Do Black Lives Really Matter?

The purpose of this book is to delineate how African Americans have been treated since the birth of this nation to the murder of unarmed blacks by police officers today. The question of whether black lives really do matter is weighed against that treatment that has diminished the quality and longevity of their lives. To "serve and protect" seems to be exclusive to the in-group majority. The common thread or theme in the exclusion is the persistence of dehumanizing racism and stereotyping that excuses these killings. Conservative politicians, surrogates and enablers, in turn, continue to incur resentment against African-Americans, as well as raise campaign contributions by "fanning the flames" of bias, bigotry and xenophobia. The Republican Party has recruited the former Dixiecrats through the Southern Strategy to capture both houses of Congress and institutionalizing resentment against black voter participation and progress. A "State of Terror" has engulfed communities of color. An unacceptable level of police killings of unarmed blacks and other people of color persist. Black Americans who have readily identified with the dominant group's prejudice against their less fortunate "out-group" members are seen as being pressured to accommodate to the "divide-and-conquer" strategies. The impact of these strategies that favor the privileged in-group members is scrutinized for its impact on the behavior, health and longevity of African-Americans. An analy6sis of Obama's Affordable Care Act (ACA) on Black Americans' health and longevity is given. The opposing approach by conservative Republicans is also weighed. This book points out that the public fear generated by regressive politics continues to cause exaggerated and extreme collective reaction toward members of the out-group or "others." In historical context, the resulting reaction mirrors events in the past in a different superficial format. History not learned is bound to be repeated. To guard against the atrocities of the past, the truth must be acknowledged and tolerance toward the out-group or "others" must be taught. In other words, it must not be an elective or option in the educational process. These factual events, no matter how negative or unpleasant, must be known to prevent their replication.