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< | Coded Language: John Brown as an American Patriot | >
> | Lawyering for Justice | | | -- By OkontaP - 31 Mar 2016 | |
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< | Terror and Patriotism | >
> | American history lessons in Liberty, Missouri were never dry, always triumphant, with a clear winner and loser. Throughout my 13 years of schooling, American history was designed and presented in a distinct way: a clear American protagonist was cast against a foreign villain in a poetic series that mirrored the exploits of a justice seeking superhero. Events centered around a patriot, that stood up for American Exceptionalism, who was to always be praised and revered. Those that were at odds or attacked American ideals were labeled aggressors, to be chastised, and enemy to these great United States. Lessons were often not much more nuanced than that. America was good, and the white male figure that fought for American ideals was great; its soldier, its revolutionary, its patriot. | | | | |
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< | American history lessons in Liberty, Missouri were never dry, always triumphant, with a clear winner and loser. Throughout my 13 years of schooling, American history was designed and presented in a distinct way: a clear American protagonist was cast against a foreign villain in a poetic series that mirrored the exploits of a justice seeking superhero. Events centered around a patriot, that stood up for American Exceptionalism, who was to always be praised and revered. Those that were at odds or attacked American ideals were labeled aggressors, to be chastised, and enemy to these great united states. Lessons were often not much more nuanced than that. America was good, and the white male figure that fought for American ideals was great, its soldier, its revolutionary, its patriot. | >
> | Inspired to create my own path of patriotism, to fight for people that looked like me. From a young age I journeyed to be an attorney. In my adolescence, I didn't see the role as a lawyer in the fight for justice as limiting, but rather one, if not the only, legitimate means to ensure that the values in which these patriots had sung, were provided for all, not just their white male counterparts. Lawyering, I thought, was a tool to be a revolutionary advocate; emboldened by the law and legitimatized by education. | | | | |
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< | In the two and a half days that the sophomore student body at Liberty High School studied the Civil War there was no surprise that this discussion lacked the same nuance as other lessons. There was no discussion at the inherently perverted nature of the American social, legal and political system that enslaved a men, yet championed for equal liberties and freedoms for all. The conflict was flat-lined to an issue over a collision between states' rights and the authority of the federal government. The lessons sustained the idea of American patriotism. The legacies of men who held their fellow men in a brutal form of demoralizing captivity, or were complicit in a system that allowed other men to do so, were left untarnished. Forever regarded in the minds of eager adolescences as those that vigorously supported the American notion that "All men are created equal". American superheroes. American patriots. | >
> | In the two and a half days that the sophomore student body at Liberty High School studied the Civil War there was no surprise that this discussion lacked the same nuance as other lessons. There was no discussion at the inherently perverted nature of the American social, legal and political system that enslaved men, yet championed for equal liberties and freedoms for all. There was no discussion at the gaping hole in the law that discriminated against and overcriminalized particular populations simultaneously. There was no discussion on the profession that I revered, and how many of its most successful perpetuated a vilely unjust system. The conflict was flat-lined to an issue over a collision between states' rights and the authority of the federal government. The lessons sustained the idea of American patriotism. The legacies of men who held their fellow men in a brutal form of demoralizing captivity, or were complicit in a system that allowed other men to do so, were left untarnished. Forever regarded in the minds of eager adolescences as those that vigorously supported the American notion that "All men are created equal". American attorneys. American superheroes. American patriots. | | | | |
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< | Inspired to create my own path of patriotism, to fight for people that , from a young age I journeyed to be an attorney. In my adolescence, I didn't see the role as a lawyer in the fight for justice as limiting, but rather one, if not the only, legitimate means to ensure that the values in which these patriots had sung, were provided for all, not just their white male counterparts. Lawyering, I thought, was a tool to be a revolutionary advocate; emboldened by the law and legitimatized by education. | | | | |
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< | John Brown the Revolutionary | >
> | To Be A Revolutionary | | | The core of early American idealism centers around a discourse of equality, life, and justice. The guarantee of inherent rights was in direct contradiction however, to these claims. At the time the Declaration of Independence was first circulated, even the great American patriot himself, Thomas Jefferson owned slaves. | | | John Brown was a true American revolutionary, or more accurately a true American patriot, because he not only wanted, but demanded freedom for all. His action exemplified the American ideal: knowing his actions would meet an almost certain death, he battled for equality and self-determination by any means necessary. | |
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< | John Brown a Terrorist | >
> | To Be A Terrorist | | | “He’s a terrorist because he broke the law”. The intersection between law, freedom and terrorism is an interesting one. Adversaries of Brown may claim that he is in fact a terrorist because he used violent and illegal methods to attack a government endorsed system (slavery). However, the notion that eradicating an inherently unjust and viciously violent system peacefully is null. How else could Brown have demand freedom from the chains of oppression and subjugation, without taking a sword to those chains? There was no legal remedy for slaves or those that wished to end slavery within the confines of American law. The life and Supreme Court case of Dred Scott let the world know that a black man lacked standing as citizen, let alone a free man in federal courts. How could he have peacefully turned the wheels to one of the bloodiest battles on American sand (the Civil War) without creating a spark in which no one could look away from? | |
