This is an interesting statement: “…we see that the concept of property ownership in America is inseparable from white supremacy.” I’ve given your comment a lot of thought. Is property ownership really an artifact of white supremacy? Not in all ways, but I see your point. Certainly property ownership has solidified power, as it still does. And it has been used as an excuse for superiority, exercise of political and social leverage, and for abuse of those who either cannot afford property or who are disallowed from doing so.
From a very basic standpoint, the idea of owning property is absurd. The earth, the land, has been here for billions of years. Only in the last 10,000 years or so have people begun to claim parcels of land for themselves. This has happened all over the world and well-known to empires. In America we have definitely seen property ownership become weaponized. The bigger one’s plantation in the South, the more powerful the owner. And, by extension, all that was on the property was part of its value, including, of course, slaves and the potential production of valued crops. And the Manifest Destiny philosophy was nothing short of a land-grab for the same of empowerment.
“Manifest Destiny, a phrase coined in 1845, is the idea that the United States is destined—by God, its advocates believed—to expand its dominion and spread democracy and capitalism across the entire North American continent. The philosophy drove 19th-century U.S. territorial expansion and was used to justify the forced removal of Native Americans and other groups from their homes. The rapid expansion of the United States intensified the issue of slavery as new states were added to the Union, leading to the outbreak of the Civil War.” (https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/manifest-destiny)
It seems that human beings are very predictable in many ways, with one way being that tradition stops being challenged. This applies to the tradition of property ownership being equated with power and a higher value to the owner’s life and importance. We also know that denying immigrants and people of color has long been a reason to deny people from purchasing property. A whole cascade of social problems arise from this — permanent residence status and its affect on voting rights, inability to live in higher priced neighborhoods that subjects one to more crime and poorer education, and the very real psychological impact of feeling “less than” — all of which may be part and parcel of white supremacist goals. BUT, tradition is doing the heavy lifting now.
I question whether there is a conspiracy or even a covert policy that makes police, politicians, HOAs, apartment boards, and real estate agents resistant to helping Black Americans and recognizing their rights. It seems to be more of a matter of tradition — a racist tradition, no doubt, but a tradition wherein the original purpose has given way to action by rote: “We just do it that way and that’s the way it’s always been done.” White supremacists may have set the tradition in motion, but now it’s still running wild all on its own. Why? Because people fail to question the reasons for things — especially if the things do not affect them personally.
