Your response is also "scripted" and unhelpful. Both those who invoke this fact to avoid responsibility, and you in throwing it back, are focused on blame, rather than solving the problem.

The fact that Africans sold other Africans into slavery should be a lesson. Divisions such as this made the slave trade possible. Slavery still exists and flourishes in this country. Racism still exists and flourishes in this country. If we are ever to make progress in addressing either, we need to learn from this history.

So far we have not done a good job of learning from history. Here in California, the anti-immigrant Proposition 187, which deepened a form of slavery for “illegal aliens” passed overwhelmingly. Two years later, the anti-affirmative action Proposition 194 also passed overwhelmingly, setting back by decades efforts to attack systemic racism. Sadly, Prop. 209 won the support of a large portion of the Latino community, while Prop. 187 received substantial support in the African-American community. These divisions helped both propositions to pass, perpetuating slavery and racism. (We will have a chance to reverse the mistake of Prop 209 on the November ballot).

These truths need to be repeated — not to lay blame, but to learn from our mistakes.