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< | While textbooks and orations often focus on the tragedy of Harper’s Ferry, the reasoning of his actions and his non-violent actions are often not called into play. As an abolitionist taking part in the Underground Railroad, Brown helped in the liberation of hundreds of slaves, established the League of Gileadites, a group formed with the intention of protecting black citizens from slave hunters, and did everything in his power to ensure the end of slavery. What more could one ask for in a patriot? If Brown must be labeled a terrorist for the revolutionary act of self-defense on Harpers Ferry, then every single American citizen that participated in the act of terror by subjecting their fellow man to the brutalities of American slavery, or that were complicit in this system by not actively fighting it, affirmatively repudiating it, or by sitting back and “paying taxes” should be labeled as an American terrorist as well. A terrorist to every American man and woman whose ancestors’ blood taints the bedrock of American society. | >
> | If Brown must be labeled a terrorist for the revolutionary act of self-defense on Harpers Ferry, then every single American citizen that participated in the act of terror by subjecting their fellow man to the brutalities of American slavery, or that were complicit in this system by not actively fighting it, affirmatively repudiating it, or by sitting back and “paying taxes” should be labeled as an American terrorist as well. A terrorist to every American man and woman whose ancestors’ blood taints the bedrock of American society. But what if Brown was a lawyer? | | | | |
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< | Lawyering for Change
Brown wasn't a lawyer, he didn't receive a legal education or carry thousands of dollars of debt nor was he provided with a "particular legal skill set" that made him more knowledgeable on how to overthrow an unjust system. Brown's violence involved violence and unlawfulness, no matter whether or not it was warranted. An individual that takes and oath to support the laws of the state and the Constitution can never be the revolutionary I dreamed to be, or that Brown was. | >
> | To Be A Lawyer | | | | |
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< | Advancing peace and justice as a lawyer appears to be anything but easy. Working within the law to advocate for change and dismantle the exact laws and institutions which granted your academic authority is terrifying to say the least, frighteningly debilitating. | >
> | Brown wasn't a lawyer, he didn't receive a legal education or carry thousands of dollars of debt for a certificate and title. Nor was he provided with a "particular legal skill set" that made him more knowledgeable on how to overthrow an unjust system. Brown's actions involved violence and unlawfulness, no matter whether or not it was warranted. An individual that takes an oath to support the laws of the state and the Constitution can never be the revolutionary that Brown was. | | | | |
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< | Individuals opposed to the actions of Brown often point to Martin Luther King Jr., as a respectable man, that championed for social and legal change without the use of violence. Yet, these respectability politics are limited. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s was maintained through the highly publicized and politicalized access to vicious attacks on people of color perpetuated by white supremacists. Now, while King has claimed that violence begets violence, his participation in illegal marches, sit-ins, and boycotts (at the very least), show that illegal actions often move and accelarate social movements and society towards justice. MLK writes that, “man-made law” is “no law at all,” when it is, “out of harmony with the moral law” and “is not rooted in eternal and natural law.” Legal action is not always the best action when freedom from a powerful oppressor is being pursued. A man-made law that oppresses another is not in sync with natural law and must be defeated, even if through "illegal" actions. John Brown, the patriot, embodied this ideal. American superhero. American patriot. | >
> | Advancing peace and justice as a lawyer appears to be anything but easy. Working within the law to advocate for change and dismantle the exact laws and institutions which granted your legal authority is terrifying to say the least, frighteningly debilitating. Consistent raises in big firm salaries make lucrative misery seem like a better option than lawyering for change. I have been a consistent champion for social justice and advocating for legal, social, and civil rights. I understand that I need to serve as a resource for proper representation in court and create pragmatic and accessible solutions to combat failures of the justice system. But the debilitating fear of venturing into this unknown world, swirls within.
Individuals opposed to the actions of Brown often point to Martin Luther King Jr., as a respectable man, that championed for social and legal change without the use of violence. Yet, these respectability politics are limited. Violence doesn't always take an obvious physical form; violence is the denial of resources, violence is white supremacy, violence is having the tools to create better opportunities for your community, but failing to act. Legal action is not always the best action when freedom from a powerful oppressor is being pursued. However, legal action can serve as a tool against a pervasive and institutional violence perpetrated by powerful oppressors. I admire Brown, in spite of his use of violence, and I hope to obliterate the violence committed against me and my brothers and sisters. | | | | |
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< | I'm not sure where this
draft advances over what we discussed in the classroom. The point
of bringing Thoreau's plea for Brown into the group was to create
the moment of which this essay is an echo. We both understand the
points of view represented here as right and wrong. We see that
they are little closer now than they were 155 years ago when the
Civil War ended.
But our effort is not to discover the abyss. It is to appreciate
the mechanisms by which a society deals with the breadth of its
differences. The point isn't that as lawyers we are supposed to be
against slavery. That will be true everywhere except where it
isn't. The point is that we must understand all the forces on the
board, including the ones that aren't supposed to exist or that
we're not supposed to allow ourselves to see, in order to do what
we are actually supposed to do, which is to produce
justice. | | |
You are entitled to restrict access to your paper if you want to. But we all derive immense benefit from reading one another's work, and I hope you won't feel the need unless the subject matter is personal and its disclosure would be harmful or undesirable. |
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