,

待上好幾天

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

我並不想要激怒任何白人

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Because when this was over,

因為過完幾夜之後

I wanted to make sure that I could get out.

我要確定還能走得出去

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

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

但當我沿著地窖的牆走的時候

I couldn't help but think about my daughters,

我忍不住想到我女兒

and my youngest one in particular,

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

她那時候大概也才兩三歲左右

because every time she hopped out of our car,

因為每次她跳下車時

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

她會用手滑過車子

which is absolutely disgusting.

這真的是有夠噁心

And then --

然後

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

如果我無法及時阻止她

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

她就會把手指放進嘴巴裡

which would drive me absolutely crazy.

這完全讓我抓狂

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

儘管我是個歷史學家 那卻是我當時的想法

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

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

但我確實能感受磚牆上的痕跡

I feel these ridges in the brick.

我能感受到磚牆的突起

And it takes a second to realize what they are.

我花了點時間才知道那是什麼

What they are

那就是

are tiny hand prints.

小小的手印

Because all of the bricks at James Madison's estate

因為詹姆斯．麥迪遜故居中的所有磚頭

were made by the children that he enslaved.

都是他奴役的小孩所製作的

And that's when it hit me

就在那時讓我意識到

that the library

這間圖書室

in which James Madison conceives and conceptualizes the Bill of Rights

也就是詹姆斯．麥迪遜 構思權利法案的地方

rests on a foundation of bricks

奠基在他奴役的小孩

made by the children that he enslaved.

製作的磚頭上

And this is hard history.

這就是沉重的歷史

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

這是段沉重歷史 因為實在是很難想像

the kind of inhumanity

這樣的不人性

that leads one to enslave children

讓人去奴役小孩去製造磚頭

to make bricks for your comfort and convenience.

只為了你們的舒適與便利

It's hard history,

這是段沉重的歷史

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

因為很難談論奴隸制度中的暴力

the beatings, the whippings, the kidnappings,

痛打、鞭打、綁架

the forced family separations.

家庭被迫分離

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

這是一段沉重歷史 因為很難去教導白人特權

which is the ideology that justified slavery.

也就是為奴隸制度辯護的意識形態

And so rather than confront hard history,

所以與其對抗沉重歷史

we tend to avoid it.

我們傾向避免這段歷史

Now, sometimes that means just making stuff up.

有時這也意味著把事情矇騙過去

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

我不知道已經聽過別人說過多少次了

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

南北內戰主要的導火線是 「州權」之爭

That would actually come as a surprise

參與過南北戰爭的人

to the people who fought in the Civil War.

聽到會很訝異的

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Sometimes, we try to rationalize hard history.

有時候我們嘗試 合理化這段沉重歷史

When people visit Montpelier --

大家來參觀蒙特佩利爾

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

我指的是「白人」來參觀的時候

when they visit Montpelier

他們來參觀的時候

and learn about Madison enslaving people,

知道麥迪遜奴役人民時

they often ask,

他們常常會問

"But wasn't he a good master?"

「但他不是好主人嗎？」

A "good master?"

「好主人？」

There is no such thing as a good master.

沒有所謂的好主人

There is only worse and worser.

只有糟糕和更糟糕的主人

And sometimes,

有時候

we just pretend the past didn't happen.

我們只是假裝過去並沒有發生

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

我不知道已經聽過別人說過多少次了

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

「很難想像南方農田外的地方 也有奴隸制度」

No, it ain't.

不，這並不難想像

Slavery existed in every American colony,

奴隸制度存在美國每一塊土地上

slavery existed in my home state of New York

它就在我的家鄉紐約州上

for 50 years after the American Revolution.

在美國獨立革命後存在了 50 年

So why do we do this?

我們為什麼會這樣做？

Why do we avoid confronting hard history?

為什麼我們會拒絕面對沉重歷史？

Literary performer and educator Regie Gibson

文藝表演者兼教育家的雷吉．吉布森

had the truth of it when he said

說出了事實

that our problem as Americans is we actually hate history.

他說美國人的問題就是 我們非常討厭歷史

What we love

我們喜愛的是

is nostalgia.

懷舊

Nostalgia.

懷舊

We love stories about the past

我們喜愛過去的故事

that make us feel comfortable about the present.

這樣我們面對現況 才能感到更舒服一點

But we can't keep doing this.

George Santayana, the Spanish writer and philosopher,

西班牙作家暨哲學家喬治．桑塔亞那

said that those who cannot remember the past

曾說那些不記得過去之人

are condemned to repeat it.

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

身為一名歷史學家 我花了很多時間思考這個論述

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

某方面而言，它是適用在美國的

But in a way, it doesn't.

但另一方面，是不適用的

Because, inherent in this statement,

因為這句話還包含著一個觀念

is the notion that at some point,

也就是在某種程度上

we stopped doing the things

我們會從一開始就去阻止

that have created inequality in the first place.

那些曾造成不平等的事情

And a harsh reality is,

we haven't.

我們並沒有

Consider the racial wealth gap.

想想看種族間的財富差距

Wealth is generated by accumulating resources in one generation

財富是由一代人累積起來的財富

and transferring them to subsequent generations.

然後再把財富轉移到下一代

Median white household wealth

白人家庭財富的中位數是

is 147,000 dollars.

147,000 美元

Median Black household wealth

黑人家庭財富的中位數是

is four thousand dollars.

4,000 美元

How do you explain this growing gap?

你們要如何解釋不斷加劇的差距？

Hard history.

沉重歷史

My great-great-grandfather was born enslaved

我的曾曾祖父出生就是奴隸

in Jasper County, Georgia, in the 1850s.

