Among the things I learned about, I'm especially pondering on (around page 14) Dunmore and Lincoln's strategic "invitations" in wartimes for enslaved people to join *their* military forces, and that in both instances people chose to take up arms for the side that they thought would perhaps be at least marginally better for themselves in the long run.
This is especially striking to me as we read it in a moment juxtaposed with Vladimir Putin attempting to use a similar tactic to scare Ukrainian military members into joining HIS armed forces instead, rising up against their own country. Interestingly, the opposite seems to be happening as Ukrainian military have not traded sides, but defections from the Russian military are widely reported.
***
Throughout the chapter I found myself, as the earliest historic moments were described and then unfolded into worse and worse situations, wondering how on earth human beings convince themselves over and over again that other human beings are NOT human, and that in fact those "others" can be PROPERTY.
***
A researcher I know coined the phrase "Words create worlds." I am reminded of that powerfully each time the old familiar word "plantation" is replaced by "forced labor camp." What a stunning transformation of perception lies in just that one shift of language!
***
"What if America understood, finally, now, at the dawn of its fifth century, that we have never been the problem, but the solution" ~page 36, hauntingly.
I learned so much more than I even thought I would. I would have to say that the new learning was around the intricacies of so many historical moments that were so simplified with a "white" focus. The beginnings of the American Revolution, the reality of the evolution Emancipation Proclamation, and so much more. I also have been circling on and reflecting on and digesting the quote, "No one cherishes freedom more than those who have not had it." Just in the last week of current events, this quote still reverberates.
One thing I learned that I didn’t know was that Lincoln and others in his administration favored this policy of “colonization” which would have had newly freed Blacks moved to either West Africa or Panama. It’s disturbing to think that white Americans like Lincoln did not see a place for Black people in the U.S. after Emancipation. They couldn’t imagine a nation in which Black people were free and equal. Colonization was ultimately rejected but as an historical fact, it’s a reminder that Emancipation was complicated and that throughout U.S. history, the freedom of Black people has been contested and fraught with struggle.
I’ll get things started! Here’s one thing I learned: Even though I’ve studied (and even taught!) Bacon’s Rebellion of 1676, now I can say that I know a little bit about it – specifically, how Virginia elites knew they could keep power if they convinced poor white workers of their racial superiority (by codifying it into law). It was even better for them to sell this as “freedom” and “liberty” and “democracy” (for white people) when really it was a slavocracy (19).
Just one? How? ;-)
Among the things I learned about, I'm especially pondering on (around page 14) Dunmore and Lincoln's strategic "invitations" in wartimes for enslaved people to join *their* military forces, and that in both instances people chose to take up arms for the side that they thought would perhaps be at least marginally better for themselves in the long run.
This is especially striking to me as we read it in a moment juxtaposed with Vladimir Putin attempting to use a similar tactic to scare Ukrainian military members into joining HIS armed forces instead, rising up against their own country. Interestingly, the opposite seems to be happening as Ukrainian military have not traded sides, but defections from the Russian military are widely reported.
***
Throughout the chapter I found myself, as the earliest historic moments were described and then unfolded into worse and worse situations, wondering how on earth human beings convince themselves over and over again that other human beings are NOT human, and that in fact those "others" can be PROPERTY.
***
A researcher I know coined the phrase "Words create worlds." I am reminded of that powerfully each time the old familiar word "plantation" is replaced by "forced labor camp." What a stunning transformation of perception lies in just that one shift of language!
***
"What if America understood, finally, now, at the dawn of its fifth century, that we have never been the problem, but the solution" ~page 36, hauntingly.
I learned so much more than I even thought I would. I would have to say that the new learning was around the intricacies of so many historical moments that were so simplified with a "white" focus. The beginnings of the American Revolution, the reality of the evolution Emancipation Proclamation, and so much more. I also have been circling on and reflecting on and digesting the quote, "No one cherishes freedom more than those who have not had it." Just in the last week of current events, this quote still reverberates.
One thing I learned that I didn’t know was that Lincoln and others in his administration favored this policy of “colonization” which would have had newly freed Blacks moved to either West Africa or Panama. It’s disturbing to think that white Americans like Lincoln did not see a place for Black people in the U.S. after Emancipation. They couldn’t imagine a nation in which Black people were free and equal. Colonization was ultimately rejected but as an historical fact, it’s a reminder that Emancipation was complicated and that throughout U.S. history, the freedom of Black people has been contested and fraught with struggle.
I’ll get things started! Here’s one thing I learned: Even though I’ve studied (and even taught!) Bacon’s Rebellion of 1676, now I can say that I know a little bit about it – specifically, how Virginia elites knew they could keep power if they convinced poor white workers of their racial superiority (by codifying it into law). It was even better for them to sell this as “freedom” and “liberty” and “democracy” (for white people) when really it was a slavocracy (19).