Racism After Slavery

This particular section was very interesting to me, even after slavery, African Americans continued to be treated unjustly. Many people do not understand the hope that our people held on to while being treated less than an animal. I agree with Elizabeth Keckley words, if the people would come together in the bonds of peace – how much better the world would be (Gates & Smith, 2014). African American men put their lives on the line to fight in the civil war. I can’t even imagine seeing death every single day and to be treated unequally to the next man.

Slavery began before racism in North America. To prove this I will provide an analysis of chronological events that displayed acts of slavery and racism. With that being said, Initially I will be delving into the earliest implementations of slavery in North America. That being Jamestown Virginia 1619. Secondly, analysing an extract from 1655, where an African man named Anthony Johnson claimed to own another black individual, John Casor as his property. Subsequently, moving onto Winthrop D Jordan 's essay, “The Mutual Causation” of Racism and Slavery which will divulge the first instances of racism to occur in North America. Furthermore, touching on an article regarding legislators in Maryland, displaying one of the first laws enacted in North America, which were racist in nature. In contrast, expanding on a court document that was approved by white legislators showing that black individuals were allowed to own and bequeath property in the late seventeenth century. Penultimately, delving into the early eighteenth century where racism began to engulf North America. Lastly, summarizing that, due to the analysis and chronological order of the evidence presented, slavery began before racism.

When you look at the riots happening in North Carolina, you see a complete lack of trust that many in the African American community have for the police and white people as a whole today. It seems to be something that is ingrained into their thought process. That it’s them against the rest of America. The stems of these overpowering feelings many African-Americans harbor today can be traced back to slavery. Even though slavery was abolished in 1862, the horrible conditions and accounts of that time still linger with us today. Stories of what Africans slave ancestors had to endure are still retold today.

Slavery destitute the enslaved of their legal rights. During these years, millions of slaves in America were chastened, beaten and killed during four centuries of race and white supremacy. As Michelle Alexander writes in The New Jim Crow, “The notion of white supremacy rationalized the enslavement of African Americans, even as whites endeavored to form a new nation based on the ideals of equality, liberty, and justice for all…Under the terms of our country’s founding, slaves were defined as three-fifths of a man, not a real, whole human being.”

The discussion of racism has posed an issue in the United States since the colonial and slave era. During the colonial era, a small group of European colonists settled in North America and over a course of time and through conflict, theft and eventually the genocide of Native Americans this country became majority Europeans. In years to come, the slavery of Africans brought to America will take place. Fast-forward to hundreds of years later to our modern-day era, the Caucasian/European population, to some Americans, are still considered the superior race of the United States.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg, slavery or racism? The question of whether racism is the root of slavery, or if slavery caused racism is an ongoing debate that throughout history historians has been batting to answer, and have yet to come to an agreement. Some people think that people were made slaves because of prejudice toward the color of their skin, therefore, racism caused slavery; others believe that people saw slaves as inferior to them, and therefore slavery caused racism. Jordan’s “The Mutual Causation of Racism and Slavery”, Morgan’s “The Paradox of Slavery and Freedom” and Bacon’s Rebellion helps us see where the separation between white and black slaves began in America. Slavery and racism are interconnecting, but by looking at the sources and articles, we can see that slavery caused racism.

This part of the chapter in ’‘Afrofuturism’’ was a eye-opening chapter for me. I never thought or even heard of this idea before. I always thought that slavery happened because of racism, never did I think that racism could be a way to justify it.

White people never thought about it that happened to them. They made African-Americans feel unwanted. White people thought it was all fine. They thought African-Americans would get over it eventually. Instead, African-Americans all over the United States did protests about it. It’s great that they did something about it. It was going on for a short period of time that wasn’t very

Color-blind racism has a linguistic style which forms when dominate groups speak about subordinate groups without sounding racist. The author describes it as using “thread to join pieces of fabric into garments.” (Bonilla-Silva, Pg.53). “If the garment is being assembled in an open forum (with minorities present or in public venues), dominant actors will weave its fibers carefully (‘I am not a racist, but…”) and not too tight (I am not black, so I don’t know”). If, in contrast, the needlework is being done among friends, the cuts will be rough and the seams loose (“Darned lazy niggers”). (Bonilla-Silva, Pg.53). The idea is relative to the social change due to the result of the civil rights moment era, which no longer permitted blatantly racist speech in public settings. Contemporary racial discussions are done in a subtle way that allows these individuals to express their views and preserve their racial neutrality image. This chapter discusses color- blind racism and the five components avoidance of racist speech, semantic moves, projection, diminutives, and rhetorical incoherence.

Justice is defined as “the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness”. I always hear about the Criminal Justice System, but is it really justice that we are serving? Racism in the justice system goes back many generations. Slavery is not synonymous with racism. A lot of people say slavery is over and we should move on, but in reality slavery and racism are two totally different things. From the book Crime and Punishment in American History Olsen stated, “slaves were defined in law was chattels-items of property” (Olsen, 2000, p.84). Racism will forever be alive, no matter how much the world changes. We are no longer physically owned but we are in a society mainly run by our white mainstream society. The African

Racism is not just restricted to slavery and blacks, racism can be applied to anyone, and in 19th century England this was a huge problem. The 19th century was a trying time for those who were concerned with the abolition of slavery, those who were opposed to it were greatly concerned about losing their wealth or just concerned with the principle of a lower race being free. However those who were opposed to slavery were sick of seeing other humans being treated so poorly and saw it as inhuman. This is a crucial point in history, in the early 19th century no one knew how this was going to end, if slavery would be abolished or not.

Viewpoint: No. Slavery followed from racism and reinforced existing perceptions of blacks' racial inferiority. Racism both preexisted and survived slavery.

I think that 13th is mistaken because the director overlooks the fact that our country was able to overcome slavery and if racism truly fed off of the idea of slavery, then why would our country abolish it? We were able to stop the lynching and the segregation also. The reason that slavery took place was because people did not know how else to act. It was a lifestyle that most people thought they should follow. I disagree with the documentary on most things, but I also agree with one of the statements they said.

In 1619, the Dutch introduced the first captured Africans to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia. They were introduced to aid in the production of such lucrative crops as tobacco. This planted the seeds of a slavery system that evolved into a nightmare of abuse and cruelty. Similar to other slave societies, the South did not produce urban centers on a scale equal with those in the North. The most important threat to slavery came from abolitionists, who denounced slavery as immoral. This ultimately divided the nation.

Third, each person is this world has the right to live freely. However, slavery and racism may lead to downgrading the person’s self-esteem, confidence, and morale, and also it may lead to depression. It may lead to depression because if the confidence of that person is downgraded, he or she might think that they are not important enough to be here, or he or she may think that no one cares for them. Every human being in this world should be treated equally; it is not fair for others to be treated like hogwash. It is not fair to be treated as hogwash just because he or she has a different race. According to the article “Slavery”, any slaves are not allowed to own any land nor have any contracts. “Slaves codes defined the life of the slave from