forget, hell

So we had the opportunity to write a little 2 pager on remembering the slave trade and why we should do so in the first place....seemed like a decent idea and since there is a cash prize offered to the winner (of which the pool should be fairly slim considering the short 2 week time limit we had and the prevailing work ethics of my peers) anyhow i'm shootin for the cash,not gonna lie...but in re-reading my paper (threw it together in less than 2 hours) i realized it had potential to stand on its own outside of this tiny competition...hence im leaving it up to the handful of faithful readers to decide....ahemm, without further adue/adoo/adew...its just french, whatever here is

Remembering the injustice,
Honoring the sacrifice,
Ending an era:
Why celebrate the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery

By:
Christopher Cockrell
April 16, 2008


For some questions in history there are no simple, painless answers. The facts of the matter take on a haunting reality which then tends to linger, waiting only to be pushed back into the unconscious. On March 25th 2008, the United Nations sought to bring forth one such painful question, answer it, and proclaim a message to the world: slavery would not be forgotten. Remembering the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its impacts will serve as a way to highlight past injustices, bring recognition to those who played a role in helping to end the terrible practice, and catalyze the international community into seeking to end on going instances of slavery worldwide.
History itself does not occur in specific isolated incidents; rather, the happenings in one part of the world have tended to impact radically different hemispheres. The discovery of the New World, and subsequent colonization by European powers led to the need for a large labor supply to produce the raw materials needed to complete the infamous “triangle trade”. Weapons and ammunition left Europe bound for the western shores of Africa to pick up their human cargo bound for the colonies, only to repeat the journey time and time again. Most notable among the stages of this trade was the Middle Passage, whereby free Africans were sold into slavery by their captors-fellow Africans- and packed onto cargo ships to suffer inhumane conditions with little chance of survival. Once in the colonies, families were torn apart as human beings were auctioned off as cattle and violently forced into submission. These painful facts must never be forgotten and are reason enough to hold a day of remembrance, though the efforts of a brave few must be mentioned as well.
Abolishing slavery did not happen overnight, it took hundreds of years and hundreds of voices all joined in the message that all men regardless of race ought to be free. A great many risked their reputations and lives on this notion of abolition and felt strongly enough to continue fighting the good fight. Few people today truly recognize the efforts of men and women such as William Wilberforce, the British politician who fought tirelessly for some 20 years in the late 1700’s to bring an end to the British slave trade; Fredrick Douglass, an escaped slave who spent the rest of his life writing and speaking out against the system in America; Harriet Tubmann “grandma Moses”, the former slave who helped countless slaves escape on the underground railroad; William Lord Garrison, the outspoken abolitionist of the 1840’s and 50’s who called for the immediate emancipation of slaves in the United States. This list fails to mention the persons and efforts which existed with the same fervor in the Caribbean, and is all the more reason to celebrate the Day of Remembrance of Slavery.
Sadly today there are still cases of slavery in the world, the importance of remembering the past lies in the ability to prevent the same injustices in future generations. There exists today a very real opportunity to end oppression the world over, however, much awareness is needed to help those in the greatest plight. Sex trafficking has emerged as a highly degrading but profitable enterprise by which mainly young girls are taken from their homes and are sexually exploited in various dehumanizing ways. Civil war-torn Africa has descended into to soliciting child soldiers to fill the ranks of their armed militias. Young boys are taught to die for a cause they do not understand, while the leaders recruit more young men to take their place, and the vicious cycle continues.
Examining the harsh realities of history are integral parts in developing a stronger society of the future. Lessons learned from the deeply inhumane practice of the transatlantic slave trade must be applied to the contemporary crises occurring today. Remembering should not be a passive response; it must become an honorific gesture to show those who still hold the reins of repressions that their time is coming to an end soon. One day could potentially…change the world.