Thank you for spending the time necessary to read this.
When I started college, the Civil Rights Movement had opened the door to history never taught before in our country. In African American studies we covered the American Eugenics Movement. However, in Hebrew Studies, we traced eugenics to its roots in the Scientific Racism movement that first emerged in Europe.
While the unusually well documented story of a young woman named Sarah Baartman (1789–1815) is very difficult reading, it provides insight into our history impossible without it. Suffice to say, Sarah Baartman’s story tells us how deeply entrenched racism was in European society during the founding of our own country.
In 1781, Thomas Jefferson tells us in his own handwriting, how deeply his views on race were informed by European society. Again, I warn you, this is very difficult reading.
What binds people together, is their common place inside the story of mankind. To know our history, is to know our choices. Speaking only for myself, I chose not to repeat the history that I came to know.
https://mason.gmu.edu/~zschrag/hist120spring05/jeffersonquery14.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Baartman#On_display_in_Europe
