african slavery?

Question

should us blacks forget slavery & forget it ever happened it?
this a quote i've heard from someone famous

"if you forget your history, then you forget yourself"

Answer 1

There is a difference between remembering and learning from the past, and harping and whining about the past. At the risk of sounding insensitive, many blacks continually erect the whole issue of slavery in order to instill guilt in a society for its past wrongs, solely for the benefit of exploiting that society, and also excusing themselves for their own shortcomings. Many times when a black person doesn’t get the career that they want, desired position at a university, or the scholarship they desire, some advocacy group blames it on discrimination and racism, without even assessing whether that person, who was contending for those aforementioned things, really had the merits to qualify for what they were vying for. Their response is more reactionary than reasonable.

Many groups, surprisingly to this day, like to attribute the lower socioeconomic status of blacks, the high solvency of their families, the large incarceration rate of their men, their rampant illegitimacy problem, and a host of other maladies to the issue of slavery, without looking deeper into the inherent flaws within the culture itself. Much of what has set African Americans behind other races is not coming from the enemy without, but starts with the enemy from within. As much as blacks pay lip service to hard work, family values, Christian morality, and determination, when they see one of their members excel in the area of academics, or legitimately in the area of business, immediately the term “sellout” is invoked to describe them. A whole host of denigrating terms is used to describe these intrepid few, and all those insults imply in some fashion that they are abandoning their culture for success.

The African American culture more than any other culture that I have observed relishes in being the victim, indeed many times it can be called a culture of victim hood. They act as if they are the only ones who have been subjugated, discriminated against, and treated inequitably throughout history.

If blacks can attribute their lowly station in life to past injustices, how much more so can the Jews, who just as recently as 60 to 70 years ago were systematically slaughtered in the millions; who in almost every era have been living in exile from their homeland, ostracized in every foreign land they lived in, enslaved by numerous despots, and till this day are vilified by groups that far out number them and seek to destroy them. If anyone has a right to have a chip on their shoulder and decry the unfairness of the world it is the Jews - more so than the blacks. Yet do they allow the past evils that they were subjected to, or the current global acrimony that they face, to deter them from being successful? No. Jews make up the top doctors, scientists, inventors, engineers, businessmen, philosophers, entertainers and political leaders of the world, and they have done it all without special concessions like affirmative action. They have surmounted seemingly impossible setbacks to stand head and shoulders above the forces that seek to destroy them. You don’t see them lament ad nauseam about how they were wronged in the past. They don’t seek to have a month set aside to acknowledge prejudices they have overcome and accomplishments they have achieved; though as a small group they have accomplished more so than a much larger black community.

How odd is it that such a tiny group as the Jewish people can attain so much and contribute so greatly to the betterment of mankind, despite the horrors they have been put through, but the much larger black population has done proportionally much less. Sure there are many black people who have succeeded in the above areas that I have mentioned, and they should be lauded as beacons of hope. They should be emulated. Yet, for some reason most of the black community does not follow in step. Instead, we hear about how they are downtrodden, and treated like scum, and it is the white man’s fault that they are in the predicament they are in, and therefore they are owed something.

I can give numerous example of many ethnicities, aside from the Jews, who have been oppressed in one form or another, and how they have risen above that oppression to be something better. Their plight was no less harsh than that of blacks historically. So what is really at the root of the black population’s underachievement in the professional, academic, and social arenas? Ultimately, it comes down to their own vilification of success as losing ones identity, and in essence equating success with assimilating to a slave master’s ideal. Until they get over the sins of the past, they will never have a bright future.

Answer 2

Blacks should never forget slavery, but we should not be bitter about it either. It happened and there is nothing that we can do about that, what we can do however is use the memory of slavery as a reminder of where we came from. Someone also once said that without a past there is no future, and so blacks should concentrate on social and economic upward mobility. The Jews have been persecuted throughout history and are still some of the most prosperous people in the world, this is because they have a strong sense of community and family as a result of all the adversity that they have faced. The Black community needs to realize that there is strength in unity, and come together with the common goal of social and economic upward movement.

Slavery therefore should not be forgotten but should be used as a reminder of where we once were, it should be remembered as the lowest point in black history, it should be remembered as the starting point of an upward journey, a place that we should never wish to return, it should be remembered as a reason to be proud because we had survived the middle passage, to build the western world, it is testament to our strength, and our will and determination to survive. We should remember slavery so that we can move as far away from it as we can, that our children know its shape and form, lest history repeat itself.

Answer 3

Never forget where you came from. I know that our ancestors had a hard time in America, but it paved the way for today's youths. At the same time, you shouldn't let hatred consume you to the point where you're no better than the people that hate you. The best defense against racism is knowledge. Racist whites would rather see you in a bad predicament, following all of the stereotypes, not improving your lot than for you gaining knowledge, knowing the truth about your past and moving on to better things in life. Even though they talk about how black people need to "do this and that", They don't want to see you do better than them. Get an education and be successful. Sure, racism will never die but it deals a powerful blow to racism.

Answer 4

We are doom to repeat our history if we don't study and learn from our mistakes. Its very important to continue to know and examine the affects of slavery here in the United States of America; and the entire world. The ripple affect of slavery in this country; continues to have its tow upon all Americans, not just Afro-Americans. How could anyone forget about the savage treatment of another human being; and being able to justify it with clever wording. Let's all remember and live in harmony.

Answer 5

Every people on this planet were slaves to someone. Maybe because african slavery was just a few hundreds years ago, people are still talking about it.
My people were slaves and used slaves thousands of years ago and perhaps that's why it's not spoken.
Give it a few hundred more years and african slavery will not be spoken as much as today.

Answer 6

Most Blacks think that they are the only ones who ever where slaves. but its not so. Who do they think built the pyramids the sphinx slavery goes back to the beginning of time. it wasn't just blacks . it was whites , the blacks, the Indians .Egyptians all races all cultures. Its not all whites that had slaves blacks had slaves. so quit damn whining and hollering oppression. you do not hear the Arabs Egyptians or any other race but the blacks complaining. Go on with your life if you dwell in the past that is where you will stay.

Answer 7

Certainly not! It is a part of all of our collective history, and another famous person once said, "Those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it." Black people of the Americas have a rich but tarnished history. They have their own unique culture that comes from their history as a people. It is important to know who you are as a people and to know where you came from. However, I think we are beyond wearing slavery as a badge of shame, or as a chip on the shoulder.

Answer 8

Never ever forget, what has happened in history should never be forgotten, It should be a lesson for change and the road to a better tomorrow.

Answer 9

"You won't know where you are going if you don't know where you came from."

I think African American's should receive repirations for slavery. It probably won't solve anything, but at least it's like saying sorry. And yes there were black slave owners, but for every one, there were like 1,000 white slave owners. So please, unless the Egyptians were taken across the ocean never to see their homeland again, and deprived of their language and culture, then we can compare slavery through the ages.

Answer 10

Lawrence Louis stop complaining

My grandmother remembers when she had to use a seperate water fountain from whites and that was only two generations ago.

No we shouldnt forget about our history

And if any white person doesnt like that then its too bad. Live with it!

Answer 11

No but if you want to remember it, you must remember ALL of it. Not just some aspects of it.
Like the fact that there were many slave merchants who were black. Even one of the people who owned the infamous "amistad" was a *****. A very well-to-do slave seller and slave owner based in Belgium.
So, yes, remember history. But remember ALL of it.