It is always sad when people don’t get treated with respect all because of their race or gender. It is something that people don’t think exists anymore but discrimination over the color of your skin as well as the gender of a person is still around, it’s just not extreme anymore.
It usually is not that obvious especially in public places but just because it doesn’t get attention doesn’t mean it is no longer happening. This all started back in the 17th century when the Americans used Africans for slaves, who are the ones who helped build their nation. This went on until the mid-19th century where the debate over the slavery actually started and culminated into the Civil War. Four million slaves were freed after it and civil rights were being demanded for years after that. One of the main reasons why the European settlers actually chose Africans for slaves is because it cost them less.
According to historians, there are more than 7 million black people that were enslaved during this time. Abraham Lincoln, who was the president during the Civil War, wasn’t a fan of slavery which is why on 1st of January 1863, he signed the proclamation that says all the slaves in the states were forever free.
Unfortunately, this is where racism actually started, people of color, especially black people have never been treated equally. Slavery is, of course, a touchy subject, which is why this school faced controversy when there was an assignment wherein students must write positive and negative aspects of slavery, continue reading to find out more about it.
School Gets Slammed Over Positive Aspects Of Slavery
Roberto Livar from San Antonio, Texas posted a photo last Wednesday of his son’s eighth-grade assignment on American History. The said assignment showed how it is asking students to enumerate some of the positive and negative aspects of slavery. Livar’s son goes to Great Hearts Monte Vista, and he went home with this assignment worksheet entitled “The Life of Slaves: A Balanced View.”
In a statement, Livar explained how he felt incredibly uneasy to bring his assignment home to show his parents. As an eighth-grader, he is already aware that there is absolutely something wrong with the said worksheet.
Livar sad that he was lived when he read the worksheet. He even said that as parents, they were really concerned about what kind of assignments were given to the children. It is like saying that there is actually a good thing about slavery. The superintendent of the town, Aaron Kindel, even posted on Facebook saying how something like this must be considered a crime against humanity.
Kindel explained that there shouldn’t be any debate whether it is positive or negative. The said teacher who was responsible for it was put on leave while the charter school is conducting an audit of the book from where the inspiration of the worksheet reportedly came from. This book, if found objectionable, must obviously be removed at once.
The charter school then had to apologize for the said assignment and even called it a clear mistake. However, this didn’t stop other parents and concerned citizens from sharing the photo of the said worksheet that Livar posted. Even the Texas Democrats Representative Joaquin Castro posted an image of it on his Twitter. The lawmaker referred to it as “absolutely unacceptable”. Asking the students to list down its positive effects is completely out of line.
How Slavery Affected Today’s Society
A lot of things has changed since the days when slavery was acceptable. African-Americans are no longer treated like slaves and have the right to vote, have their own jobs, live freely and enjoy other civil liberties. The former president of the country, Barack Obama, definitely put the cherry on the top of the cake, when his presidentship proved the times have indeed changed.
However, just because no one is a slave to anyone anymore, doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone treats people the same. Racism is still around and it is obviously one of the most disgusting effects of slavery back in the day. Based on the United States Census Bureau, children who are of African descent are three times more likely to belong to a poor home, as compared to caucasian children. African American families are also more likely to belong in the poverty list. Equality is something that people are still fighting for, just as long as there are people who simply cannot accept the fact that all people are created equal despite their color, then there will never be peace and equality.