Slavery: it’s that issue that no one wants to talk about. It’s America’s dirty little secret. It’s a topic that, as a white male, I have been told that I have no place to speak about. We as a nation are ashamed of the acts of those that came before us, as we have every right to be. But there is a limit to this, as there is with everything in life. It has gotten to the point that we as a nation refuse to even open a discussion about it.
Our relationship with our past is exactly what sparked Ferguson and countless other events across our country. It is one side wishing to sweep the past under the rug, and the other fighting to allow these United States to acknowledge the past.
Progress: it’s a loaded term, but a term we throw around far too often. I would argue that we haven’t made as much progress as some people would like you to believe. Racial inequalities and injustices are sadly still a fact of life. Why as a white male am I not allowed to bring attention to these? Why are there even these facts of life that still need to be addressed?
In an English class on campus, I was tasked with writing from the perspective of someone that I am not and I chose a slave during the times of American slavery. Everyone was baffled. I got called an appropriator and told that I should never write from the perspective of something “I could never understand.” People seemed to be afraid to even discuss the issue and the topic because I am a white male. The fact is, someone has to talk about it.
In the poem I wrote, I treated the character with respect and dignity and described the act of enslavement as the most despicable thing a human being could possibly do to another human being. And while I admit, there are aspects of the topic that I couldn’t possibly relate to, I believe that it is important to have an open and honest dialogue about even the toughest and most sensitive issues. Silence is the death of progress.
Desmond Tutu stated, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Silence is a choice and it has been far too long that we have stayed silent on this issue. Other nations have done a far better job at dealing with tragedy than the United States for one reason and one reason only: they accept the flaws of their past transgressions.
Germany has several Holocaust Museums; they make it known that they are not proud of their past, but it is still their past. There’s a famous line that everyone knows, “Those who do not learn from their history are doomed to repeat it.” Germany does not hide from the past, they have taken it in and allowed themselves to learn from it.
To this day there are textbooks being printed that downplay the cruelty of American slavery; these are the same textbooks that our children are reading and learning from. We cannot be afraid to talk about our past; it is the only way to ensure our future.
