The Reason is Obvious.
Slavery is an abomination to equality and freedom to every human soul under the stars of heaven. When a person is taken into bondage, sold, beaten, and treated as property, God, the creator, is slapped in the face.
The creator never intended for human beings to be captured, purchased, held against their will, and deprived of human rights and equality.
Nevertheless, some people don’t understand the barbaric institution of slavery and its ongoing impact on the African American community.
Recently, the Florida Board of Education passed down an appalling idea of how American Slavery should be taught to students. The intention is to convince students that slavery has its advantages when it comes to skill development
The belief is that, if our ancestors hadn’t gone through slavery, black people couldn’t have acquired the skills contributing to their benefit.
However, such approach is a blow to the apology and compensation that black people had hoped to receive from the American government.
Instead of condemning the institution of slavery, this approach attempts to justify it.
Reasons Why Slavery is Unjustifiable.
The Essence of Slavery
The essence of slavery is owning and exploiting other humans. No group or individual who desires to oppress their fellow human beings can have any moral or ethical tendency within them. What about the rights inherent to all human beings, irrespective of nationality, residence, gender, ethnicity, color, religion, language, or status?
The Transatlantic Slave Trade was a direct violation of civil rights. Therefore, the very people who enslaved their fellow humans’ beings became beasts and monsters. They were brutal and notorious in heart, mind, and soul.
The Physical and Emotional Toll
The physical and emotional toll that slaves endured was horrendous. The International TV Saga Roots, over several decades ago, introduced the world to the nature of brutality African Americans endured in captivity. The backs of black men and women were beaten raw, families were torn without warning, men watched in horror as their wives were being violated before their very eyes. Slaves were forced to work long and terrible hours, from sunrise to sundown, sometimes with very little food and water, resulting in faintness and overwhelming agony.
The trauma of the tortured slave souls has impacted their descendants in the most negative ways. Today, the African American experience is shattered by a sense of low self-esteem, self-worth, and self-identity.
The Risk of Rewriting History
When it comes to slavery, we must not seek to rewrite history. The lessons learned would be lost and the chance of repeating the same things over again would be enhanced. The slave trade and its effects must be upheld to the highest degree.
It must be taught to students exactly the way it happened to avoid misconceptions. Only then can we, as a nation, discover legitimate policies to rid ourselves of slavery once and for all.
Slavery Role in Shaping Society
On the backs of slaves were built some of the most prosperous societies. The blook, sweat, and tears of the American slaves were the foundation for the success of the southern white society. For Southerners Wealth and power meant slavery, harsh slavery.
White slaveholders enjoyed luxurious lifestyles while their black slaves were forced into a continual dependency on a system which took away black vision and initiative
Because of slave labor, white owners could compete with the industrial north. However, once slavery was abolished, the south suffered a serious blow in terms of its economy.
Echoes of the Past in Today’s Inequalities
The impact of slavery reverberates across societies globally. Discrimination, prejudice, and systematic racism have their roots in the age-old belief that some races are superior to others, an idea propagated and fortified by the institution of slavery.
By trying to justify or minimize slavery, one inadvertently supports these harmful ideologies that still manifest today in various forms of inequality and injustice.
Slavery, in all its forms, was and remains an egregious violation of human rights. Efforts to justify it not only betray a lack of understanding and comparison but also perpetuate harmful beliefs that continue to affect societies today.
Students shouldn’t be deceived into believing that some form of good has emerged out of the institution of holding men and women in bondage for nearly 246 years.
However, to move forward and create a world built on true equality and respect, it’s crucial to unequivocally condemn such institutions and their defense. This is the only way to eliminate the guilt passed down through generations. Taking responsibility and condemning this horrendous period in American history is the only way to the healing, happiness, and wholeness of a nation.
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