The Dangers of Minstrel Diplomacy

By Dr. Wilmer J. Leon, III “When you control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his actions…He will find his own “proper place” and will stay in it…You do not need to send him to the back door.  He will go without being told.  In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one for his special benefit.  His education makes it necessary.” Carter G. Woodson, The Mis-Education of the Negro There have been defining times in history-moments, epochs and periods that are typically marked by notable events or particular characteristics that have changed the world forever.Nicolaus Copernicus’ publication ofOn the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres in 1543, postulating the model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than Earth at its center was such a moment. The Industrial Revolution (1760 – 1840), was a defining period in the methods and processes of global production that transitioned most of the world away from hand production, towards more efficient and stable mechanical manufacturing processes. In 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I, the earth’s first artificial satellite, launching the “space race” that led to America landing the first humans on the moon in...