Remnants of Slavery

Slavery is arguably the darkest chapter in American history. To be honest one of my ancestors owned over a hundred slaves. I felt guilty about this for years, and maybe in some way still do, but I’m not my ancestor. Unfortunately there are elements in modern society that either is slavery or are remnants of slavery, or promote that slavery or the remnants.

I was watching the news a few months ago and they were interviewing a young black man that lived in a dangerous community. He was a pretty typical youth and he was talking about what he was doing to avoid gang life. He said something very poignant. He said that gang life is just like slavery because you have to do whatever the gang leader says to do. If you don’t do what the gang leader says you can be beaten or killed. There are other parallels to slavery in gang life including drug dealing. Most of the gang members involved in the drug trade make below minimum wage and have to work when they are told. You can read about this in the book “Freakonomics.”

I began thinking about other aspects of modern society that have parallels to slavery. One such thing is pimping. Pimps are basically slave owners. They get their hos and tell them when to work, how much to charge, who to sleep with, remove them from their friends and families, and take away their identification including driver’s licenses and credit cards. That sounds a lot like slavery to me.

So remember that:

Gang leaders = slave masters
Pimps = slave masters

There are other aspects of modern society that are remnants of slavery. If you have seen the movie “Antwone Fisher (http://antwonefisher.net/)” you know what I am talking about. That is based on the true story of Antwone Fisher who was an orphan raised by the State and was verbally, sexually, and physically abused growing up in foster care. In the movie his psychiatrist says that his abuse is a direct result of slavery. The woman who beat him unconscious learned that from her family that learned it from the slave masters that beat them.

It is a shame that in 21^st century America that gang banging, pimping, and even child abuse are celebrated in some circles, even in the black community. These celebrations include gangsta rap, songs like “P.I.M.P.” by 50 Cent, and stand-up comedians joking about beating their kids senseless.

There are other elements in society that are a possible result of slavery, although most are not celebrated. These things include illiteracy, child molestation, and medical problems. Illiteracy is still a major problem in the black community and the problem has been passed down throughout the generations. Fantasia, the winner on American Idol, declared that she was illiterate and said that it was a trend in her family. Antwone Fisher was also molested as a child. Slave masters raped and molested their slaves and it is conceivable that those slaves became victimizers themselves. Heart disease is a major problem in the black community. During the passage from Africa to America the slaves with the highest blood pressure were the most likely to live.

I really don’t know how to solve all these problems, but I do know that America needs honest debate about it. Many feel slave reparations are a good idea. I am personally against slave reparations. Mainly I’m just afraid I’m going to get rich one day and then people will be asking me for money. But anyway, the problems facing America, specifically the black community, will take more effort than just giving away money, although slave reparations should be considered.