The lustrous Black Pearl of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade once again attracts attention, as vain attempts to excuse its use surface in the news.

The Oxford English Dictionary gives the following usage in 1587: “There were also in her 400 nee*ers, whome they had taken to make slaves.” English spellings include ne*er, ni*er, and ni*re. Spanish also features one “g,” in ne*ro.

By 1786, the OED gives this usage: “How graceless Ham laugh at his Dad, Which made Canaan a ni**er.” Between 1587 and 1786, the TAST developed across the Americas, including English, Spanish, and Dutch slave traders. The Dutch spelling was commonly printed in English as “ni**ar.”

John McWhorter bemoans the fact that The Infamous Noun is not accepted in social discourse, not even as a quote from an old book, without the possibility of giving great offense and attracting criticism. New York Times, April 30, 2021. A law student was criticized for reading it aloud from a 1933 legal ruling. The Infamous Noun carries its history of kidnapping, violence, rape, torture, and resistance at all times. It is not “cool.” It does not make you look “hard.” It may damage your social relationships, or cost you your job.

The Infamous Noun will expose your ignorance, your prejudice, your weakness, and your insecurity. It is best left alone.

Juan Garrido and Juan Gonzalez de Leon, free African explorers, arrived in Florida in 1513 and 1521. Esteban Gomez, a black Portuguese pilot, navigated the Hudson River in 1525. Spanish colonizers took African slaves to South Carolina in 1526, and by November, the slaves revolted. Their descendants refused to be slaves for Menendez in 1565, forcing him to import other Africans for his labor needs. Jan Rodrigues, a free black man, became a resident of Manhattan in 1613. Dutch colonizers took African slaves to Western Massachusetts in 1617.

August 20, 1619 did not mark the beginning of slavery in the colonies. The myth of 1619 depends heavily on the image of dumping helpless slaves into an established colony,  which accepted the savage Africans merely to obtain assistance with menial labor. The white people in this myth are engaged, active, and intellectual. The black people are passive, lazy, and savage. This myth supports the submerged view that good Negroes learn from the white people, and do well, but the bad Negroes who refuse to learn remain savage and inherently dangerous.

The 1619 myth supports the view that the North was infected with slavery by the South, casually ignoring the North’s early dependence on slave labor, its development of the first slave/black codes, and the slave-raised cotton so necessary to its mills.

The myths that make white people good, if sometimes mistaken, and the black people bad, at least until they prove otherwise, contribute to the economic divide, the technological divide, and outright murder. The myopic focus on one date, and the deliberate exclusion of preceding events, is a big mistake. That is what 1619 means to me.

My brother and I took DNA tests in 2014, and my genealogy expert explained that the name “John W. Arick” on my profile almost certainly meant that the man I thought was my grandfather, was not. Indeed, my grandmother Frances had gotten pregnant outside her marriage, for reasons that went to her grave with her.

I found my Auntie M on the internet, and sent her an introductory e-mail. She strenuously denied that her father could be my grandfather, and said she would get back to me to prove the DNA test was wrong. I haven’t heard from her since. I later found out John may have had some indication from Frances that her son was his, because a book about our family included Auntie M. and her grandfather, but omitted John’s name.

I also found two new cousins, one of whom was looking for his father, Uncle T (on my father’s side). When he finally reached his bio-dad, Uncle T. completely denied his fatherhood, despite DNA evidence. I suspect this was also a rehearsed denial, because it was so immediate, so fierce, and so final.

I understand that people in their late 70s or late 60s may not welcome such news. They have arranged their lives in a certain way and they just want to continue to believe in their illusions. So don’t be surprised if it happens to you.

My new book, Born as Prey, will be published via Kindle Select and will go live on June 30, 2018.

Due to ignorance, naivete and stubborn pride, my parents produced me into a violent, child molesting, child pimping family. I did not escape being attacked, and split off at the age of three. I am now in my third year of recovery. It has been very difficult but I hope the future will be better.

I have published on Kindle Select so that most people, especially seniors, will be able to read it. I hope it will help others deal with similar problems.

Russell McLendon at Mother Nature Network has finally, sort of admitted that “ok” came from the Mandingo language, spelled o-ke. McLendon tried to cover all bases by claiming a 175-year history for [white] “ok,” and including “och aye” (Scottish), “oikea” (Finnish) and “ola kala” (Greek).

Can we all just get along, o-ke?