在 1850 年代的喬治亞州傑斯帕縣

While enslaved, he was never allowed to accumulate anything,

當他被奴役時 他不被允許累積任何東西

and he was emancipated with nothing.

他被解放時也一無所有

He was never compensated for the bricks that he made.

他從未拿到製造磚頭的酬勞

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

我的曾祖父也是 1870 年代 出生在喬治亞州傑斯帕縣

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

他當時確實累積了一些土地

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

但在 1910 年代 吉姆．克勞法奪走他的土地

And then Jim Crow took his life.

接著就殺了他

My grandfather, Leonard Jeffries Senior,

我的祖父，老雷納德．傑富瑞

was born in Georgia,

生在喬治亞州

but there was nothing left for him there,

但沒有什麼東西是留給他的

so he actually grew up in Newark, New Jersey.

所以他實際上成長於 紐澤西州的紐瓦克市

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

他生命中大部分的時間都在當警衛

Job discrimination, segregated education and redlining

工作歧視、隔離教育和劃清界線

kept him from ever breaking into the middle class.

讓他永遠無法打進中產階級

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

他在 1990 年代初期過世時

he left to his two sons

留給兩個兒子的

nothing more than a life-insurance policy

只有一份壽險

that was barely enough to cover his funeral expenses.

僅能夠支付他喪禮的費用

Now my parents, both social workers,

輪到我父母，兩個都是社工

they actually managed to purchase a home

他們在 1980 年時買了一棟房子

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

買在紐約布魯克林區的皇冠高地

for 55,000 dollars.

花了 55,000 美元

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

當時皇冠高地是黑人居住區域

and it was kind of rough.

這地方有點危險

My brother and I often went to sleep,

在 1980 年代中期時 我和我哥哥常在睡夢中

by the mid-1980s,

hearing gunshots.

會聽到槍響

But my parents protected us,

但我父母會保護我們

and my parents also held onto that home.

我父母也堅守那個家

For 40 years.

40 年了

And they're still there.

他們依舊在那裡

But something quintessentially American happened

大約在 20 年前

典型的美國事發生了

about 20 years ago.

About 20 years ago,

就在 20 年前

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

有天他們在這全是 黑人的社區上床去睡

and they woke up the next morning

隔天起床時

in an all-white neighborhood.

這個社區住滿了白人

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And as a result of gentrification,

這是仕紳化的結果

not only did all their neighbors mysteriously disappear,

不僅他們的鄰居神奇消失了

but the value of their home

他們的房價

skyrocketed.

也一飛衝天

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

所以他們用 55,000 美元買到的房子

at 29 percent interest, by the way --

附帶一提，29% 的利率

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

現在那棟房子市值高達 當時買進價錢的 30 倍

Thirty times.

30 倍

Do the math with me.

大家一起來跟我算數學

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

就是 55,000 乘以 30，有好多 0

That's a lot of money.

好多錢啊

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So that means,

那就代表

as their single and sole asset,

他們這個唯一的資產

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

當他們有一天走的時候 這間房子會傳到我和我哥哥手上

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

這將會是我家族歷史上第一次

more than 150 years after the end of slavery,

在被奴役超過 150 年以來的第一次

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

極具意義的財產轉移

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

並不是因為我家人沒有存錢

haven't worked hard,

不是因為他們不努力工作

haven't valued education.

不是因為他們不重視教育

It's because of hard history.

而是因為沉重的歷史

So when I think about the past,

所以當我回想到過去

my concern about not remembering it

對於我們不記得過去這件事我顧慮的

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

並不是如果我們不記得歷史 我們就會重蹈覆轍

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

我的擔憂和恐懼是 如果我們不記得過去

we will continue it.

我們會繼續走這條路

We will continue to do the things

我們會從頭開始繼續做那些

that created inequality and injustice in the first place.

造成不平等和不公平的事情

So what we must do

is we must disrupt the continuum of hard history.

中斷沉重歷史

And we can do this by seeking truth.

我們能透過追尋真相做到

By confronting hard history directly.

透過直接面對沉重歷史達到

By magnifying hard history for all the world to see.

放大這段歷史，讓全世界都看到

We can do this by speaking truth.

我們能講述真相來做到這件事

Teachers teaching hard history to their students.

老師教導這段沉重歷史給學生

To do anything else is to commit educational malpractice.

不這麼做就是教育的弊端

And parents have to speak truth to their children,

而且父母也應該和小孩講述事實

so that they understand

這樣他們才會理解

where we have come from as a nation.

我們是怎麼形成一個國家的

And finally, we must all act on truth.

最後我們必須依據事實行事

Individually and collectively,

不論個人或群體

publicly and privately,

公眾還是私下

in small ways and in large ways.

小層面和大層面

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

我們必須做那些能夠

讓世界道德轉向正義的事情

towards justice.

To do nothing is to be complicit

什麼都不做

只是不公平的共犯

in inequality.

History reminds us

歷史提醒我們

that we, as a nation,

我們，身為一個國家

stand on the shoulders of political giants

站在政治巨人的肩膀上

like James Madison.

像是詹姆斯．麥迪遜

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

但沉重歷史提醒我們

我們，身為一個國家

also stand on the shoulders of enslaved African American children.

我們也站在被奴役的 非裔美國小孩的肩膀上

Little Black boys and little Black girls

黑人小男孩和小女孩們

who, with their bare hands, made the bricks

他們徒手造磚

that serve as the foundation for this nation.

建立了這個國家的基石

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

如果我們認真想要創造 一個公平正義的社會

then we would do well to remember that,

那我們應該要好好記得

and we would do well to remember them.

我們也應該記得那些被奴役的人

Thank you.

謝謝

(Applause)

（掌聲）