We went into slavery a piece of property; we came out American citizens. We went into slavery pagans; we came out Christians. We went into slavery without a language; we came out speaking the proud Anglo-Saxon tongue. We went into slavery with slave chains clanking about our wrists; we came out with the American ballot in our hands.
Progress, progress is the law of nature; under God it shall be our eternal guiding star.
~~ Booker T. Washington
I never understand all of this talk.
Nothing is stopping anyone from emigrating, and settling in any African country which will accept them, if that is what some people wish to do.
It’s been almost 50 years since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and related policies such as affirmative action having been in place. The rampant discrimination of the past is long gone. Yet some still say we’re fighting the legacy of slavery and all that.
Some extremists even want payment of reparations for slavery.
Whatever today’s problems in the black community, the legacy of slavery is not holding anyone back.
I’m also puzzled that the election of Obama has not been a more powerful symbol that racism and bigotry and discrimination have faded out. If a black man can be elected president, then can’t a black man accomplish anything??
Booker T. Washington seems here to imply that, before their enslavement, the Africans were mutes. Perhaps he meant "without a common language."
Regards,
~~ Booker T. Washington
Mr. Washington could not have foreseen the current corruption of the term "progress".