To the mountaintop and back down again. We all know that the Emancipation Proclamation of 1865 freed millions of slaves. But then it took almost 100 years before anything notable was done to address the cultural, economic, and psychological impact of the institution of slavery.
Pressure from the civil rights movement of the 50’s and 60’s led to the passing of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, in 1964 and 1965. It would be another half century before the SCALE Act is passed in 2023. I will detail the provisions of the SCALE Act in another post. Just know that it will be huge, effectively closing existing economic and societal gaps between the races.
After 2023, the underrepresented in America became more represented in all the right ways. Many others, though, were not happy that gaps that existed for centuries were being closed. To them, it was a loss of privilege. That resentment led to sweeping changes in voting rights, making millions of Black and brown people ineligible. In 2028, the newly elected leaders immediately repealed the SCALE Act, and then passed the most damning law ever written, the Workfare Act, in 2029.
Can the country recover?