Not everything that should make a mark on the history of the African American people is obvious. But we know that there are some terrible things that have happened to black people in America that are undeniably a big part of human history. So any black history survey would not have been complete without the discussion of slavery. Few people in the world have such a disgraceful experience to be a major part of their heritage and their past. Yes, other nations and races have endured slavery, including the Native Americans and the ancient Hebrews. Perhaps slavery is more important to the philosopher of African American culture because it is a central historical event that began as citizens of this country. He was not a citizen born with dignity and respect as many others would point to in America. No, to come to America as slaves is to come to America with a smaller number of Native Americans than normal livestock. And certainly, the life of slaves in the first decades of American history was a particularly difficult time. Slaves were tortured and denied anything that we might call today even basic human rights. It is difficult to get any idea of such a horrible crime against humanity as slavery without adding the context that this pagan practice did not originate in America but came to our shores as part of a larger population including Dutch, French and English. In some ways slavery was the emergence of a system of obligatory slave service in which a foreigner traded a certain number of years of service to the king to cover his travel expenses to come to America. But in the case of the African slave traders, there was no desire to be chained to death. The impossibility of hope in that situation is almost impossible for any of us, black or white, in modern America to hold you or enjoy you. But slaves' attempts to free themselves and actually end up using the Underground Railroad or other means are evidence of human will and that hope is the hardest thing to crush in a person's heart. Has anything good come out of the legacy of slavery in this country? However, the bond that formed in people's hearts was firmly established forever during those turbulent years. The music that slaves used to keep their spirits alive has been passed on to us as a rich spiritual heritage that we cherished because of their being born under incorruptible suffering. The one thing that always came out of slavery in African American society was the sense of determination never to go back to such a time and the war that burned in the depths of the human soul to fight no matter how long or how hard it was. to secure the civil rights of full citizens of the country. This would not have happened so deeply if only the people who came here and were identified by their skin color had not tolerated slavery together. Before the enslavement of various slaves in the ministry, they came from many nations and peoples throughout Africa and beyond. Their nationality was tribal and they had a common sense of pride in people, cultures, family relationships and the history of any people they would have. All of that ended when they were taken into exile. But in the space left by those important relationships, a new African American brotherhood was born. And the pride that has arisen in this new nation is staggering and has continued to grow for decades. It is built on a history of pride and proud leadership. There has been more struggle and more difficulty and everything is not perfect by any measure. But African Americans can be proud of how far culture has gone and use that pride to move forward to greater achievements in the future.
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