I wrote an entry you can read here on modern day slavery for Bloggers Unite for Human Rights back in May. I also taught a mini-unit on it to my students first semester this year. They were incredibly shocked (as are most people in this country) that slavery still exists in the world, let alone in this nation.
Hopefully you will read this article from the New York Sun on Varsha Sabhnani, who was convicted with her husband in December on 12 counts including forced labor, conspiracy, and involuntary servitude.
Read the conditions and treatment they put their "housekeepers" through.
Then the next time someone says that slavery ended with Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation (which is bull shit anyway if that is what your history teacher taught you) you can let them know that it was technically ended with the 13th amendment to the US Constitution, but that it still goes on TO THIS DAY -- in the manner used by Sabhnani and in other manners that the government and business owners use to keep people of different races and socioeconomic classes down in this country.
Educate yourselves.
Oh, and in case you did not realize that there are still racist, white supremacist groups in this country as well, read up on this from Black America Web. Billy Roper, a 36-year-old who runs a group called White Revolution in Russellville, Arkansas, told The Washington Post. "Nothing has awakened normally complacent white Americans more than the prospect of America having an overtly non-white president."
The site also said that "The resurgence of hate groups comes as a new poll by The Washington Post-ABC News shows that nearly half of all Americans say race relations in the country are in bad shape and three in 10 acknowledge feelings of racial prejudice."
Where is the love? Why is there still, in 2008, so much ignorance about racial equality? Why do people still consider race to be such an issue? What is really going on in this nation?
u make like this Dogma of the Excuse
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punishment of slaves