Slavery is a word that brings about a great deal of negative images to most people. Slavery drums up visions of wealthy white plantation owners ruling over their black slaves with an iron fist. The concept of slavery that most people think of, whites owning blacks, is not the only form of slavery found in history. Historians have discovered evidence of slavery in all cultures in human history.
The concept of slavery is one that is not common in cultures where the people are hunter-gathers. Slavery, for the most part, is something found in civilizations with different levels in society. Commonly, one group would purchase slaves from another to perform a variety of tasks commonly manual labor.
In the United States, white men, most notably plantation owners, would purchase slaves to work the fields, tend to the animals, cook, and clean the homes. Slaves lacked free will and the ability to do what they desired unless granted their freedom by their master. Prior to the Emancipation Proclamation, slaves attempted to escape from their lives of servitude. White sympathizers who did not agree with slavery assisted black slaves in their efforts to escape from their masters. The Underground Railroad played an important part in some slaves becoming free.
Slavery did tremendous damage to race relations in most cultures. The slavery that took place in the United States caused a racial divide between white people and African Americans that remains a problem in the present day. Many African Americans continue to hold a great deal of resentment towards white people because of the torture of their ancestors, who were slaves, suffered.
The concept of slavery is something that has done irreversible damage to race relations between many cultures. With the Emancipation Proclamation, slaves may have gained their freedom, but it did not erase the racial tensions between white people and people of color. The decades following the freeing of the slaves continue to see a large divide between the races.
The establishment of slavery did extensive damage while the practice was common. It established divides in society and gave some white people the misconception that the white race is the superior race. Despite over 150 years since the legal end of slavery, other people have created other forms of slavery. In the present day, the modern form of slavery comes in the form of human trafficking. Thousands of children, teens, and adults each year fall victim to human trafficking. Often, those who fall victim to human traffickers, perish or never return home safely.
Despite the official end to slavery around the world, the scars remain. In the United States, the ancestors of the millions of Africans enslaved continue to feel the pain and prejudice. In addition, the ancestors of the slaves feel a great deal of anger and resentment despite the passage of many years. The impact of slavery is long reaching as race relations between white people and people of color remain strained to an extreme level in modern society. Even the election of a man of color to the White House did not encourage peace amongst the races. Many people believe that race relations have deteriorated since President Obama took office.
The need to overcome slavery and all its incarnations is essential for the health and well-being of all citizens regardless of race, religion, social, and economic standing. One can only dream of the eventual end to the horrific practice.
References:
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/slavery-and-anti-slavery/resources/facts-about-slave-trade-and-slavery
https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~arihuang/academic/abg/slavery/history.html