The Space Traders

Last updated

"The Space Traders" is a science fiction short story by Derrick Bell. It was originally published in 1992 in the year of the Columbus Quincentenary, and republished in the year of its setting in the 2000 edition of Dark Matter .

Contents

The story was adapted for television in 1994 as part of the anthology Cosmic Slop .

Plot summary

On January 1, 2000, extraterrestrials arrive on Earth and offer the United States gold, safe nuclear power, and other technological advances in exchange for all of its Black citizens. They require a decision by January 17, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Gleason Golightly, a prominent Black conservative, participates in the cabinet's discussion of the proposed trade. Golightly, ordinarily an "Uncle Tom" on racial matters, is adamantly against the trade for moral reasons. The completely White cabinet discounts his moral objections because they believe the trade will fix the United States' practical environmental and economic problems.

Later, Golightly attends a meeting of Black community members. He suggests that if Black people pretend that they are getting the best part of the deal, White people will oppose it out of envy and claim reverse discrimination. A black preacher responds that Golightly's understanding of White psychology has merit, but he cannot go along with such a cynical ploy, and the group votes instead for boycotts and protests.

A prominent group of American Jews forms the "Anne Frank Committee," intending to smuggle Blacks out of the country before the trade. The FBI publishes the names of the Committee's members and they are forced into hiding themselves.

A Constitutional amendment is proposed, authorizing Congress to induce Blacks into "special service," with language modeled on the WWI Selective Service Act. State referendums on the amendment are scheduled. The Supreme Court rejects several legal challenges to the referendum process, citing as precedent the majority opinion in Giles v. Harris (1903). White televangelists line up in favor of the trade, while businesses dependent on racial exploitation oppose it.

On the final day, the constitutional referendum is held. The trade is approved by a 70/30 margin. The Black population of the United States (including Golightly himself) are rounded up by the military and sent into the extraterrestrials' ships. The ships are emptied of the promised gold, minerals and machinery, and then filled with 20 million Black men, women, and children - stripped down to a single undergarment and bound by thin chains.

Television adaptation

The story was adapted for television in 1994 by director Reginald Hudlin and writer Trey Ellis as part of the HBO made-for-TV anthology film Cosmic Slop . Robert Guillaume starred as Golightly and Ronald Reagan impersonator Jay Koch played the space trader spokesman, described in the story as sounding like Reagan. [1]

In the adaptation, there is a shorter five day deadline for the trade offer, and it is conducted by phone vote. The ending shows the black population departing via a beam of light with only one carry-on bag. In this version, Golightly's wife attempts to leave with her family, but is forced to stay by the military as she is light-skinned.

Criticism and controversy

Judge Alex Kozinski has criticized the story as being a sign of how Bell's philosophy precludes discourse, citing the example of how in the story, American Jews would only help Black people out of a desire not to be the lowest social group in the US. [2]

In the run-up to the 2012 U.S. presidential election, the story became a vehicle for political controversy. In The Atlantic , Conor Friedersdorf replied, arguing that the story's critics "would do well to acknowledge that for many decades of American history, including years during Professor Bell's life, a majority of Americans would have voted in favor of trading blacks for fantastic wealth, unlimited energy, and an end to pollutants." [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution</span> 1870 amendment prohibiting denial of voting rights on the basis of race

The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government and each state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." It was ratified on February 3, 1870, as the third and last of the Reconstruction Amendments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution</span> 1967 amendment enumerating presidential succession

The Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution deals with presidential succession and disability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Party (South Africa)</span> 1914–1997 political party known for implementing apartheid

The National Party, also known as the Nationalist Party, was a political party in South Africa from 1914 to 1997, which was responsible for the implementation of apartheid rule. The party was an Afrikaner ethnic nationalist party, which initially promoted the interests of Afrikaners but later became a stalwart promoter and enactor of white supremacy, for which it is best known. It first became the governing party of the country in 1924. It merged with its rival, the SAP, during the Great Depression, and a splinter faction became the official opposition during World War II and returned to power. With the National Party governing South Africa from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994, the country for the bulk of this time was only a de jure or partial democracy, as from 1958 onwards non-white people were barred from voting. In 1990, it began to style itself as simply a South African civic nationalist party, and after the fall of apartheid in 1994, attempted to become a moderate conservative one. The party's reputation was damaged irreparably by perpetrating apartheid, and it rebranded itself as the New National Party in 1997 before eventually dissolving in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frances Ellen Watkins Harper</span> African-American author and activist

