Laws Weren’t Meant for All
The Constitution claimed that every person had unalienable rights. But what if that promise was only written for a few? Arthur Ripley’s Built on Lies makes this clear: America’s laws weren’t born equal. They were built to protect power, not people, especially not people of color. From the very beginning, rules were written not to serve justice, but to maintain control.
Slavery Was Made Legal
Slavery didn’t exist in the shadows. It was carved into the structure of early America. Laws were crafted to make brutality legal. Africans were not seen as people, but as property—bought, sold, and discarded. A White man could kill an enslaved person without consequence. The crime wasn’t murder—it was a loss of someone’s investment. That’s how deep the injustice ran.
Racism Was Written Into Law
The system didn’t stop at slavery. Even after it was “abolished,” new laws were created to keep Black people in bondage. The Black Codes, miscegenation laws, vagrancy arrests, and denied education were just different names for the same goal: control. Ripley explains how racism was not just a social belief—it became the law of the land.
Religion Helped Justify Oppression
It wasn’t just politicians who made this happen. Popes signed declarations that gave kings the “divine right” to enslave others. The Bull Romanus Pontifex of 1455 gave Portugal permission to conquer, plunder, and enslave African people—all in the name of Christianity. The Church didn’t stop this. It helped start it. As Ripley reveals, faith was twisted into a tool of conquest.
God’s Image Was Changed
Perhaps one of the most painful lies was how Jesus himself was portrayed. Born in the Middle East, he was a man of color. Yet, for centuries, he has been depicted as White. This was no accident—it was strategic. If God could be shown as White, then White supremacy gained spiritual weight. It became easier to oppress in the name of righteousness.
Injustice Was Systematically Designed
Even today, the law still echoes those early lies. Mass incarceration, biased policing, and unequal education are not accidents. They are the results of a system designed without fairness in mind. As Ripley points out, racism is not a wound that never healed—it’s a wound that was never treated. And untreated pain becomes policy.
Truth Can Change the System
This isn’t just about looking back. It’s about choosing what comes next. When we understand how deeply these lies shaped the systems around us, we can stop living under them. Ripley’s message is clear: the truth must not only be told—it must be honoured with action. Because when justice can finally breathe, so can the people.