Poli-logy: Forgetting About Slavery
The enslavement of African Americans was a great tragedy in America’s political history. However, African Americans cannot use slavery as an excuse for not being productive in our present day and time. Blacks must stop using slavery as an excuse for many of the political, economic, and social ills that we encounter on a daily basis. On the other hand, African Americans must never forget the historical legacy of slavery and the impact that it has had in developing the black experience. African Americans must look back at slavery, as a period in our lives, which has caused us to be a stronger and better people and not something that we use as an excuse for not being productive being in our society. Now for all non-blacks, who are always telling African Americans to forget about slavery, because it is something that happened in the past, such individuals need to sit down and shut the hell up, because they do not qualify to tell blacks to forget about slavery, no more than I qualify to talk about marriage, since I have never been married before. No individuals, who are not black, have the right to tell African Americans to forget about slavery unless they are Ph.D Social Scientists, who have systematically studied the slave experience in both North and South America and still many of them might be suspect. After All, one would not tell the Jews to forget about the Holocaust, which lasted about 12 years. Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany around 1933, and his reign ended in 1945. There are Holocaust museums all across America and by the year 2000, seven stated passed laws requiring students to study the Holocaust in public schools. The Holocaust lasted only about 12 years, and this great atrocity has been embedded in the heart of America’s political culture. But yet, African Americans suffered from 400 years of slavery, political oppression, economic exploitation, and social deprivation, and we have non-blacks, telling us to forget it. The same folks who are always telling blacks to forget about slavery, they would not dare tell the Irish to forget about St. Patrick’s Day, or the Jews to forget about Hanukkah. The same folks who are always telling blacks to forget about slavery, would not tell Hispanics to forget about Cinco de Mayo. In fact, several of the folks who are always suggesting that African Americans should forget about slavery, are the descendants of those who put blacks into slavery, and, do not think for one moment, that they have any remorse for it, because they don’t. There are six major periods that blacks must never forget in America’s political history, because each one of these major events left a trademark on black culture and history. They are slavery, the Reconstruction Era, the Harlem Renaissance, the New Deal, the Civil Rights Movement, and Barack Obama’s triumph to the U.S. Presidency. These six major periods, caused blacks to go through a serious metamorphosis or transformation, politically, economically, and socially, by taking the black experience to a different level and a new height, which not only benefited many in the African American community, but Americans at large.
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Tags: Prejudice Attitudes
This entry was posted on Monday, February 14th, 2011 at 7:11 pm and is filed under Politics And Race Relations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Salvery is a huge part of history! There is no reason we should forget about that history. This history needs to be taught to the future of America to educate them and make them aware of what people went through being a slave vs today’s life. Gives you a much morre concious appreciation of the freedom we have today; which for the most part we take for grated. Simple things like having your own opion, getting the oppurtunity to attend school to be educated. Having the chioce to study and work in the field that you desire for the simple face that you have the right to. There is a lot of people that dont know what it is to get up on daily basis and have a routine of going to school, work or both. Its very easy for them to come up with an exuse as to why they are not and blame others. A lot of people depend on there unempoyment check and other goverment funds to make a living which is VERY SAD! If you can do for your own and dont have a disabilty there no reason to live off of these funds. Every race should be able to celebrate whatever holidays they want as long as no harm is done.
MW 7:05 Mary G
Slavery is a major part of African American history. I wouldn’t necessarily say that we should forget about slavery but we should definitely leave it in the past. I feel that every adult is responsible for his or her own actions. We should no longer be using slavery as an excuse for anything. Yes, it is apart of history that African Americans can look back on and have ill feelings about but this era only made them stronger and those who survived this time in history should be educating this generation. They should be encouraging to do more in life and not use slavery as a crutch.
MW 7;05p.m
The topic of forgetting slavery has been said many times. I’ve heard people say it before that weren’t black. I wonder why people say that we should forget about slavery. Maybe its because black people still use this as an excuse for EVERYTHING. The “race card” is always thrown around. I’ve heard it so many times. I was in military police while in the military and I’ve been told, “Why don’t you pull over white people?” Are you serious… you think that I’m looking through your tented windows to make sure I’m only pulling over black people? Enough of the race card people. And you don’t have to be black to say that. I don’t have to be black to say, “forget about slavery.” It’s usually said after a black person says “It’s cause I’m black.” It’s annoying to hear black people say “We got a black President now! Things are going to change.” You expect me to not take offense to that? We’ll see what people say when I say: “We got a white President again. Things are going to change.” The reason people say we should forget about slavery is because they are tired of hearing black people use the race card. Enough is enough… You’re here, I’m here. Let’s get along!
I agree that non-blacks do not have the right to conclude that blacks should forget about slavery. No one should deny the history of his ancestors. Slavery was generations ago but its’ impact does carry over and has an indirect effect on the lives we live today. The inequity that is dealt with today is deeply rooted in slavery. Though blacks need not hold onto slavery as continued oppression, we should never forget the plight of our ancestors.
GOV 2302 T 7:05
You have the monopoly on useful ifonmratoin-aren’t monopolies illegal?