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was an American abolitionist, suffragist, poet, temperance activist, teacher, public speaker, and writer. Beginning in 1845, she was one of the first African American women to be published in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1967 Australian referendum (Aboriginals)</span> 1967 constitutional referendum on the legal status of Indigenous Australians

The second question of the 1967 Australian referendum of 27 May 1967, called by the Holt government, related to Indigenous Australians. Voters were asked whether to give the Commonwealth Parliament the power to make special laws for Indigenous Australians in states, and whether Indigenous Australians should be included in official population counts for constitutional purposes. The term "the Aboriginal Race" was used in the question.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reginald Hudlin</span> American filmmaker

Reginald Alan Hudlin is an American film screenwriter, director, producer, and comic-book writer. Along with his older brother Warrington Hudlin, he is known as one of the Hudlin Brothers. From 2005 to 2008, Hudlin was President of Entertainment for Black Entertainment Television (BET). Hudlin has also written numerous graphic novels. He co-produced the 88th Academy Awards ceremony in 2016 as well as other TV specials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1964 California Proposition 14</span> 1964 California ballot proposition

California Proposition 14 was a November 1964 initiative ballot measure that amended the California state constitution to nullify the 1963 Rumford Fair Housing Act, thereby allowing property sellers, landlords and their agents to openly discriminate on ethnic grounds when selling or letting accommodations, as they had been permitted to before 1963. The proposition became law after receiving support from 65% of voters. In 1966, the California Supreme Court in a 5–2 split decision declared Proposition 14 unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that decision in 1967 in Reitman v. Mulkey.

The Constitution of the Maldives is the supreme law of the country of Maldives. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the Republic of Maldives, sets out the rights and duties of the citizens of the Maldives, and defines the structure of the Government of the Maldives. The current Constitution of the Maldives was ratified by the then president, Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom, on 7 August 2008, and came into effect immediately, replacing and repealing the Constitution of 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derrick Bell</span> American lawyer, professor, and civil rights activist

Derrick Albert Bell Jr. was an American lawyer, legal scholar, and civil rights activist. Bell first worked for the U.S. Justice Department, then the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, where he supervised over 300 school desegregation cases in Mississippi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1983 South African constitutional referendum</span>

A referendum on a new constitution was held in South Africa on 2 November 1983 in which the white population was given the opportunity to approve or reject the Constitution of 1983. This constitution introduced the Tricameral Parliament, in which Coloured and Indian South Africans would be represented in separate parliamentary chambers, while black Africans, who were the majority of South Africa's population, would remain unrepresented. The referendum passed with 66.3% of voters voting "Yes"; consequently the new constitution came into force on 3 September 1984.

<i>Shaw v. Reno</i> 1993 US Supreme Court gerrymandering case

Shaw v. Reno, 509 U.S. 630 (1993), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in the area of redistricting and racial gerrymandering. After the 1990 census, North Carolina qualified to have a 12th district and drew it in a distinct snake-like manner in order to create a "majority-minority" Black district. From there, Ruth O. Shaw sued to challenge this proposed plan with the argument that this 12th district was unconstitutional and violated the Fourteenth Amendment under the clause of equal protection. In contrast, Reno, the Attorney General, argued that the district would allow for minority groups to have a voice in elections. In the decision, the court ruled in a 5–4 majority that redistricting based on race must be held to a standard of strict scrutiny under the equal protection clause and on the basis that it violated the Fourteenth Amendment because it was drawn solely based on race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1963 Brazilian constitutional referendum</span>

A constitutional referendum was held in Brazil on 6 January 1963 to determine the country's form of government. Voters were asked whether they approved of a constitutional amendment made in 1961 that transferred many of the president's powers to the National Congress. The changes were rejected by the majority of voters, resulting in the choice of presidentialism, the end of the Parliamentary Republic established in 1961 and the restoration of the full powers of president João Goulart, also sworn in in 1961. The referendum's original date was April 1965, but it was brought forward.

Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Previously, he was the 33rd governor of California from 1967 to 1975 and acted in Hollywood films from 1937 to 1964, the same year he energized the American conservative movement. Reagan's basic foreign policy was to equal and surpass the Soviet Union in military strength, and put it on the road to what he called "the ash heap of history". By 1985, he began to cooperate closely with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, whom he became friends and negotiated large-scale disarmament projects with. The Cold War was fading away and suddenly ended as the Soviets lost control of Eastern Europe almost overnight in October 1989, nine months after Reagan was replaced in the White House by his vice president, George H. W. Bush, who was following Reagan's policies. The dissolution of the Soviet Union took place in December 1991. In terms of the Reagan Doctrine, he promoted military, financial, and diplomatic support for anti-communist insurgencies in Afghanistan, Nicaragua, and numerous other countries. For the most part, local communist power collapsed when the Soviet Union collapsed.

Black suffrage refers to black people's right to vote and has long been an issue in countries established under conditions of black minorities as well as, in some cases black majorities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1982 Sri Lankan national referendum</span>

The 1982 Sri Lankan national referendum took place on December 22, 1982, giving the people of Sri Lanka the option to extend the life of parliament by 6 years. It was the first and so far only national referendum to be held in Sri Lanka. The referendum was called for by President J. R. Jayawardene, who had been elected to a fresh six-year term as President in October 1982. With the life of the current parliament due to expire in August 1983, Jayawardene faced the possibility of his ruling United National Party losing its massive supermajority in parliament if regular general elections were held. He therefore proposed a referendum to extend the life of parliament, with its constituents unchanged, thereby permitting the United National Party to maintain its two-thirds parliamentary majority.

Hunter v. Underwood, 471 U.S. 222 (1985), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously invalidated the criminal disenfranchisement provision of § 182 of the Alabama Constitution as a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-miscegenation laws in the United States</span> Laws against interracial marriage

In the United States, anti-miscegenation laws were passed by most states to prohibit interracial marriage, and in some cases also prohibit interracial sexual relations. Some such laws predate the establishment of the United States, some dating to the later 17th or early 18th century, a century or more after the complete racialization of slavery. Nine states never enacted such laws; 25 states had repealed their laws by 1967, when the United States Supreme Court ruled in Loving v. Virginia that such laws were unconstitutional in the remaining 16 states. The term miscegenation was first used in 1863, during the American Civil War, by journalists to discredit the abolitionist movement by stirring up debate over the prospect of interracial marriage after the abolition of slavery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dallas Equal Suffrage Association</span>

The Dallas Equal Suffrage Association (DESA) was an organization formed in Dallas, Texas in 1913 to support the cause of women's suffrage in Texas. DESA was different from many other suffrage organizations in the United States in that it adopted a campaign which matched the social expectations of Dallas at the time. Members of DESA were very aware of the risk of having women's suffrage "dismissed as 'unladylike' and generally disreputable." DESA "took care to project an appropriate public image." Many members used their status as mothers in order to tie together the ideas of motherhood and suffrage in the minds of voters. The second president of DESA, Erwin Armstrong, also affirmed that women were not trying to be unfeminine, stating at an address at a 1914 Suffrage convention that "women are in no way trying to usurp the powers of men, or by any means striving to wrench from man the divine right to rule." The organization also helped smaller, nearby towns to create their own suffrage campaigns. DESA was primarily committed to securing the vote for white women, deliberately ignoring African American women in the process. Their defense of ignoring black voters was justified by having a policy of working towards "only one social reform at a time."

"The Space Clause" is a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the magazine If: Worlds of Science Fiction for September, 1952. It first appeared in book form in the collection Sprague de Camp's New Anthology of Science Fiction, and afterwards appeared in the later collection Footprints on Sand.

<i>Cosmic Slop</i> (film) 1994 anthology television film

Cosmic Slop is a 1994 American anthology television film created by Reginald Hudlin, who executive produced with his brother Warrington Hudlin. The film is hosted by musician and Parliament-Funkadelic frontman George Clinton, and derives its title from the 1973 album and song of the same name by Clinton and Funkadelic.

References

  1. Cosmic Slop (1994) entry on IMDB.com
  2. Kozinski, Alex (November 2, 1997). "Bending the Law". The New York Times . Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  3. Friedersdorf, Conor (8 March 2012). "The Sci-Fi Story That Offends Oversensitive White Conservatives". The Atlantic. Retrieved 17 March 2012.