Slavery Affecting African Americans in Today’s Society
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Dr. Martin Luther King made this statement in regards to slavery which occurred between 1776 and 1863. Slavery did not end until the Emancipation Proclamation was signed on January 1, 1863. But were the slaves really free? History has a habit of repeating itself and although African Americans were “free”, they were still held hostage to this country. Slavery not only affected families during that time frame, but is still affecting families in today’s society. Slavery has affected the African …show more content…
There is nothing that can any further from the harsh reality of the lives of African American people. The family structure of black people suffered a great deal due to the fact of separation of families: mother, father, and children or just a husband and wife. African Americans almost have no starting pint in which he or she can trace family history or bloodline. With no legit records being kept, there is no true way of one ever knowing his or her true ancestry roots. In times of slavery, it was not uncommon for families to be separated and sold with no trace of whereabouts. Although these are all things that happened in the ages of slavery, it still lingers and has shaped the African American …show more content…
That kind of attitude is something that has helped shape the way people view the black [family] and unfortunately the way we see ourselves. Because white supremacy . . . if it’s powerful enough, it affects the way black people view one another. So we have to constantly fight against this, not just on the outside of the community, but in the way we view ourselves,” (Gordon-Reed). Having a family should ensure security thus meaning that nobody will get left behind or forgotten. This should hold true for all families no matter their race, gender, or culture but this however did not apply to African Americans. African Americans were denied the security of having a family life. They could not get married legally nor have children by choice because they were looked upon as property and not as human beings. They did not have permanent families either because they could be sold at any time. They didn’t know how it felt to live or stay together or to have their own children because it was common for parents and children to be separated. With slavery you never knew if your family would be bought together or if the slave masters would buy everyone separately causing everyone to be split up. The slave trade itself was definitely responsible for breaking up African American families. The families could not
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Dr. Martin Luther King made this statement in regards to slavery which occurred between 1776 and 1863. Slavery did not end until the Emancipation Proclamation was signed on January 1, 1863. But were the slaves really free? History has a habit of repeating itself and although African Americans were “free”, they were still held hostage to this country. Slavery not only affected families during that time frame, but is still affecting families in today’s society. Slavery has affected the African …show more content…
There is nothing that can any further from the harsh reality of the lives of African American people. The family structure of black people suffered a great deal due to the fact of separation of families: mother, father, and children or just a husband and wife. African Americans almost have no starting pint in which he or she can trace family history or bloodline. With no legit records being kept, there is no true way of one ever knowing his or her true ancestry roots. In times of slavery, it was not uncommon for families to be separated and sold with no trace of whereabouts. Although these are all things that happened in the ages of slavery, it still lingers and has shaped the African American …show more content…
That kind of attitude is something that has helped shape the way people view the black [family] and unfortunately the way we see ourselves. Because white supremacy . . . if it’s powerful enough, it affects the way black people view one another. So we have to constantly fight against this, not just on the outside of the community, but in the way we view ourselves,” (Gordon-Reed). Having a family should ensure security thus meaning that nobody will get left behind or forgotten. This should hold true for all families no matter their race, gender, or culture but this however did not apply to African Americans. African Americans were denied the security of having a family life. They could not get married legally nor have children by choice because they were looked upon as property and not as human beings. They did not have permanent families either because they could be sold at any time. They didn’t know how it felt to live or stay together or to have their own children because it was common for parents and children to be separated. With slavery you never knew if your family would be bought together or if the slave masters would buy everyone separately causing everyone to be split up. The slave trade itself was definitely responsible for breaking up African American families. The families could not