Trump has finally figured out that Black Lives Matter.

[Baitball Blogger]

So, I hear that he feels the US has skin in the Panama Canal because we lost 38,000 lives in the building of the Canal 110 years ago.
Reference: https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=19850140


But, I bet Trump doesn't know that the workforce that built the Canal were primarily Afro-Carribean. Anglo-Americans were not hired to do the heavy work.

"The majority of the labor to dig the Panama Canal came from the West Indies, particularly from islands like Barbados, Jamaica, Grenada, Martinique, and Trinidad; these workers were primarily Afro-Caribbean laborers seeking better employment opportunities in the region."

[marybourg]

1. My late father in law was a wheelwright building the Canal. He pitched in shoveling, however,

when necessary. We just passed his shovel on to a younger family member of another Canal builder. They were made to last!

[Baitball Blogger]

2. There is definitely a sense of pride with anyone who was part of that feat.

For Trump to come in and try to co-opt their efforts for nefarious reasons, well, I am going to guess that Trump has just created another situation that will turn him into the laughing stock of the world.

[tikka]

3. Yellow fever and malaria reeked havoc on workers

Using the same rational as using African slaves in the South, they were hoping they would have better immunity to these diseases.

[kimbutgar]

4. Except there's a little thing call the truth and history

?si=0olHTYkkBXR1eKss

[Baitball Blogger]

5. Trump is not going to likey this.

Evidence of segregation, preferential treatment for Americans at the cost of non-Americans.

The American portion of it begins around 11:00. It's late and I stopped at the point where they talked about rationing the quinine, with Americans drinking out of the gold cup and non-Americans out of the silver cup.

[Marcuse]

6. And there is a very little thing called Republican integrity.

[brush]

7. There's a bit more to it. The Black Caribbean workers were paid on the silver standard and their housing, medical care..

food etc. was of a lower tier of that of the white workers who were paid substantially better on the gold standard. Of course their housing, medical care, food etc. was of better quality than those paid on the silver standard.

Such situations were typical of the exportation of racist norms by Americans. Nothing unusual about it at all.

This was nosrmal to the Roosevelt admin of the time. TR of course knew of the standards.

[Baitball Blogger]

9. The video from post 4 talks about the gold vs silver standard.

Trump just stepped into a pile of his own elephant dung, because his historical ignorance is going to haunt him. Now is the time for the media to seize the moment and show why Trump hated fact-checking at his debates.

[malaise]

8. Great OP

Rec

[Dem4life1234]

10. Not surprising

Black people have done the heavy lifting in the Americas

[Dem4life1234]

11. Another thing I have noticed about him

He has issues with black foreigners. Even Rethug politicians of the past has no issues with black foreigners because they saw that they work hard and contribute to the fabric of America.

He has tried to pit Black Americans (Americans Descendants of Slavery) against the Black immigrants. Thankfully the Black Americans didn't fall for the bullshit.

He thrives on creating divisions.