In light of President Barack Obama’s emotional speech about the need for gun control in the U.S., the dominant society has displayed much (real or fake) outrage out of fear that they will be losing their firearms, but to Black society, we have seen this scenario enacted upon us time and time again.

The earliest accounts of the disarmament of Melanoid people in this country took place around when the Virginia Slave Code of 1680. The law stated that “It shall not be lawfull [sic] for any negroe [sic] or other slave to carry or arme [sic] himselfe [sic] with any club, staffe [sic], gunn [sic], sword or any other weapon of defence [sic] or offence [sic]”. Twenty-five years later, the code was revised in a more modernized form, stating the following: “no slave go armed with gun, sword, club, staff, or other weapon.”

Gun control laws on Black people became more stringent following the heralded Nat Turner Rebellion of 1831. In the eyes of the white supremacists during the 1800’s, they were hellbent on ensuring that another Nat Turner or Haitian Revolution would never happen again. There is an article published in 1993 by Clayton E. Cramer titled The Racist Roots of Gun Control. The article highlights a plethora of laws and bylaws mandated by the U.S. to keep guns out of the collective hands of Black people.

In 2011, Adam Winkler spoke about his book “Gun Fight,” and the origins of gun control, saying, according to The Wall Street Journal:

“The KKK began as a gun-control organization. Before the Civil War, blacks were never allowed to own guns. During the Civil War, blacks kept guns for the first time — either they served in the Union army and they were allowed to keep their guns, or they buy guns on the open market where for the first time there’s hundreds of thousands of guns flooding the marketplace after the war ends. So they arm up because they know who they’re dealing with in the South. White racists do things like pass laws to disarm them, but that’s not really going to work. So they form these racist posses all over the South to go out at night in large groups to terrorize blacks and take those guns away. If blacks were disarmed, they couldn’t fight back.”

Perhaps the most pivotal moment in recent history occurred in 1967 when the Black Panther Party walked into California’s state capital building carrying firearms after being well-read on their constitutional rights to do so. Frightened by the sight of the Panthers openly carrying their firearms and the thought of other Black revolutionary groups (and ordinary Black citizens alike), California governor at the time Ronald Reagan signed the Mulford Act into law. This new law prohibited citizens from publicly carrying loaded firearms, and ironically it had the full support of the NRA.

The NRA has a history of being against any laws that would place restrictions on gun ownership and the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. But they had no problem flip-flopping on their position when it came to a significant number of Black people exercising those same rights.

The concerted efforts of white supremacists to keep firearms out of the hands of Black people exposes an interesting comparison to the Late Dr. Frances Cress Welsing’s studies which highlighted the dominant society’s fear of genetic annihilation due to Black procreation–namely via the Black male genitalia–which on many levels would explain the panic (and inferiority complex) shared by white supremacists for hundreds of years.

It was reported that her transitioning occurred earlier today (Jan. 2nd), and the news of her passing sent shockwaves throughout Black Society. Today alone, her name has received the noteworthy status of becoming a trending topic on the Internet and throughout social media. While her legacy cannot be reduced to that of a hashtag, let us realize that today we here at Melanoid Nation have not forgotten her legacy as an educator, author, speaker, and embodiment of a Black woman who truly loved her people.

Her most notable work to date–The Isis Papers: The Keys To The Colors—served as a literary guide that changed the way that we as Melanoid people have to think forever. From etymology to the symbolism found in colors and shapes, Dr. Welsing cracked the code on the innerworkings of the race in America. Her work also shed light on the evil system of racism/white supremacy, and how it is utilized to keep its foot on the necks of Melanated people worldwide.

Dr. Welsing’s work was so prolific, that it was referenced in pop culture. Whether it was referenced in comedic fashion, like the famous “pool scene from the 1992 film Boomerang“, or if it was referenced with more serious overtones, such as the opening lines delivered by Tyrese Gibson in the “intro to the 2001 film Baby Boy“, there is no denying the everlasting impact that the many years of her extensive research and work has not fallen on deaf ears.

Although she was fortunate enough to reach elder status, she remained as relevant now as she was years ago…perhaps her work is even more pivotal to the education and liberation of Melanoid people now. As one of the featured speakers in the critically acclaimed Hidden Colors series, she was reintroduced to a newer, younger audience in recent years by blessing Black Society with her wealth of knowledge that enlightened yet another wave of Black minds in this new millennium.

While everyone deals with the loss of family members in their own way, we want to let it be known that in the gloomiest of hours, the work she left behind shines brilliantly through the veil of sadness and grief. Dr. Frances Cress Welsing has joined the ranks of the ancestors, and everything she’s worked for will not be taken for granted.

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