"without the expectation of receiving dividends"

Michael Harriot on the attempted summary execution by police of Jacob Blake:

"You cannot be Black in America without a sense of idealism and hope for this country. Even the most obstinately 'woke' among us must tacitly admit it. We do not trust in the common good of mankind or that the moral arc of the universe bends toward righteousness. And, because this country starts whittling the candy-coated optimism of youth down to a bitter nub from the moment a Black child emerges from the protection of the womb, most of us stopped placing our hope in the benevolence of white men long ago. There isn’t a sliver of evidence in the majestic mountains or the amber waves of grain that allows us to believe that white people will ever do what’s right.

All our lives, we had to fight.

In the last 244 years, one month and twenty-two days, no one has sacrificed their safety, well-being and their lives to perfect this union more than Black Americans. This is our shit. Not only did our ancestors build this country by investing blood and brow-sweat, but they are also the only group in our nation’s history who did this without the expectation of receiving dividends.

White men love America like birds love their wings."