The Paleo-Indians, the first Americans,
are checking out the neighborhood.
Woe to mammoths and mastodons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Life is good in 1491.
Conquistadors from faraway Iberia
claim land for the king of Spain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Driven away by the Church of England,
Pilgrims, Puritans and Roman Catholics
are free to worship on the eastern shore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
French explorers are moving in
to the river valleys of a vast continent,
all the way north to Labrador.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Delaware people are pushed aside
as the Dutch build New Amsterdam.
The merchant class is riding high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Germans create farms and towns,
but refuse to learn the English language.
Ben Franklin is very upset!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scots-Irish come to America,
gambling on a promise of opportunity.
They travel west to the hills of Appalachia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The potato famine is forcing the poor
of Ireland to emigrate to the new world.
The Irish are judged as less than human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Much the same is said of the Italians
who come to America and take employment
that proper Americans will not accept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those people<\/em> are coming ashore. From the very beginning of colonial life, Native Americans are dispossessed, Seniority on the land matters only Those people<\/em> are coming ashore. Do you really believe that? It is a declaration and a promise: <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Those People The Paleo-Indians, the first Americans,are checking out the neighborhood.Woe to mammoths and mastodons. Life is good in 1491.Conquistadors from faraway Iberiaclaim land for the king of Spain. Driven away by the Church of England,Pilgrims, Puritans and Roman Catholicsare … Continue reading
Those people<\/em> are moving in.
Life was better before they came.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
captive slaves from out of Africa
power the economy for southern whites
and struggle for equity in the north.
Free at last! They are still despised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
deprived of their game and forced to move
to plots of land drawn up by whites.
Broken treaties! A trail of tears!
Though first, they are treated as the last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
for those Americans with roots in Europe.
To this day, Indians and blacks
are still regarded as those people<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those people<\/em> are moving in.
Life was better before they came.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Have you forgotten how your own
ancestors were advised to show respect
to those who settled earlier in America?
Remember, there was a time when
your people endured hostility and hate.
Your people were those people<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll men are created equal.\u201d
Those people<\/em> are coming ashore.
Those people<\/em> are moving in.
Welcome: E pluribus unum.
Welcome: out of many, one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n