omnablog.com

Congress must Declare Black People as Founders of America

Slavery has existed as a social institution in different societies all over the world before the Middle Ages. War captives became economic value and advantageous to the victorious in battle. So, war and slavery were synonymous. Slaves or their ancestors somehow had experienced the misfortune of defeat at some point or in the past. This was the type of slavery that existed for centuries in the ancient world. In West Africa, and in the ancient Asanti kingdom, ancient Egypt, and other ancient kingdoms, the Kings owned slaves mostly captives from wars. In such situations, there were hardships and mistreatment even death. In some of these kingdoms, during the King’s death, slaves were murdered and buried with the King.

On the other hand, some slaves were gradually incorporated into King’s families some taking care of children left behind through death and some even were incorporated into the family lineage.

Slavery in the New World was meant to deliberately inflict brutality and debase the person. When slaves were captured, the traders made sure that no two people speaking the same language were chained together. To journey to an unknown land in an insane and deplorable condition had an impact on the mind.

Rise of Slavery in the New World

African Slaves were introduced to the British colony in the New World precisely Jamestown in Virginia in the sixteen hundreds. Before the arrival of the Africans, there were white indentured servants who had come from Europe to seek better life. They were employed to build infrastructures like clearing roads, building bridges over streams and so on. They did work on contracts so they could earn money to become individual landowners. The first African slaves were indentures but less than ten years of their arrival, their period of indenture turned into lifetime service.

Indentured Servants and African Slaves

Racial distinctiveness made the African servants stand out regarding the white servant.  Also, the indentured servant could always appeal to their traditional rights and privileges as Englishmen. The African slave had no knowledge of such privileges.

The indentured white servants could enter into contracts with other Englishmen and both parties will honor and comply to terms of the contract because of the English tradition at work in the colonies at the time. The African slaves had no idea, and no one would extend such benefit to them.

If a white indentured servant refused to honor a contract, he could ran away and easily blend in with the people even among the Indians. To the African, because of racial distinctiveness it was difficult to find allies to mingle with.

Besides all the above it was also easier and cheaper to obtain black slaves compared to white servants. There was no need for contract to obtain black slaves, it also cost very little for their upkeep, a little shelter, clothing and food are all one needed to keep slaves.

In 1641, Massachusetts’ “Body of Liberties” law, kind of set the tone full scale assault on slavery. The law recognized the existence of a class slaves in the colony.

Differences Between Slavery in other Cultures and Fifteen Century American Colonies

Slavery in Other Kingdoms

1. In other cultures, slaves had the opportunity to be incorporated into owners’ family.
2. They had the opportunity to receive manumission or freedom.
3. To a large extend, slaves were treated as humans.
4. Greater number of slaves were acquired as captives or vanquished.
5. Slaves had no social status, racial, ethnic or religious connotations.
6. Slave descendants – infants and women – were seldom separated from each other.

Slavery in the Americas

Slavery in the New World was distinct with deliberate to dehumanize the slaves.

1. Slaves were deliberately captured and sold as property.
2. Slaves were classified based on their social, race and ethnic status.
3. There was a religious hypocrisy of professed Christian slaveholders who treated their slaves with the antithesis of Christian kindness, debasing them sexually and morally a well. (Slavery in United States Volume One pp 5, Junius P. Rodriguez)
4. Departure from their homeland to a strange land in a savage environment through torturous voyage had permanent injury to them.
5. Their captors made sure that no two people speaking same language were chained together.
6. They constantly branded them as inhuman.
7. They constantly and deliberately separated infants from their parents and broke up families in a way to destroy the culture of the people.
8. Torture of women through incessant rapes as properties
   And many more.

Considering the above, there is no wonder that slaves were psychologically affected with the anxiety, agony, fear trauma etc.; that the evil of slavery had the ability to destroy the destiny of a person. Black people were humans when they were enslaved not property. They were also humans when they fought gallantly along their compatriots during the revolutionary and civil wars. If black people were permitted to fight in the war of independence for this nation, they should have been given a seat at the declaration of Independence and be part of the constitutional drawing committee. They had been here from the beginning. Congress, then, should have declared black people as part of the Founding Fathers of this nation.

Power of the Constitution

Because Christianity was not a code of law enshrined in the Constitution, today every achievement of the Puritans, Separatist, Quakers are diminished. Contrary, guns were defended by the Constitution and because of that, no amount of the deaths of innocent people may change the position of guns in this country. The Constitution has the power to change the lives of black people if Congress will do the right thing and declare black people as Founding Fathers of this nation. a declaration they deserve. When that is done and our children are told and taught the truth, change will not come instantly, it may not happen in our lives time but in the years to come a generation will bring a change. It is not too late for Congress to do the right thing.