Example Of Essay On Fruits Of Labor, Fruits Of Sorrow, Fruits Of Love

Racism has existed for a very long time, and it has hindered progress and fed hate between different people. The collection of works in “Heritage African American Readings for Writing” shows the struggle that African Americans experienced during the height of racism, the sacrifices their loved ones had to make and the oppression that everyone faced. Although racism still exists today, slavery is minimized. Unfortunately, racism is still present in this world, and even in democratic countries like the United States. In order for racism to be fully abolished, the thinking of African Americans as well as Caucasians have to be changed. There are a number of ways people use racism in order to oppress or degrade other cultures. These methods have been used over the centuries, ever since the Caucasian Europeans had contact with the indigenous living in Africa.
The Trans-Atlantic slave trade is an important part of African American history which no one really talks about. It shows the mindset of Europeans and how they deemed themselves superior over those who have established their place in Africa. These people who conducted the slave trade did not think anything of the Africans who they treated as a commodity. This form of racism is very dangerous because they no longer thought of the people that they were trading as people. To them, they were just goods that can be shipped across the Atlantic. This meant that the conditions that these Africans had to face were less than suitable for humans. They were stuffed under the deck of large ships, stacked on top of each other. This trade began when there was a need in work force. Instead of coming up with a free labor system, they were interested in something else, which were slaves. The moment anyone thinks that their race is more superior than another, racism starts. With the Portuguese who had interest in Africa for gold, their type of thinking was clouded with greed and pride. They did not think that the Africans were human, they saw them as tradable goods. It did not occur to them that these people had families, owned land and had a living. To them, the Africans who exhibited a culture much more different to them were “savages”. Therefore, they would be able to work hard on plantations and mines.
Although, slavery did not start here, it existed even centuries before. Africans were said to have been traded for hundreds of years reaching Europe through the Islamic runs, trade routes and Trans-Saharan trades. Slavery was said to be part of Islamic and African culture ranging from debt bondage, chattel slavery forced labor and serfdom. Although the Trans-Atlantic slave trade was not the first slave trade to occur in Africa, it was the biggest in terms of intensity and number. The lives that were lost are immeasurable. The racist method that was used here was when the Africans who were forced into slavery were made to think that they had no other choice, that they were less superior than the “White Man”.
There is a psychological aspect to racism where people think that one race can be seen as more dominant than the others. This can be seen in media propaganda as well as stereotyping. These methods are still used today and are very dangerous in society. There are still a number of people who are experiencing this kind of racism on a daily basis. These stereotypes can play a crucial role in a particular individual’s being. It can embed into their minds and eventually become real to them. Racism is carried on to the individual who receives the end of racism. His or her self-perceptive can be changed by the racist words of the person who is throwing discriminatory actions.
Racism does not stop when the words are said or when the hateful deed has been done. The psychological damage stays with the individual, this means that he or she might start thinking that the hateful words are true, or will start exhibiting a form of counter-racism, which is hatred for the race of the person who first showed the racist act. This is just a dangerous cycle that will not end until people are brought into awareness.
Because of years of slavery and oppression, there are many African Americans who think differently of their race and their culture. Some of them are ashamed of their color because of the hatred that they experience. There are others who do not think that they can get anywhere in life because of the stereotypes that they see around them. Although there are quite a large number of people who break these stereotypes and are proud of their race and heritage, there are also a lot of parents who do not encourage or support their children. They think, just because they experienced racism as a child, that the world is still stagnant in terms of this. This is proof that the methods of racism used on people from the times of the Trans-Atlantic slavery until today are still taking its toll on the younger generations. There are a number of children who can still feel the pain and burden their ancestors felt throughout the times of intense slavery. Until these methods are recognized and addressed, the cycle of slavery will continue for centuries to come.