I have dark skin and natural hair, and my family’s history is complex. My Black ancestors endured immense hardship, taken from their homeland in Africa, crammed onto ships, and brought to a foreign land where they faced an unfamiliar culture and language. The fear and trauma embedded in this narrative are profound, and there’s a lot to unpack.
While discussions about this subject can occur in college seminars or middle school classrooms, the real work surrounding American history and racism must happen both inside and outside educational settings. Slavery has significantly influenced the United States, creating a legacy where racism persists and is transmitted through generations—an ideology that positions Black people as inferior.
In a popular Twitter thread, @RoyalKingJT emphasizes how recent this history is: “I was born in 1986 just 10 miles from that same plantation,” he recalls. “That plantation still exists… slave cabins and all. This isn’t ancient history. It’s very real. My grandmother knew her grandparents who were slaves and worked the same land.”
As I explore my own family’s ties to slavery, the pieces begin to fall into place. The struggle for equity and equality among Black people is a long-standing one. I discovered that my grandmother’s family once owned over 20 acres of land in rural Virginia. I often wondered how we acquired so much land and found out that it was given to my great-great-grandmother, who wed her slave master. I still seek more truth about this. Was the land an attempt to atone for past wrongs? Was it meant to help her build a life after being freed? Land ownership has historically been a means for Black people to create generational wealth, yet challenges around housing and wage disparities still plague communities of color.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, is a landmark legislation that came into effect just a short time ago; the same year my mother was born.
In a recent VICE investigation, journalist Akil Gibbons interviews Arthur Miller, a Black laborer who was compelled to work against his will as late as the 1960s. His heartbreaking story illustrates that the struggle for equality is far from over.
Many Black individuals are acutely aware of the ongoing fight for equal treatment. We face biases before even being considered for jobs, and we often encounter scrutiny when shopping, as I did at age 10. Racism is deeply entrenched in society. Isabel Wilkerson, author of “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents,” remarked, “[I]f caste is the bones and race is the skin, then class is the external trappings such as clothing, accent, and education.”
We must unite to dismantle a system that has long dictated our identities. Racism, which originated from slavery, continues to be a systemic issue. Whether it’s the lack of adequate healthcare for Black individuals, disproportionate incarceration rates, or barriers to homeownership, the evidence of systemic racism is pervasive. The educational inequities faced by Black children compared to their white peers further exemplify this.
We can discuss the lasting impacts of slavery endlessly, from the prison industrial complex to wealth disparities and police violence against unarmed Black citizens. The legacy of slavery still looms large today, inhibiting our progress as a society. While it might seem that eradicating racism entirely is an unattainable goal, our approach to it can and must evolve.
In his book “How to Be an Antiracist,” Ibram X. Kendi states, “[T]here is no neutrality in the racism struggle … One either allows racial inequities to persist, as a racist, or confronts them as an antiracist. There is no in-between safe space of ‘not racist.’”
We need systems that effectively challenge racist ideologies, holding accountable those in positions of authority who perpetuate harmful beliefs. Educators who promote racism should face serious consequences instead of minimal reprimands. Combatting racism requires collective effort; we must all be aligned in this fight.
Acknowledging the horrors of slavery—the murders, lynchings, rapes, beatings, and the inhumane selling of people—is crucial. Slavery is not as distant as many might think, and its effects are felt within the Black community today.
As J.T. concludes, “Slavery is the very recent past. It’s contemporary history. No different than the Holocaust, the Titanic sinking, the Vietnam War, or the stock market crash. It should be treated as such. The blood is still on the leaves and in our veins.”
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Summary:
This article discusses the lasting impact of slavery on contemporary American society, emphasizing that it is not merely ‘ancient’ history. By sharing personal narratives and citing various resources, it illustrates how racism continues to be systemic and challenges readers to unite in confronting these issues.