Two Nations—White and Black

Abstract

Two nations; between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are as ignorant of each other's habits, thoughts, and feelings, as if they were dwellers in different zones, or inhabitants of different planets; who are formed by a different breeding, are fed by a different food, are ordered by different manners, and are not governed by the same laws ...The Rich And The Poor. -B. Disraeli, Sybil, Or The Two Nations, 1845. What Disraeli wrote of England over a century ago applies with equal truth to the United States today. We, too, have our "two nations," our very rich and our miserably poor; but with us the figure takes on added meaning in the relative position of our white people and our black people. When such a comparison is made, the whites are the rich and the blacks are the poor.

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