The impact of slavery and Racism

Surviving Slavery

According to Marisco (2014) some of the enslaved people may not have made it during the violence, the hard labor, and degradation of slavery, if they did not find ways to keep their spirit high in order for survival. Through hard days of work they would sing to make the days go by a little bit faster. Many formed families even though they could not legally get married they would eventually have children even if the slave-owners’ tried to destroy their family through sales as it was a part of the domestic slave trade, their owners always changing location, the financial obligation of their owners, or the death of their owners.

But most slaves were not even into the active rebellions or tried to escape but just tried their best to enjoy life under the circumstances they were given. They would seek individual agencies for their own personal benefit in most cases by learning how to read or write, having their child’s name be given by the parents themselves rather than the imposition of the owners, and even fishing and hunting to supplement for their specific diets but of course rationalized out by their owners.

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In addition they would sometimes find hope, love, or pleasure in the littlest of things (Williams, 2014). There were many struggles of course along the way like the living situation that would be provided with small cabins. The crowded slave quarters would cause conflict for the enslaved people. It would generate some betray between the cabin, jealousy, dislikes, competing beliefs, etc.

Usually throughout the summers the cabin would hot and in the winters it would be freezing, and would have to adjust accordingly. Another problem out of the countless others was the food. The enslaved people would use different parts of various animals their owners did not want. For instance things like the feet, ribs, and skull but also be given much smaller portions. All in all these slaves prayed and prayed to God for deliverance that helped them through the toughest times of captivity.

Conclusion

As time went on laws and policies were put into place to stop this horrific time in American history by creating the Thirteenth Amendment which ultimately ended slavery. It did not make everything right over night and still as issues to this day. Over this period of time whites establish systems, practices, laws, and beliefs that classified African Americans inferior to the Caucasian race. The racism that was instilled in the privileges of whites were very persevering throughout the North and the South once slavery had in ended. This created the impression of black inferiority and white supremacy (The KKK) to a whole new level. It was not until 1868 the state changed the Fourteen Amendment to the Constitution to let citizenship and equal rights to the African American community. In 1870 the Fifteen Amendment was passed to allow black men to vote. By the 1890’s Jim Crow laws discriminated against African Americans in public school but not for long with, in 1896 where the U.S Supreme Court Plessy vs. Ferguson and keyed the term “separate but equal” for the treatment of African Americans. During modern civil rights movement starting in the 1940s that these discriminatory laws started to somewhat dissipate, but still white supremacy lingers on and remains a thriving ideology. For most people of color the hardships of justice, equality, and civility upheld into the twenty-first century.