Slavery by Another Name

I just finished watching Bill Moyers interview Douglas Blackmon of the Wall Street Journal (video and transcript), and it's pretty disturbing--we've all heard of Jim Crow laws, lynching and segregation, but those words don't begin to scratch the surface. For as many blacks as could be rounded up in many Southern states, slavery was reinstated after the Union troops went home, right into the 1940s.

This picture was taken in a labor camp in 1932:
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...orcamp1932.jpg

From the interview:

"The judicial system, the law enforcement system of the South became primarily an instrument of coercing people into labor and intimidating blacks away from their civil rights. That was its primary purpose, not the punishment of lawbreakers." Douglas Blackmon

The slave trade is going on at this very moment.

http://www.humantrafficking.org/

http://www.anti-slaverysociety.addr.com/slavetrade.htm

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Originally Posted by Universal Mind

The slave trade is going on at this very moment.

http://www.humantrafficking.org/

http://www.anti-slaverysociety.addr.com/slavetrade.htm

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So were you aware of the full history of forced labor where you live? The interview is quite informative, and it was news to me. I have a friend who was born late in his father's life, and heard second-hand about his grandfather's life in slavery, but a few of the people from these camps and a lot of their children are alive today.

It seems like at least a few people who see American slavery as ancient history might be enlightened to the distance we still have to go and the depths to which we've sunk fairly recently. To me it's a reminder that the American Revolution is far from over and there's a lot of work to be done.

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Originally Posted by Taosaur

So were you aware of the full history of forced labor where you live? The interview is quite informative, and it was news to me. I have a friend who was born late in his father's life, and heard second-hand about his grandfather's life in slavery, but a few of the people from these camps and a lot of their children are alive today.

It seems like at least a few people who see American slavery as ancient history might be enlightened to the distance we still have to go and the depths to which we've sunk fairly recently. To me it's a reminder that the American Revolution is far from over and there's a lot of work to be done.

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Yeah, it's really terrible stuff. Full blown slavery slavery became illegal here in 1863, but loophole substitutes for it kept going on at a much lower level for a while, and even after that, the races still did not have equal rights. However, today, slavery is completely illegal and a great deal less prevalent. That is, in the United States. Were you aware of the slavery that still exists on a major level? I am talking about right this second. Is that mind boggling or what?

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Originally Posted by Universal Mind

Yeah, it's really terrible stuff. Full blown slavery slavery became illegal here in 1863, but loophole substitutes for it kept going on at a much lower level for a while, and even after that, the races still did not have equal rights. However, today, slavery is completely illegal and a great deal less prevalent. That is, in the United States. Were you aware of the slavery that still exists on a major level? I am talking about right this second. Is that mind boggling or what?

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Yes, I'm aware of human trafficking today. This thread is about the large-scale forced labor by supposedly free blacks in the southern U.S. in the early to mid 20th century.

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Originally Posted by Taosaur

Yes, I'm aware of human trafficking today. This thread is about the large-scale forced labor by supposedly free blacks in the southern U.S. in the early to mid 20th century.

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I was adding to the issue of how slavery did not completely end in 1863 by pointing out that it goes on to this day. Even specifically the West African slave trade goes on to this day. This world is fucked up.

I know what your topic is, but I often bring up modern slavery to give people food for thought. Too many people focus on past slavery way over present slavery. Slavery has to end worldwide.

im with universal mind on this one. who cares about the slavery of the past. people, SLAVERY IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.

the modern world is a very clever world. it has the means to control information and distort it to its people. modern slaves go by many names. its flabbergasting as an american to learn about slavery happening today, but as an american you tend to grow up with the history that slavery is done and over with. it isn't, and I'm pretty sure, it's actually growing.

Shut the fuck up. You're just trying to vent rage about America as a whole, or just about us southerners. We downt tAk kindly to folks spittin foo foo bout us, so you best rekognize.

So what. Atrocities are commited in every nation and city, even Ohiopolis.

I only use such harsh language because I don't tolerate the poisioning of people's minds like this. You are trying to make us look like we are still racist and intolerant. Its not true, people (especially europeans who have never been here)

By the way, do you even care about slavery? I mean, does it influence your daily life? Don't you dare say yes.

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Originally Posted by Half/Dreaming

Shut the fuck up. You're just trying to vent rage about America as a whole, or just about us southerners. We downt tAk kindly to folks spittin foo foo bout us, so you best rekognize.

So what. Atrocities are commited in every nation and city, even Ohiopolis.

I only use such harsh language because I don't tolerate the poisioning of people's minds like this. You are trying to make us look like we are still racist and intolerant. Its not true, people (especially europeans who have never been here)

By the way, do you even care about slavery? I mean, does it influence your daily life? Don't you dare say yes.

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You're not exactly helping your cause, friend.

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Originally Posted by Taosaur

You're not exactly helping your cause, friend.

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I'm not your friend, buddy.

And what makes you think I have a cause, beyond that except pointing out FAKE sympathy when I see it?

The truth is that there are only a few people on this planet that care enough about human enslavement to do anything about it. You, sir, are not one of them.

You hate southerners and you know it. You hate our way of life, assuming there is a "southerner's way of life". I'll bet you're one of those dudes that sees us as a backwards, redneck hillbilly area of the world. I bet my left nut on it. I know your style of northerner.

I saw Douglas Blackmon on C-span (yes, I'm he type of geek that enjoys Book TV :oops:) It was eye opening for sure.

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Originally Posted by Half/Dreaming

I'm not your friend, buddy.

And what makes you think I have a cause, beyond that except pointing out FAKE sympathy when I see it?

