African Slavery Essay

Culturally believed to be inferior that slavery had ingrained in American culture, African American’s were segregated and prejudiced against. Reparations to African Americans must do more then merely give out money as an apology for past wrongs committed. It has to be Cultural Revolution. It must seek to eliminate any beliefs of the inferiority African Americans.

The term slave is defined as a person held in servitude as the chattel of another, or one that is completely subservient to a dominating influence. The most well known cases of slavery occurred during the settling of the United States of America. From 1619 until July 1st 1928 slavery was allowed within our country.

Because of this, the most conflicting definitions will be clarified before further disclosing the complexity of this issue. For starters, defining slavery reparations is most important in this paper, for it will be a phrase interpreted from one source to another. Slavery reparations are reparations for enslavement to the descendants of the Atlantic Slave Trade, in the case of African-Americans. However, Merriam-Webster defines reparations in general as monetary or materialistic compensations for great injustice or damages sustained by the defeated nation (n/p). Following the clarity of what slavery reparations are is race- a major aspect that influences the historical proceedings of slavery reparations, as well as factors that are argued today to be impacted by race. Sarah Willie expresses the idea that race is a dynamic that is “negotiated, resisted, embraced, and performed with each interaction” (37-38). Further continuing her conclusion of race, based off of a primary survey of Black college students in the mid-20th century, she insinuates that race is a learned, if not a societally impressed, behavior that ultimately shapes the mindset, actions, goals, and self-interpretation of Black’s youth. Lastly, an innovation of individual racism, systematic racism divulges into an even larger and more complex evaluation of factors affecting and influencing slavery reparations and

The United States government should pay reparations to African Americans as a means of admitting their wrong-doing and making amends. The damages African Americans have sustained from White America’s policy of slavery have been agonizing and inhumane. Therefore, I am in favor of reparations for African Americans. The effect of slavery has been an enduring issue within the African American community. Many of us are cognizant of the harm racism brought to the African American race, conveyed through slavery, racial segregation and discrimination. African Americans suffered many atrocities, but the greatest damage done to them was the destruction of they’re original identity. African

The article, “The Case for Reparations”, presents itself with a commendable representation on how the need for reparations is essential when combined with the brutal history of slavery and progression of blacks in American Society after slavery. Ta- Nehisi Coates argues that the relationship between racial identity and reparations is based upon America’s debt to blacks for the countless years of injustice. With this he demonstrates how white supremacy has ultimately used impractical measures to maintain what they consider social stability for those who were not African American.

were on a ship and a man brings in a black woman, who was a slave. The man

Abstract: Since the Transatlantic Slave Trade, African Americans have been dependent upon those of fairer complexions to educate them about the culture and history of their own people. Unfortunately, the trip over to the Americas caused them to lose touch with several parts of their being; native tongues, culture/heritage and most of all their self-righteous. Somewhere along the way they forgot that they are creators of every major practice; from metallurgy to agriculture; practices that essentially influenced the entire world. The Transatlantic Slave Trade essentially and effectively brainwashed a group of people. It caused people of the African diaspora to lose sight of who they really are; installing negative and inferior perception of their ancestry, while also installing white superiority through their mindsets. African Americans innately depended on white people for every part of their life, even later slavery. In regards to education, African Americans depended on white Americans to build infrastructures for the education of black people. This unfortunately continued the cycle of white dependency. While African Americans thought they were enhancing their knowledge, all they were doing was becoming more equipped servants to their white

All histories are an important subject to teach in every academic levels; however, African American history is a vital part of the United States. America would not be the country she is today without the accomplishments of the slaves and founding African American scholars. Slavery brought about incredible trials and established perseverance with the African American population that future generations need to know about and learn from. History teaches us our errors and our successes; furthermore, it helps us determine our future directions. Throughout history there were countless African American leaders, Godly examples and heroes. It is the duty of all generations to teach about these men and women. There is a wealth of knowledge that all people, in all walks of life, and at all ages needs to learn. No matter what race a child is today, they need to know and understand what their ancestors went through, how they lived, more importantly what they did to not only survive but to thrive (Holt & Brown, 2000).

