Why Do You Always Have To Bring Up Slavery?

What happened to #neverforget?

Photo by Tamara Gore on Unsplash

When it comes to the Holocaust, our Jewish brothers and sisters make sure to let the world know how important it is that we know and understand what happened during that time so that history does not repeat itself (just ask Nick Cannon).

When it comes to 9/11, we are told to #neverforget.

However, when it comes to slavery and it’s affect on the Black community, we are told to simply get over it because it happened so long ago.

“How, Sway?”

It is true that throughout history slavery has existed in almost every part of the world. It certainly did not begin with the African slave trade.

It is also true that the trans-Atlantic slave trade was unique, and should never be compared to any other form of slavery that existed.

Historically, slavery was usually brought upon a person or group of people because of unpaid debt or victims of war. The African slave trade was the first time in history that people were enslaved because of the color of their skin. Even the Pope himself at the time agreed that it was best to enslave Africans because their skin made them standout just in case they tried to runaway, and African slaves were less likely than Native Americans to rebel because they did not know the land as well even if they did escape.

The African slave trade in the Americas was also the first time in history that slaves were not even people, they were property. In most cases, indentured servants had the opportunity to work off their debt, and eventually work their way out of servitude. As opposed to African slavery, where people were born into slavery, and even a small percentage of African blood could make one a slave for a lifetime.

Indentured servants had some rights, unlike slaves. Since slaves were not recognized as people, they had no recourse in the court of law, and no right to reap any of the benefits produced by their own labor. Again, this is the first time in history that a mass of people were enslaved, bought and sold, bred, beaten, and killed, enabled by the laws of the land.

What’s even more unique about the African slave trade is the fact that unlike most other groups that have been…