Equality
Should people be treated unfairly & put to unwanted labor because of complexion?
I believe people of color should not, in any way possible, be put to unwanted labor because this takes away their rights, their freedom, & thus creates tension & questions morality. Putting slaves to forced labor questions morality & equality because they are trapped, with their necessary rights taken away.
The text "The Interesting Life of Gustavus Vassa, the African" written by Olaudah Equiano, takes us to a time period where enslavement was a reality in the most harsh conditions. People of power at the time have put slaves in a state of fear & sorrow. Equiano writes of his long, tragic journey of his kidnapping & becoming a slave. He shares with us some of the most touching experiences he has as an eleven year old boy in slavery.
Many deep emotions he encounters fill us with concern & curiosity as we continue to discover/unfold his misfortune with the oppression of enslavement. As we get a hold & feel of what exactly was occurring at his time, we can only think of fighting for the right to be free.
As Equiano confirms of one familiar day in his life, he "had not eaten nor drunk any thing all the day". He shows here how slaves have been treated as unequal compared to those in power at the time of enslavement. Most of Equiano's days consisted of poor treatment, causing him to have many unsatisfying emotions & fixed judgments of the whites, & the way he, as well as many others, viewed the world. Speaking of the assailants unholy actions, Equiano shares with us another questionable incident that the slave traders "one day had taken a number of fishes; and when they had killed and satisfied themselves with as many as they thought fit, to our astonishment who were on the deck, rather than give any of them to us to eat, as we expected, they tossed the remaining fish into the sea again". This occasion shows us just how lives of slaves were unfavorable. Usually, the slaves would have been fed; but due to the cruelty of the whites, slaves starved & tried "to get a little privately". When they were caught, the countrymen would "handle" slaves with "severe floggings", as if they truly deserved it. Slaves have encountered degrees of unfavorable conditions. They tolerated too much as they were being weighed down.
The way slaves viewed their surroundings were very tragic because we, as citizens, have this idea implanted in us that we are all born free & equal, when in reality, that's not what's happening. When slaves were taken from their native hometowns, it was something unexpected. It began to raise more questions than answers. So whatever slaves learned was happening to them on the way, was all that they knew. They questioned other possibilities, like trying to escape. See, when we having human beings trying to escape something, it's because we don't desire what it is. It's something we do not want to experience. It's something we want to forget.
Equiano witnessed some of his own countrymen suffer & die of sickness due to unfavorable conditions & retaliating against masters, for their freedom to live. Having seen this as a young fellow, Equiano "wished he were a fish or another inhabitant of the deep". This shows how he didn't seem to care anymore about living as a being. He wanted to not be there. He feared his life that he even considered death as an option of escaping the hardships as well as miseries. Most slaves rather die than suffer. The slave traders' cruelty towards the victims of enslavement consisted of them being chained to one another, being tied in ropes if they didn’t respond to instructions/commands; or if they escaped & were captured again.
When Equiano describes he was being "handled" & "tossed up" to see if he was "sound" clearly shows how slaves were being treated as if they were merchandise, ready for sale. He, as well as numerous others, was being dehumanized by their captors. Equiano & others were watched very closely. So it was almost impossible to attempt any escape that would dramatically bring immediate relief. Slaves were deprived most of their time.
Benjamin Banneker was a well-educated man, Scientist, Astronomer, Mathematician, Surveyor, & Farmer who wrote a letter in 1791, addressing oppression & attempting to change Thomas Jefferson's views on slavery. Jefferson at the time was Secretary of State. Knowing where he stood in the eyes of the superior, Banneker writes of his observance on racial inequality. Banneker questions the Declaration of Independence which Jefferson had written & signed. Stated by Jefferson himself "we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal", Jefferson should have done all he could to enforce the abolishment of slavery, because it is morally wrong. There's contradiction if you say one thing, & perform another. Banneker tries to understand whether or not the Declaration was built upon sincerity & uses Jefferson's own words against him to question his beliefs. Banneker points out that if our Father created us all to be brothers & sisters, to feel the same sensations, have the same faculties, then why are Africans, or people of color, in America being exploited?
