When one thinks about slavery, often people will say it is a concept of the past, but the real truth is that it is still affecting the lives of many in today's contemporary society. Slavery is, no doubt, an essential part of history, from learning about the first African slaves that were brought to Virginia in 1619 all the way to President Abrahams Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Although slavery has ended in the United States of America, it has left a preconceived notion in modern society about any individual that does not fall under the category of being a Caucasian. This preconceived notion that generated from slavery has led to racial bias and white privilege in our contemporary civilization. Historical figures of the past, such as Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony, William Lloyd Garrison, Martin Luther King Jr., and many others, fought so hard to abolish slavery once and for all in the United States and further spread awareness that all humans should be treated as equals. They would be very impressed to see that slavery is still illegal within the states, but they would also be very disappointed to see how the history of slavery contributed to racial bias and racism in our world and is continuing to impact the lives of many, specifically African Americans. Although the abolitionist movement has had many positive impacts on our society today, racial bias is still lingering and affecting the lives of many people due to the effects of slavery on humanity.
Slavery can best be described as a situation where one or more people, herein referred to as slaves, are bought and owned by their slave master (Rodriguez, 2007). It is important to note that the slavery-master relationship was formed without the will of the slave. Most slave masters were known to be cruel and treated their slaves as though they were animals. The slaves served at the pleasure of their masters and had to do everything that was demanded of them by their masters. They virtually had no rights. Women slaves were forced to have sex with their masters. Men slaves were exposed to deplorable working conditions. Slaves were punished severely for being disobedient to their masters. They were expected to live in their quarters and were never allowed to enjoy the fundamental human rights that other whites enjoyed. Although the brutality of slavery in the Americas and Europe have been widely documented, the origin of this barbaric act is said to be in Africa and particularly in Egypt. Notably, this is because according to Biblical history, the Israelites served as slaves in Egypt long before the first Dutch ship carrying slaves docked at the shores of the Americas around the 17 th Century.
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According to Troutt (2012), the history of slavery is sad, ugly and often associated with dirt. Looking back to the history of slavery, one cannot help but conclude that the Africans, most of whom were the victims of this atrocity were often regarded as being less than humans. That is why the profiteers and perpetrators of this heinous acts treated the then slaves with disdain. Rodriguez (2007) observes how slaves were pilled in cargo ships as if they were commodities. Some of these poor souls did not make through the long journey from Africa to the shores of the Americas and Europe. Slavery meant that families were torn asunder subjecting the slaves to untold suffering both physically and emotionally. The hardship to which the slaves were subjected to by their slave masters caused some of them to attempt escaping. Those who were caught were severely punished with some being maimed for life while others lost their lives (Rodriguez, 2007). There is nothing pretty or nostalgic to remember from the dark days of slavery.
The civil war that broke in 1865. The emancipation proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln abolishing the slave trade. The states with slaves decided to secede from the United States and formed what the then Confederate States of America (O'Brien, 2005) was. These seceding states did not agree with the proclamation and wanted to maintain the status quo. The totality of Southern society was mobilized to support white male supremacy and to subordinate blacks, as well as white females and children (Adams, 2015, p. 112). They were disinterested in any idea that would distort this state of affairs. President Lincoln and his National army decided to fight for their ideals arguing that if the states were allowed to secede, this would set a dangerous precedent. The same argument is used today, especially when dealing with extremists because they are often treated as those who would want to deviate from the norms of democratic societies. No wonder, President Bush declared war against terror in Afghanistan (Rogers, 2004). Whenever an authoritarian leader arises, democratic states led by the big brother the United States work tirelessly to pull such tyrants down. This is true of the likes of Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein.
Back to the civil war, Blacks were part of those that fought alongside white soldiers in the National army against the purely white Confederate army. However, there was a disparity in the National army. The white soldiers were paid twice as much as their white counterparts until such a time that Congress rectified the discrepancy (Beard, 2018). After the war was won, the states did not secede, and ultimately slavery was abolished. Although slavery was abolished many years back., its impact continues to be felt to this age. Some of the white folks have not come to appreciate the equality of all men fully. Some Caucasians consider themselves to be superior to none whites and by so doing they readily portray what can best be described as white supremacy.
