What were they thinking—our white American ancestors who bought and traded African slaves starting 400 years ago? That has always been the silent question throughout the 20th century, louder with each passing decade, crossing into the 21st century to the historically significant anniversary year of 2019. And the same ‘what were they thinking?’ question will surely be asked by future Americans 200 years from now about our indulgences, attitudes, prejudices, tolerance, action and apathy—perhaps on the subject of caring for our planet and all living creatures. Future Americans will not understand our proud dusty cowboy mentality of yesteryear when good men took care of their own, even to the detriment of all others.
The reason our white American ancestors got involved in the slave trade is because Western European man believed his culture, religion, art, music, food, dance, architecture, agriculture, fashions, customs and traditions were the highest achievements ever produced in the world, the epitome of sophistication, most certainly ordained by God Himself. Those who ventured from Europe to explore other nations returned convinced the Western way of life was the best. No other culture in the world ever produced the refined music of Bach or Mozart, the perfect art of Rembrandt, the magnificent sculpture of Michelangelo, or the genius of da Vinci. Most of all, the Bible itself through the words of Jesus Christ charged Christians to go out into the world and save the human masses, baptizing each one into Christianity, saving their souls from eternal damnation.
Self assured God was on their side, our white ancestors seized land across the Atlantic, far away from where they belonged way up north, land they knew in their own terms ‘belonged’ to other people, another race. Through purchase, trade and deals and eventually broken promises, lies and battles to the bloody death, this is the story of America. There is no denying our brutal and unjust history. While these cultural battles were ongoing, early Americans brought over thousands of Africans, crushing their primitive culture like they did the natives of this land renamed America.
The descendants of Western Europe who peopled American colonies were thinking this: people with dark skin were sub human and were created to perform labor like building roads, neo Roman buildings and ornate plantation homes; growing crops; butchering; cooking; cleaning; sewing; wet nursing—you name it. The Bible clearly states some are slaves and some are masters. This was the rationale of 18th century white Americans especially if they had money.
The races lived close together, however, interacting daily for decades, lifelong, each knowing their place. Surely they saw humanity in each other regardless of skin color. They both bled red blood, would bruise if hit or slapped. They had the same human needs of food, water, shelter, clothing, companionship, sex. They both reproduced.
Whites were dominant, blacks submissive. There are documented cases of slave owners at the time of their death setting their slaves free and of slaves going to court to legally challenge their enslavement and insist upon their freedom. Sometimes slaves were granted freedom by a judge. It didn’t take long for northern American cities to consider slavery an abomination. The South took to the issue with great complexity. The United States was divided by progressive and antiquated cultures. The only solution became the Civil War, when all our war dead were Americans. Even President Lincoln considered sending African Americans back to Africa, anything to save the Union. But African Americans were not Africans, more white culturally and in every other way than tribal Africans. The ways of their ancestors were lost and forgotten as their new way of life was accepted even if enslaved.
African American slaves were clever. See, they always knew they really weren’t slaves. No one is. They were free like God made all humans. There were the Underground Railroad, abolitionists, clever field hollers and work songs like “Follow the Drinking Gourd” and “Get on Board” that were code on how to escape, and patchwork quilts carefully crafted with scenes and symbols showing the way to freedom. They also were a people who kept their family history in great detail, teaching it orally to their children. They adopted the Bible and Christianity, attending their separate churches, and through the Gospel foresaw change culminating in their freedom not in the afterlife but here on earth.
Slavery in America was long ago, another time and another era that we just don’t and can’t understand. But the civil rights movement was not long ago. In many ways after the Civil War, blacks were treated worse than they were as slaves. Many families had to leave the South, only to be met with prejudices and bigotry by northern whites, too. World wars and military action in Korea and Vietnam had a lot to do with ushering in civil rights as the military began to integrate white and black troops. It’s been a long struggle for African Americans toward personal and collective freedom and then acknowledged human rights by American society still dominated by the culture of white privilege.
More than likely America is now in the age of the last white hope as one more man plays president for awhile, mostly to overturn laws and policies enacted by his predecessor who was the first African-American president. In coming to terms with American history, the painful truth is the intentional and pervasive cruelty of white people toward other people, all the other people on the planet. The excuse is the absolute certitude of Western man who once roamed the earth and sea and believed all to be in his domain—like God surveying His creation. So why Americans of certain European heritage would enslave Africans a few centuries ago is perfectly clear today to us, their descendents. They believed they were gods.