“When you control a man’s thinking, you do not have to worry about his actions”.(Woodson ix) After the hand of slavery, some African Americans felt that it is necessary to be educated, so they can add value to themselves and to their community through the help of education, But it was quiet unfortunate that the education they acquired was bias in multiple ways and areas. “Negros are taught to admire the Hebrew, the Greek, the Latin and the Teuton and to despise the African” ( Woodson Chapter1). Many African Americans’ today believe that they were being sold-out by their own people in back in Africa, the motherland, perhaps in actuality, most of the people that were taken away from the continent of Africa were not sold-out but forcefully taken away by the Europeans. African Americans have been miseducated in various ways such as history, literature, religion, philosophy, are all propaganda just to misdirect the African American make them look bad or seem pretty much worthless.

As years continue to proceed, African Americans has became indolent when it came to the exhibits of black history. Nobody every takes the time to encounter more data about the wealthy black ancestors that came from the ancient kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai in Central and West Africa. It seems as if African Americans only want to show people the negative aspects of being colored. Many that are against a wider variety of information on black history believes that discussing the adversity that blacks endured during and after the seventeenth century is more important than teaching about how blacks were superior people before the slave trade. If people are only taught the defective materials, that can play a major role in how they view the other ethnic group and how they view their self.

There is no denying that the period of time where slavery was legal in America was a dark time that all wish was expunged from the nation’s history. Ever since the end of WWII came around and Japanese and victims of the Holocaust started to receive reparations for the ordeals then endeavored. This launched a proposal that the descendants of the enslaved people in the United States would be given some type of compensation. The form of compensation varies from individual monetary payments to land-based payment. Although the American enslavement of African Americans was unjust, the American has undergone new government and the new one should not be held responsible for the actions of the previous. Although reparations to some might seem like

Throughout history, the African people have always struggled with society going against them and their humanity. One main focus of study is the treatment of Africans in the Americas. It seemed to all have started when America was first founded in the 1600s and many white plantation owners had slaves transported from Africa to work on their land, act as servants, or crop plants.

When asked why is there a need for African American studies? One must understand the Eurocentric and political game the American school system imposes on young children African American students are bombarded with negative stereotypes throughout primary school and sometimes even college. The American school curriculum has a conservative effort in glorifying everything European from European art, history and music, while African American history is crammed in the month of February. During this month African American history starts with the slave trade and ends with Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream speech.” They refuse to enlighten students on the great African empires or the great African American inventors. Instead they are educated about slavery and how they were savages before the intervention of Europeans. Therefore, leaves lots of African American students ashamed of their history and creates this negative perspective of not wanting to be black. This leads to the question Malcom X stated in his speech, “who taught you to hate yourself?”

“During the 1960s, some black leaders revived the idea of reparations. In 1969, James Forman proclaimed a "Black Manifesto." It demanded $500 million from American churches and synagogues for their role in perpetuating slavery before the Civil War.”(William Reed) This argument has been demonstrated: a compensation should be provided to the descendants of enslaved people in America, because their ancestors had performed the tedious labor over past few hundred years ago. However, it is clearly that the idea remains highly controversial. Looking at the historical evidence that have been presented, now we can analysis the historical events that were actually contributed to the slavery of African contingents. We need to analysis few questions in order to get better understanding of this topic itself. First,

It is no secret about the way in which America came to be what it is today, part of its history involves Africans forcibly being enslaved. Dating back to the beginning and to the end of slavery, they never received appropriate and equal compensation for their hard work. Unfortunately, these slaves who provided the involuntary labor are dead, but many of their descendants are not. In order to reinforce that racism is unacceptable and intolerable, the U.S. government should provide reparations for the descendants of African slaves such as and not limited to, free post-secondary education and money.