The truth is that there are only a few people on this planet that care enough about human enslavement to do anything about it. You, sir, are not one of them.

You hate southerners and you know it. You hate our way of life, assuming there is a "southerner's way of life". I'll bet you're one of those dudes that sees us as a backwards, redneck hillbilly area of the world. I bet my left nut on it. I know your style of northerner.

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I'm not your buddy, guy.

You professed a cause of appearing tolerant before the rest of the world, while spitting bile at me for examining a part of our past of which I was largely unaware before today. I don't have rage against America--I have rage against motherfuckers with too much money trying to divide and conquer the people, and doing a fair job of it to this day. I have empathy with everyone else who woke up on the bottom of the pile in this country, to find the blood of their ancestors soaking a land of which they owned not one inch.

With the exception of SE Alabama/FL panhandle territory, my experience of Southerners has been pretty positive (acquired while basically carpet-bagging, though the company I worked for was based out of Tennessee). But yeah, there's a lot of racism and still a lot of tension in towns like Cleveland, MS, where the people on one side of the bayou have the same last names as the people on the other side, but they sure as hell don't want their kids going to school together. I also witnessed plenty of individual racism growing up in Pennsylvania, though it's not as institutionally expressed. I hope to hell we're ready to step above it in the present election, but we're never going to do it by pretending it's not there.

I'm with Taosaur on this one. Not everyone who expresses the opinion that slavery was a bad thing believes that all people in the Southern USA are racist in the modern world.

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Originally Posted by Taosaur

I'm not your buddy, guy.

You professed a cause of appearing tolerant before the rest of the world, while spitting bile at me for examining a part of our past of which I was largely unaware before today. I don't have rage against America--I have rage against motherfuckers with too much money trying to divide and conquer the people, and doing a fair job of it to this day. I have empathy with everyone else who woke up on the bottom of the pile in this country, to find the blood of their ancestors soaking a land of which they owned not one inch.

With the exception of SE Alabama/FL panhandle territory, my experience of Southerners has been pretty positive (acquired while basically carpet-bagging, though the company I worked for was based out of Tennessee). But yeah, there's a lot of racism and still a lot of tension in towns like Cleveland, MS, where the people on one side of the bayou have the same last names as the people on the other side, but they sure as hell don't want their kids going to school together. I also witnessed plenty of individual racism growing up in Pennsylvania, though it's not as institutionally expressed. I hope to hell we're ready to step above it in the present election, but we're never going to do it by pretending it's not there.

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I'm not your guy, friend.

So what's your point? For all you know, that was a damn prison photo. There was probably a white guy tied up on a post right beside him. Maybe he was there because he raped a white woman, not because of the color of his skin.

Now you're on defense. Don't try to convince me you like southerners. But yes, the interview points out some important things. However, UM is right, and this happens in every country, in much worse ways.

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Originally Posted by Half/Dreaming

I'm not your guy, friend.

So what's your point? For all you know, that was a damn prison photo. There was probably a white guy tied up on a post right beside him. Maybe he was there because he raped a white woman, not because of the color of his skin.

Now you're on defense. Don't try to convince me you like southerners. But yes, the interview points out some important things. However, UM is right, and this happens in every country, in much worse ways.

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Yeah, let's give it up, guy.

If you watched the interview, you have an idea of the context for that photo. It was a prison photo--a prison camp where blacks were rounded up on bullshit charges to keep a forced-labor economy going. I was aware that blacks were subject to police harassment and wrongful imprisonment long after the Civil War, but I did not know the extent to which it was a pretext to maintain a slave economy well into the 20th century.

You tell me how this history, and the way it's been obscured and ignored, reflect on the South present-day.

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Originally Posted by Taosaur

You tell me how this history, and the way it's been obscured and ignored, reflect on the South present-day.

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That comment really brings into question what your agenda is.

It has not been obscured and ignored. We all know how black people were getting majorly screwed way into the 20th century. It is a big issue. I knew about the labor camps long before you started this thread, and the mass lynchings were much worse and are often brought up even now. We also know that the South has a much better culture now. I never hung anybody or owned a slave, and I don't know a single person who ever did either. The people you are talking about are pretty much all dead now, most big cities in the South have black mayors, and nobody who can read is in the KKK at this point. Just in case you are trying to insult the modern South with this stuff, it is not going to work.

Persecution complex much?

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Originally Posted by Taosaur

Persecution complex much?

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Answers you don't like complex much? Nice retort.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=VqkN8XsYtJI

Just for the fun of it

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Originally Posted by Half/Dreaming

Shut the fuck up. You're just trying to vent rage about America as a whole, or just about us southerners. We downt tAk kindly to folks spittin foo foo bout us, so you best rekognize.

So what. Atrocities are commited in every nation and city, even Ohiopolis.

I only use such harsh language because I don't tolerate the poisioning of people's minds like this. You are trying to make us look like we are still racist and intolerant. Its not true, people (especially europeans who have never been here)

By the way, do you even care about slavery? I mean, does it influence your daily life? Don't you dare say yes.

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He posted a thread that is rather interesting and not whatsoever offensive and your respond with this. I think you have issues, sir.
Where did he say you are still racist and intolerant? This thread is evidently regarding a historical matter.

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Originally Posted by imran_p

He posted a thread that is rather interesting and not whatsoever offensive and your respond with this. I think you have issues, sir.

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No fuckin kidding. Calm down HD.

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Originally Posted by imran_p

He posted a thread that is rather interesting and not whatsoever offensive and your respond with this. I think you have issues, sir.
Where did he say you are still racist and intolerant? This thread is evidently regarding a historical matter.

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Don't call me sir. I work for a living.