George Rebane
One of our politicians, I now forget who, recently let slip the notion that American blacks have benefitted from having ancestors who were slaves – he stated that American slavery had bestowed redeemable aspects on those progenies who today share protected freedoms with our white population.
Of course, the politician was immediately attacked as a racist for proposing that slavery had any redeemable features at all. In response he immediately succumbed and offered profuse apologies for his obvious error. And the matter appears to have been settled as strong reminder that no one should ever again publicly imply that slavery was a “positive good in the United States” as was the regular habit of ante-bellum southern politicians during the 1810-1860 period. (more here)
Most people today reject the oratorical arguments of men like John C. Calhoun, et al. holding that regulated slavery vs unregulated free labor was indeed a “positive good” for civilized society. But giving the matter a little more thought does bring up another perspective. And that is in the comparison of the quality of life enjoyed today by the African-Americans to that of the trials and tribulations available to sub Sahel African blacks. It is clear to many, most certainly to our African-Americans, that America continues to provide a much higher quality of life and opportunity for our black citizenry. All one has to do is look at the predominance of which direction migration is taking place between the two continents.
In short, one can argue that whatever suffering our slaves went through compared to the then concurrent life of their African cousins on a continent of constant combat and corruption, our slaves bequeathed their posterity a much better environment in which to pursue their happiness than did those who remained in Africa.
If this has been a redeeming feature of American slavery, it most certainly was not planned that way a couple of centuries ago. But today it is what it is, and therefore may require some more thought when we reconsider the darker side of our history.
rebanesruminations.com 
Leave a comment