< 3/5: Examining the Consequences of 400 Years of Inequality
March 17, 2017 | The New School
Call to the meeting:
In 1776 the Declaration of Independence boldly declared, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..." Reality belied that statement: 450,000 were held in bondage at that time, and the Founding Fathers decided to count those slaves as "3/5's of a person." That tension between our dream and our reality is a destabilizing force in the US, which finds itself heading towards a pinnacle of inequality. William Morrish, Robert Sember and Mindy Fullilove have been working with colleagues to understand the long history of inequality and to gain perspective on the present moment in our national life. At this working meeting, we will tackle three topics: the timeline of 398 years of events, the nature of the present moment and the agenda for the next two years and beyond.
Summary of the meeting:
The conference room was organized around four tables holding the timeline of events occurring over the course of the 398 years between the Africans landing at Jamestown, to be sold into bondage, and that day. The timelines had been created by students in the course “400 years of inequality.” Attendees carefully examined the four segments, each representing 100 years. They were invited to add post-its with comments to the draft timelines. This was followed by a discussion of what we had seen and what it meant.
In 1776 the Declaration of Independence boldly declared, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..." Reality belied that statement: 450,000 were held in bondage at that time, and the Founding Fathers decided to count those slaves as "3/5's of a person." That tension between our dream and our reality is a destabilizing force in the US, which finds itself heading towards a pinnacle of inequality. William Morrish, Robert Sember and Mindy Fullilove have been working with colleagues to understand the long history of inequality and to gain perspective on the present moment in our national life. At this working meeting, we will tackle three topics: the timeline of 398 years of events, the nature of the present moment and the agenda for the next two years and beyond.
Summary of the meeting:
The conference room was organized around four tables holding the timeline of events occurring over the course of the 398 years between the Africans landing at Jamestown, to be sold into bondage, and that day. The timelines had been created by students in the course “400 years of inequality.” Attendees carefully examined the four segments, each representing 100 years. They were invited to add post-its with comments to the draft timelines. This was followed by a discussion of what we had seen and what it meant.
William Morrish set up a fifth table for making a visual representation of the meeting, a long drawing of all that was considered.
William Morrish making a generative graphic of the meeting.
Section from generative drawing, 2017.
We broke into small groups to name the present moment in which we found ourselves. Students in the course “Situated Big Data” helped to set up the idea of situation analysis and naming the moment. After much conversation about the divisions of race and class which permitted the small cliques of the wealthiest people to dominate political life and drive policies that undermined security and stability for majority, we agreed to name the moment “Divided we had fallen.”
The two years of work ahead, we then concluded, involved helping people understand how the long history of inequality divides and weakens us. We can use this anniversary to make a “People’s Platform,” finding our way towards a future of solidarity and equality.
The two years of work ahead, we then concluded, involved helping people understand how the long history of inequality divides and weakens us. We can use this anniversary to make a “People’s Platform,” finding our way towards a future of solidarity and equality.