Bearing in mind that the Whites are predominantly considered to have been the slave masters and the Blacks were the slaves, it can, therefore, be inferred that racism was a key aspect of slavery (Rodriguez, 2007). Slavery can then be said to have borne the seeds for racism that is so rampant in modern day societies. Slavery created a sense of entitlement among the Whites who were the slave masters. Some of those belonging to this race have always considered themselves to be of a superior race and they did not leave it at that instead they pushed this a little further and plunged the oppressed Blacks into a place where they felt that they were inferior to the Whites. Some imaginary lines were drawn between the White race and the Black race. Sadly, generations after generations, those born long after the abolition of slavery still believe that the two races were supposed to tow the imaginary lines that they found drawn for them (Rodriguez, 2007). The White supremacists created and empowered the White superior race and gave them powerful positions to superintend over the other minority races. This is being showcased to this day.
Racism, which has been cited as a significant cause of slavery did not end with the abolition of slavery. This vice is still very rampant inhe contemporary society. This is evidenced by acts such as racial profiling by the police, segregation in schools and inequality in the distribution of resources (Hahn et al., 2017). The shooting of EJ Bradford, a 21-year-old Back gun owner by the police serves as an example of racial profiling that is so rampant among the police in the US (Young, 2018). Bradford was mistakenly shot from behind by an Alabama police officer who was among a group that had responded to a botched robbery at the mall. This case is not the only one in recent times. There has been unrest among the Blacks who have complained countless times of police harassment. In some neighborhoods, the likelihood of young Black male being arrested or shot by the police is much higher than that of a White male suffering the same fate (Young, 2018).
Sadly, profiling does not mind whether the target is a minor or not. Take an example of the shooting of Tyre King who was 13 years old. He was shot reaching out for his BB gun. The police assumed that he armed and dangerous only because of his skin colour. According to a study conducted by Goff (2014), the investigation revealed that young Black boys are often viewed as older and guiltier than White boys of the same age. All of these cases taken together shed light into the racism that is rampant in the contemporary society where Blacks are still being viewed through the racial lenses as being inferior to Whites.
Slavery gave birth to classism. Classism is oppressive in that the oppressor economically exploits the oppressed (Rodriguez, 2007). Classism consists of taking away from those who produce value by their work. This robbery is sanctioned by society; the economic exploitation of the weak by stealing the wealth they create by the strong. Other forms of oppressions jointly work to support classism. These include oppression based on sex, race, gender, etc. Taken together, these forms of oppressions serve to weaken the oppressed so that they cannot join forces and rise against the exploitation they are subjected to by their oppressors. This divide and conquer tactic was also used by the slave masters; they overworked the slaves to ensure that they had no time to plan and execute revolts. Harvey (2016) observes that classism is a creation of man; it is an exterior wall created by profiteers to try and set people against each other. Humans are all members of the same species and sub-species, and no scientific evidence suggests any fact to the contrary. The presumed differences between different classes are nothing but conditioned differences that have been installed by forces that include misinformation, distress recordings, and indoctrination.
The very first kind of class to arise were the classes within the slave society. There were two main classes- the slave owners or slave drivers and the slaves. The former group owned the latter group. The slaveowners took away all the wealth created by the slaves and could dispose of the slaves in whichever way they deemed fit. They could use and abuse the slaves without answering to anyone because the slaves had no rights, they owned nothing, and their lives were also considered not to be their own (Rodriguez, 2007). When slavery was abolished, the mold that created these classes in the slave society was modified to create yet another culture called the Feudal society. The two categories that belonged to this society included the Barons (or nobles) and the serfs. The only difference here is that the Barons owned almost everything but did not own the Serfs. However, the Serfs work their land but give much of their produce to the barons. The modification of the Feudal society is the capitalistic society which comprises of the working class and the owning class (Schneider, 2013). The owning class owns all the means of production. The working class has no significant ownership of the means of production. However, unlike in the Baron-Serf relationship where the Barons took almost everything produced by the Serfs, the owning class has no such power, they have to buy labor from the working class.
