About Slavery

Let's be clear. There is no such person as a slave, ex-slave, or children of slaves. We were ENSLAVED. There is a great difference. Referring to our ancestors as slaves implies that this was something that they simply were. Enslavement is imposed. (group of cotton pickers)


On first seeing this, I was thinking the text was only showing a semantic difference but as I think some more it's vast.  To imply slavery is a state of being says that's what slaves were (i.e. slaves) but, in fact, they were free men who were enslaved.

There's the all-time classic scene from "Roots" with Kunta Kinte holding his baby above his head to the see the night sky and saying, "Behold the only thing greater than yourself."

I can't believe that's something a slave would ever say.  If this person really were a slave then slavery would be accepted and the thing greater than yourself is the boss.  There's no evidence that was ever true.


This form of overt slavery was mostly stopped after the Civil War but the desire of The Establishment to enslave people never changed and they're extremely good at it.  Maybe it's about time people did start asking for whom the bell tolls because the bells are still ringing.