We all have heard sweeping statements like a ship carrying enslaved Africans reached Virginia in 1619. Centuries later, we still see the impact of slavery. Many people still don’t know the facts about slavery and continue to believe what they hear from others.
Civil War wasn’t how slavery ended, and the first African slaves weren’t brought into the US in 1619. Myths like these cause the erasure of many rebellions that took place to end slavery and the exploitation of black labor.
Let’s go over everything that is a myth and learn what the reality is.
Slaves Didn’t Rebel
This is not the truth at all. Many history books and popular media don’t properly portray the slave rebellions which have taken place in the past. Small rebellions would take place in many colonies. Enslaved Africans were always resisting and rebelling against not just their slaveholders or owners but against the entire system that enabled slavery.
Many slaves escaped, some would learn reading and writing, some joined certain abolitionist movements, and some have given lectures about their life in captivity. Others have led combat and revolts against their owners and captors.
House Slaves Lived Easier Lives Than Field Slaves
The slaves who were out on the field had to go through excruciating physical labor. This included planting, harvesting, and clearing the land, which often destroyed their physical health. But this doesn’t negate the fact that women, children, and even men, had to go through violence of all sorts.
Women were physically violated by their white enslavers. These women suffered from PTSD, and no matter if they escaped the captivity, they experienced mental trauma unlike no other. These Africans fled the places they lived in and ran as far as they could.
Abolition Ended Racism
Once again, a common myth that couldn’t be further from the truth. Racism and white supremacy persist in America. While slavery is something that ended more than 150 years ago, white supremacists still hold the strong beliefs that Americans during slavery had.
History Classes Teach the Truth About Slavery
Untrue. Many people learn about slavery in middle school or high school. The history lessons might touch upon slavery, but they don’t teach students the entire story. A lot of us are only aware of the partial truths and not the actual reality behind slavery in America’s history.
Slavery Doesn’t Exist Today
Another common myth and something that people still get wrong is that slavery ended a long time ago. Slavery has not ended. It has now evolved into mass incarceration. The prisons in the US hold more than 2.2 million prisoners. 13% of these prisoners are Black men and women.
These people don’t get the right representation, and the legal justice system has always failed them. 90% of people in jails in South America during the late 1860s were Black. Black Americans are still suffering in US prisons.
If you want to learn about the reality of slavery, check out The Warrior Princess and the Invisible Gold Bracelet by Mercy Anim. It is a children’s adventure fiction ebook about the lives of Black Americans living in slavery through a little nine-year-old girl’s eyes. This ebook on the lives of Black Americans can help you learn more about slavery.
Buy The Warrior Princess ebook.