Discrimination in the healthcare system that was prevalent in the slave society happens to have crossed over to contemporary culture (Vicol, 2011). In the slave society, the slaves were made to work in deplorable conditions and were provided with little to no medical assistance. The life of a slave was not regarded to be as valuable as the slave owner. Slave owners would afford to call doctors to attend to them and the members of their households but could not extend the same courtesy to their slaves. Worse still, some slave owners forced their ailing slaves to continue slaving in the plantations even when they were apparently of ill health (Afifi et al., 2013). The slaves had to make do with the little medical attention they received from some “generous” slave owners or rely solely on herbal medicine knowledge they had learned back in their motherlands. Fast forward to contemporary society and very little has changed. In truth, slavery has been abolished but the discrimination that the blacks and other minorities faced in the health care system persist only that it has taken a different form. Most of the poor blacks and minorities are uninsured and as thus they cannot afford quality medical services that are a preserve of the rich who are predominantly white.
Another area of discrimination is in the field of education. In the slave community, the slaves did not have access to formal training and education. The slaves suffered from what can best be deemed as forcible denial of education by their slave owners (Garcia, 2018). Education was and still is widely seen as a tool for empowerment and those who access it can thus be empowered. The slave masters did not want their slaves to be authorized lest they revolt. Sadly, the insistence that the Blacks and minorities should not have or do not need the same level or quality of education as Whites has persisted long after emancipation. The legacy of slavery seen in the education sector paints a picture of a contemporary society that has decided that segregation is the best way to provide education to the two groups. Shockingly, white private school enrolment is highest in the Southern counties where slaves were heavily concentrated (Garcia, 2018). This means that black students are overrepresented in public schools in these counties. Private schools and schools with higher white population are often equipped with better resources and facilities compared to those whose majority comprises of the Blacks and other non-whites groups.
In closing, it can be inferred that the history of slavery has continued to impact contemporary societies in many ways. Segregation continues to be practiced in the education sector in different forms. Classism has seen two main groups that arise in modern society- the owner class and the working class. The US and its allied forces continue to use their influence to police the world and ensure that they exercise democracy as dictated and defined by the “big brother," failure to which what befell Saddam and Gaddafi would happen leaders that try to deviate from the strict definition imposed by the west. Racism is no doubt the greatest vice that has permeated through from the slave society and found its footing in contemporary culture. Police brutality and racial profiling are just some of the examples of racism.
References
Adams, K. A. (2015). Psychohistory and slavery: Preliminary issues. The Journal of Psychohistory , 43(2), 110-119. Retrieved from https://chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/docview/1712754507?accountid=147674
Afifi, A. A., Rice, T. H., Andersen, R. M., Rosenstock, L., & Kominski, G. F. (2013). Changing the U.S. health care system: Key issues in health services policy and management . San Francisco, Calif: Jossey-Bass.
Beard, R., (2018). Black Union soldiers fought a costly battle for equal pay . Retrieved from https://www.militarytimes.com/military-honor/black-military-history/2018/02/12/black-union-soldiers-fought-a-costly-battle-for-equal-pay/
Garcia, D. G. (2018). Strategies of segregation: Race, residence, and the struggle for educational equality. Oakland, California: University of California Press
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Hahn, R. A., Truman, B.I., and Williams D.R. (2017). Civil rights as determinants of public health and racial and ethnic health equity: Health care, education, employment, and housing in the United States. SSM Popul Health 4: 17–24.
Harvey, J., (2016). The Oppression of Classism . Retrieved from https://www.rc.org/page/individualptarticles/pt59_55_hj
O'Brien, P. (2005). Oxford atlas of world history . New York: Oxford University Press.
Rodriguez, J. P. (2007). Slavery in the United States: A social, political, and historical encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO.
Rogers, P. (2004). A war on terror: Afghanistan and after . GB: Pluto Press.
Schneider, L. (2013). Global Sociology: Introducing five contemporary societies. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Troutt Powell, E., M. (2012). History, slavery, and liberation. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 44(2), 330-331.
Vicol, M. (2011). EDITORIAL vulnerability to discrimination in the healthcare system. Revista Romana De Bioetica, 9(2)
Young, R. J., (2018). Police killed EJ Bradford for being a black, male gun owner. That could've been me . Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/ej-bradford-was-killed-police-being-black-male-gun-owner-ncna943006
