12 Years A Slave: Past And Present

“Unfortunately, slavery is not only something of the past. When I first learned that there are now 21 million people enslaved today, I was astonished and terrified. Have we learned nothing from the past?” - Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave). We take responsibility for what we do, not for what others have caused. In the quote above, McQueen states how we have reflected something from the past into the present. The differences in the past and the present has been drastically changed throughout the history due to the laws and historical events that slowly changed the American society. It is irrational for the current and future generations to atone for the mistakes of the broad and biased thinking of the ancestors in America. The current establishments …show more content…
Mellen observes, “Washington considered Africans and African Americans to be inferior human beings, ignorant, careless, deceitful, and without conscience” (Mellen). Mellen stated that George Washington, the first president of the United States of America, views African Americans nowhere near to a human being and encouraged slavery. Racism rose from the founding of United States until now although slavery was the main controversy at Washington’s time due to the cruelty that lingers on the slavery foundation in America. Mellen observes, “the evils of slavery and of black people treated as property and less than human” (Mellen). According to Mellen, African American were treated harsh and inhumanely without mercy suffering from trauma and physical and mental bruises. As a result of the treatment they received, it became nuisance to others that some established a rebellion group to abolish slavery in