The History of Black Opression

It started thousands of years ago when Africans and other black races were obliged to work as slaves. This eventually became a means of trade and soon became a well-known organization like the Atlantic slave trade. Although slave trade is illegal people still allow slavery even in places in Africa.

Elikia M'bokolo, April 1998.

Le Monde diplomatique

Quote:"The African continent was bled of its human resources via all possible routes. Across the Sahara, through the Red Sea, from the Indian Ocean ports and across the Atlantic. At least ten centuries of slavery for the benefit of the Muslim countries (from the ninth to the nineteenth)." He continues: "Four million slaves exported via the Red Sea, another four million through the Swahili ports of the Indian Ocean, perhaps as many as nine million along the trans-Saharan caravan route, and eleven to twenty million (depending on the author) across the Atlantic Ocean"

Africans were sold off by people that came in to Africa through various routes and were bought by masters who were usually very hostile. The slaves then had to work in fields doing dangerous, painful jobs for their masters. Slaves had to live in small, crowded, underground places with many other slaves. They barely got anything to eat and had no means of hygiene. In places like Ethiopia slaves were more domestic and they served as house servants without payment. Women were treated as sex slaves, often victims of rape and violence.

Maulana Karenga states that the effects of slavery where "the morally monstrous destruction of human possibility involved redefining African humanity to the world, poisoning past, present and future relations with others who only know us through this stereotyping and thus damaging the truly human relations among people of today.". He states that this has affected greatly our future in culture.

Soon many leaders decided to abolish slavery, some because of fear of rebellion, and others because they stood up for what was right. But this did not mean the end of oppression. Many soon began to continue slavery illegally. After slavery was abolished, many schools in the USA or other places had "only white schools". Black people were still rejected by society and were discriminated by white people. Even nowadays, African-Americans can't walk in to a store without feeling followed by guards everywhere he goes. They can't walk on a side-walk without being verbally abused.

In my opinion racism not only affects black people, it affects everyone. Racism can affect diplomacy between countries. A racist attitude is shown when countries claim to be superior and dominant, which leads into political issues and, in some cases, even wars. Racism can also affect development. Many black people were murdered and they might have been the next greatest leader or inventor. George Washington Carver was one of the many black people that were a great help to society but could have helped a lot more in a million other things if it weren't for oppression.

Oftentimes black people are oppressed by white people in a more "subtle" way. Professor Gershom Williams talks about the language or actions used against black people.

-388 years after the first 20 African indentured servants who were erroneously called "Negars" were brought to Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 -We are still using the N-word!

-200 years after Haitian Blacks won their freedom in 1804, becoming the first free Black independent nation in the Western hemisphere - We are still using the N-word!

-142 years after President Lincoln's proclamation, the Civil war and the 13^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which finally abolished chattel slavery in the North America - We are still using the N-word!

-85 years after Marcus Garvey, the Harlem Renaissance and the "New Negro" consciousness movement - We are still using the N-word!

-50 years after the landmark Supreme Court Case, "Brown vs. Board of Education," Emmitt Till's lynching, and Rosa Parks' courageous stand in the deep South - We are still using the N-word!

-40 years after Black leaders Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and Medgar Evers were assassinated - We are still using the N-word!

-40 years after the "Black is Beautiful" and the "I'm Black and I'm Proud" movements. We are still using the N-word!

-and finally, 40 years after the other N-word (Negro) was virtually obliterated from Black language and Black life-We are still using the centuries old despicable term Nigger!

He also talks about black children in the states preferring white people over black people saying that they are more beautiful. This shows that even people of the same race have the image in their heads that they are inferior to white people because they keep on seeing advertisement with beautiful white models. In my opinion this is partially true but there are other factors in mind. We see movies with white people marrying or falling in love with black people. This also helps change the image of racism. I believe that the image is constantly changing but in the long run we were unifying and accepting the other race.

Nowadays black people have more liberty in society and can achieve wealth and higher rankings in a nation. Barrack Obama is the first african-american to become a president. Black people now have school with white people and their cultures are fusing. We can observe how two very distinct and opposing groups are learning how to "get along".

Professor Gershom Williams states, "

No other American group has suffered as many racial epithets as have American Blacks. So who or what can honestly heal our deeply inflicted psychological scars? Who can really pay "reparations" on the Souls of Black Folk?" My response to him would be us. We have to have the courage to step up and make a change. We simply have to change the order of things.