Mention of the word slavery still evokes deep outrage and sadness among most African Americans today. This is because they remember the millions of Africans who were shipped and sold into slavery and cut off from their cultural background centuries ago. Slavery was very high between the years 1815-1920 (Benita 33). During these years, Africans went through oppression that had no mercy. They got beatings from their masters with little or no food. They were also required to work for long hours with little pay. This has had an effect on their lives and families in various ways. Marriages are changing so is the divorce rate increasing among African Americans. This paper will focus on how slavery in the earlier years has affected the lives and families of the African Americans in the year 2009. It will also look at a narrative of Fredrick Douglas who was a slave at the climax of slavery in the African Americans history.
Frederick Douglass is one of the slaves who wrote a narrative of his life concerning slavery that he went through. He was born around 1817-1818 at a time that slavery was at its peak. He was alienated from his mother Harriet Bailey at birth and high chances were his father was their master who was white and he was known as Captain Anthony. He was the clerk of a wealthy man whom was popularly known as Colonel Lloyd. Lloyd had many plantations spread over the country so he had hundreds of slaves working for him. Slaves who worked for him were beaten with or no mistake and on top of that, they received tiny portions of food, no beds, they were overworked and had few clothes. By Douglass being a child, his life at the plantation was not as hard as the other slaves were. He did not work in the fields and instead attended to duties that were household related. At the age of seven, Hugh Auld who is a brother in law to Captain Anthony took him. Douglass was then taken to Baltimore where he enjoyed more freedom than his counterparts whom were neighboring him. Hugh’s wife had never come close to slaves until she met Douglass and she even started teaching him how to read. She was ordered to stop teaching him by her husband because he said that education would make him not tolerable. She started loosing her kindness and opened up her mind to slavery. Even though Mrs. Hugh stopped teaching him how to read, he went on to teach himself with the local boys. When he had known how to read and write, he discovered the oppressions the slaves were going through he decided to escape to the north (“Narrative Fredrick Douglas” 1).
African Americans living in 2009 can relate to habits that Douglass had even though they have lived in different centauries. Looking at his narrative, a clear distinction can be seen of his determination to make it in United States even under the harsh conditions. They may have not gone through the slavery African Americans living in 2009 are said to be hardworking and have a lot of determination. Another comparison that is easily noted is the determination to achieve higher levels of education.
It has been said that slavery is the lowest point that the Blacks have gone through. During this time, the African Americans went through pain, strong desire for freedom and suffering. Looking on the brighter side, if slavery had not happened then the Story of African Americans would have not been heard. It would have been viewed like any other race in the United States. Ironic as it may seem, they went through suffering that made them the strong people that they are today. This has had an effect on the African Americans because they tend to pass through their daily lives with the strength that was passed on to them by their ancestors (Cabiness 1-2).
African Americans marriages in 2009 in the United State have increased rapidly. Marriages are viewed as a civil right to any citizen living there and anyone is allowed to marry at the time they are of age. Due to this fact, no one is restricted when it comes to marriage issues. Comparing with other races, black marriages tend to have discontinuity and at times continuity. It is highly believed, that slavery has played a major role in how the African Americans view marriages in 2009. At the start of the 20th century, there has been a notable increase in the marriages taking place. This has improved drastically and the number of African Americans getting married in 2009 has surpassed the number of marriages taking place in the whites (Yiye 1).
Divorce rate in African Americans is considered the highest in all ethnic groups in the United States. The General Social Survey found out that 36 percent of African Americans are divorced compared to 34 percent of the whites. 36 percent is a high number bearing in mind the African Americans are not many in number comparing to the whites (Peterson 1).
It was also noted that the young African American women nowadays prefer going through with their school and build up their careers. The African Americans have come to an understanding that the more Educated they are, the less oppression they will get. African Americans now value education and have managed to hold high positions in offices. The young African American men have also not been left behind when it comes to improving their education (Peterson 1).
Barrack Obama made history on November 4 2008 by being the first African American President of the United States. This was the furthest that any African American had ever reached in politics and his occupying the top office is a way of showing that the African Americans education has paid off. President Obama’s election to the top office is seen as a stepping-stone to African Americans freedom from slavery (Ellis 2-3).
In conclusion, the African Americans living in 2009 did not go through slavery but they have kept the values it brought along. They are now stronger and know what they want. Their families are keen to teach their children on what undertook for them to get freedom from slavery so that they do not take it for advantage. Marriages are important to them but at the same time, divorce is the highest in African Americans than any other ethnic group.
Works Cited
Benita, Johnson.(2007). African-Americans and American Foreign Policy. The Journal of Pan African Studies, 1, 33-49.
Cabiness, Marlene. Linking African American History to heritage through great African American Speeches, n.d. 16. 2010. Web.
Ellis, David. Does the Election of President Barrack Obama represent the Fulfillment of Dr. Martin Luther King? 2010. Web.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. 2002. Web.
Peterson, Karen. Black Couples Stay the Course. 2000. Web.
Yiye, Osizwe. Faculty Spotlight. 2009. Web.