Introduction
Ira Berlin & Philip D. Morgan’s article The Slaves’ Economy: Independent Production by Slaves in the America looks into the parameters of the economical aspects of slavery and the slave families in particular. They suggested that the condition, social and economical, of the slaves depended on the nature of work they did. In other words, the industry they worked for determined the nature and fundamentals of the African American communities working as slaves. The theme of the article thus looks into the pattern of the works in relation to the families and in the context of crop, cash or food, industry (Berlin, 1995).
Main Text
However, it can be stated that for a democratic society with its democratic form of government system, it is but an obvious choice to opt for a society that is mostly colorblind. The basis custom of a democratic society is to provide its mass with a structural form that offers equality in terms of justice and social characteristic. It is an unwanted fact but it is also extremely true at the same time that racism is a curse that exists among us whether we like it or not. The presence of racism is well documented in many societal domains including workplace, school, health care, and housing. Thus, it can well be evaluated that the nature of perils the slaves faced during a time when slavery was legal. Under such conditions it appears that establishing linkage between nature of work or industry and the conditions of the slaves is quite simplification of the actual problem of racial discrimination and oppression. Thus, it appears that such hypothesis needs more data-backed analysis and evaluation.
Laurence Brown’s ‘Monuments to Freedom, Monuments to Nation: The Politics of Emancipation and Remembrance in the Eastern Caribbean‘, is a documentation of remembrance of the slave movement in the Caribbean region, particularly in Barbados. The focal point of this article is a venture to overview the restoration and maintenance of the monuments dedicated to the leadership features of the anti-slavery movement. However, he looks at the monuments dedicated to the leadership qualities of the European settlers too. This becomes more relevant to the entire article because the study was not just limited to African American struggle but covered the entire struggle for freedom, or moments that represents freedom. The author points in the right direction when he mentions, “Whether monuments portrayed emancipation as a European benefaction or a product of African revolt, all seek to fix freedom at a particular historical moment” (Brown, 2002).
Conclusion
One of the most compelling developments of our age, it should be remembered, is the recognition of multicultural of multiracial society and how they translate to each and every individual. The challenge is not just in recognizing other races but more importantly the culture and heritage of people must also be recognized. Are people becoming aware and accepting of others? Are people’s view and minds growing broader? Is intolerance being decreased? Are we now on the path of building a society that does not just recognizes cultural and racial diversity but celebrates it? As much as we would like to think that we are accomplishing this, current evidences show that there is still much to do. Thus, such works helps the cause by a great margin and develop linkage with the past that helps us to evaluate the present and formulate our mind against racial discrimination.
Bibliography
- Berlin, Ira & Philip D. Morgan; 1995; The Slaves’ Economy: Independent Production by Slaves in the America; Routledge; Web.
- Brown, Laurence (2002) ‘Monuments to Freedom, Monuments to Nation: The Politics of Emancipation and Remembrance in the Eastern Caribbean‘, Slavery & Abolition, 23:3, 93 – 116