A Fractures Mosaic

As we pursue racial and economic equality, the 'ADOS' needs to realize 'United We Stand, Divided We Fall.'

By Theo Edwards and Ola George

Black people as a whole are a complex myriad of cultures and a beautiful array of colors. Many, of course, the descendants of former slaves. For many, the bitter legacy and the enduring struggle for civil rights and equality have been over time an unceasing quest.

American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS) a term to specifically distinguish African Americans of slave descent. Coined by Yvette Carnell, and Lawyer Antonio Moore describes people whose ancestors were slaves in the USA before the Civil War.

I hail from a secondary group of black people, known collectively as the Diaspora. Migrating from the Caribbean, Africa, and virtually all parts of the globe, the Diaspora has been hugely influential in the making of this unique American tapestry.

I was happily basking in my blackness until I read an article about the African Descendents Of Slavery (ADOS). This group's world view is bent on the philosophy that the Diaspora has detracted from the development of blacks in the US. According to the ADOS, any economic, social or educational benefits only be the purview of “pure” blacks.

As a group, blacks have never been monolithic in their political thinking. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois had competing ideologies in the nineteenth century. Additionally 'Malcolm X and his separatist stance was a stark contrast to the likes of Martin Luther King (MLK) integration vision.

ADOS Wants Reparations—But at the Cost of Black Unity. While I Will Concede

Down The Rabbit Hole that as a relative newcomer from the Diaspora, I should not be part of any reparations settlement if that ever comes to pass.

However, I find the rest of the argument fatuous, divisive, and quite frankly, hurtful. The ADOS perspective diminishes the struggles and successes of those of us who came here to seek a better life. We arrived here we should be, united by our common heritage and cultural bonds. As we pursue racial and economic equality, the 'ADOS' needs to realize 'United We Stand, Divided We Fall.'