An Existential Question in the Age of Two Pandemics

Years ago, Humans of New York approached an adorable and fashionably dressed Black baby girl on the street and asked her the question most children are asked around this age; a simple question that often produces the most lighthearted responses. She was asked, “Do you know what you want to be when you grow up?” to which she replied, “A person.”

I think about her response often, especially in the current climate. It was not lost on me, for a second, the profundity of her statement. It’s interesting she didn’t identify a profession, the go-to for most littles. 

What did this little girl know? Surely, she couldn’t have known people who look like her and me were written into the United States Constitution as ⅗ human. To be clear, at the inception of the country, we were seen as property and not human in the eyes of our “founding fathers.” 

I learned this just this year. Only recently did I receive the added context that this decision was made to quell poor white Americans into believing there was someone (or something) beneath them, to reduce their motivation to rebel against the rich white population. It appears to have worked as many continue to vote against themselves in order to vote against our humanity.

Reprogramming Resource:

College-level Courses — US and Texas Government and US History; SP-SU 2020