Reply 2 American Slavery (DISCUSSION) ETHN 114 AO

Growing up, our school’s education system wasn’t as detailed about slave history as they are now. When I was younger I remember how much they emphasized white colonization and how America was “discovered”. It was only until I got to High school and learned about the severity of slavery and how it affects Black lives today. Ever since learning about these historical events about Black people, my understanding of America has always been skewed. America was always known as “The Land of The Free”, but it is certainly far from that. After learning from this module, my understanding of Black History is much more enhanced and only made my viewpoint on America, a work in progress.

After watching The Slave Narratives, the severity of these historical events was definitely diluted and downplayed when I was in school. Hearing about how these humans get whipped for just simply trying to live is a difficult pill to swallow and is a tougher pill for Black people. Watching this documentary gave me more insight into each individual who has faced this abuse and how their lives are greatly affected by it.

From this HBO documentary, one of the first quotes stated by James Green, Volume 16 in Texas, says “My mammy said alright Jim you be a good boy. That’s the last time I ever heard her speak of ever see her”. I chose one of the first quotes because I feel like this perfectly encapsulates how these people were stripped from freedom and their families. Not even getting a proper goodbye and not even knowing that was the last time he would see his mom, he had to comply to orders otherwise he would be a deadman. Another gruesome quote used in the documentary states “they lay you flat on the ground, on your face, and they stake you, take every rag off of you and leave you plumb naked, and they whip you till your blood come.” Hearing the severity of how poorly these people were treated makes you question a lot of America’s beliefs and how society tries to cover up the past.

Another quote from the HBO documentary described how the white people made slaves clean up the dead bodies once they were finished with them. After brutally beating these people to death, they forced other slaves to take care of the dead bodies and make sure they do so in an efficient and quick manner so they can get back to work. This just shows how unjust and demonic these acts were. Around 48-50 minutes of the video, they pan over to a list of slave names and their qualities at an auction. Watching the list of names, stating how Mary Ann is smart and how Fanny is a good cook is devastating to watch. All of these people have such great potential and qualities, but due to the color of their skin, freedom is not a factor for them. Overall, watching this documentary gave me so much insight and knowledge on how inhumane these people were treated. Even though society now has come very far, Black people still face a lot of prejudice and discrimination.

• Reply to post from Amer DendoReply

From 6th grade till now, education on slavery from what I learned has not changed much but there is a lot more awareness surrounding the topic. In most schools, we know about what slavery was, how it started, etc. The things we do not learn are how much it impacted society today and the brutal reality of slavery. Upon reading the 1619 articles as well as the videos in the module, it shows how much the topic is shut down and often avoided altogether. I find it sad that government officials try to hide the truth behind America’s past because it is important to address how it affects racial situations now.

In the 1619 podcast, Nikole begins her speech with how she is ashamed to be an American because of the racist past that is often ignored or minimized. Her research begins with Congress adopting the Declaration of Independence despite the fact slavery was still happening in America in 1776. According to Nikole’s research, Thomas Jefferson wouldn’t even uphold the right of the declaration of independence for his own family members. This shows the hypocrisy of America’s document of liberty and freedom. They made a constitution that Nikole believes, “eradicates its own principles”. Jefferson and others in congress wanted to make America their own twisted version of what “freedom and democracy” was. They wanted to create a nation that was free for all people except Black Americans. Jefferson even goes to the extent and believes that White Americans were the ones enslaved by England without regard for those they had enslaved. This part of the podcast educated me on how much injustice and hypocrisy there was in America and how much devastation it brought to Black Americans.

Nikole made a statement about president Lincoln that greatly stood out to me. She believed that everyone perceived Lincoln as the great emancipator and believed slavery was “cruel and unjust” and an “opposition to this nation’s ideals”. Although this is true, he also wanted Black Americans to move from America so they are able to live “freely”. Furthermore, Lincoln even argues that Black Americans are the reason for the civil war. In response to this, Black Abolitionists testified that “this is our home, this is our country, this is the home of our fathers, where we were born and here we will die”. This testimony stood out to me because it showed that despite how poorly and brutally Black Americans were treated, they wanted to stay in America and fight for their rights rather than accept the injustice. This part of the podcast, showed me also how America tends to belittle the emotional and physical trauma that occurred. Lincoln tries to deflect the problems of America’s democracy onto Black people which is still an issue that happens today.

Even after Reconstruction and the creation of the 13-15th Amendments, there were still flaws to the democratic system regarding civil rights for people of color. Nikole agreed that it was a leap towards freedom for Black Americans since they would be seen as equal and had the right to vote. On the contrary, Nikole also understood that this did not completely abolish racism or hate crimes as most would hope for. In this part of the podcast, a story about Issac Woodard Jr is told that shows the brutal reality of how racism prevailed even with civil laws in place. Woodard was a military officer on the bus after being discharged after three years of serving. After wanting to use the restroom and returning to the bus, Woodard is then beaten by several officers who would then proceed with this until he was blind and then would jail him. This brutality is what was supposed to represent America in a democratic and civil light when in reality it is the opposite. This further educated me on how America’s democracy is a rather contradicted ideal than what it projects itself to be. In addition, Nikole argues that Black Americans are the real progressors of true American democracy. This would then help Nikole transition her shame of being an American to pride instead. Overall, Nikole’s 1619 podcast has helped me better understand the truth behind America’s history of slavery from how it affected Black Americans as well as the brutal process they had to go through in order to have a proper democracy.