"The stories of men and women for whom oppression triggered resilience and success have been redacted from politically correct, grievance-based histories such as The #1619Project..." @bobwoodson writes in @wsj #OpEd 1/11
"The mission of @WoodsonCenter and @1776Unites is to rescue those inspiring examples of achievement against the odds—both historical and current..." 2/
"If you asked young black students today who the Golden 13 were, few would be able to identify the group of determined African-American servicemen who won a noble victory in an era in which blacks were prohibited from becoming naval officers..." 3/
"At the insistence of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, a crop of 16 college-educated black cadets were chosen for line-officer training in 1944. To ensure their failure, the normal training period of 16 weeks was reduced to eight weeks for the black cadets..." 4/
"When they realized that someone in the Navy wanted them to wash out, the cadets covered up the windows of their barracks and studied all night. When they were tested, the entire group passed with high marks..." 5/
"Disbelief in the chain of command that an all-black cadet class could achieve higher scores than an all-white one meant that the black sailors had to suffer the indignity of retaking their tests. Again, all 16 passed, but the Navy offered commissions to only 13..." 6/
"This grit & determination to succeed has been repeated over & over again. You can find it the bestselling book& award-winning movie “Hidden Figures”-the story of 3 black female mathematicians who played a critical role in John Glenn’s 1962 mission to orbit earth.."7/
"Those who attribute all failure of blacks in America—academic, occupational and even moral—to an all-purpose invisible villain of “institutional racism” are betraying those they purport to represent..." 8/
"Those who shake their fists and proclaim that a change in white America is a prerequisite for black achievement are embracing a version of white supremacy..." 9/
"This debilitating dynamic is exacerbated by the guilt among white liberals, who approach the black community with a combination of pity, patronage and pandering. Black Americans must refuse to surrender to incompetence, self-devaluation and self-marginalization..."10/
"Every day at my office, I pass a photo of a group of slaves from 1861. It's titled “Strength”& features the quotation: “The strongest people in the world are not those most protected: They are the ones who must struggle against adversity & obstacles & surmount them to survive.”
