For most African-Americans slavery is a legacy they are either ashamed of and or afraid to explore, they would rather put it off under the guise of, "Just moving foreward." Understanding the details of our "struggle" and transforming them into a tradition with wich we celebrate our earned freedom will both preserve the history of our struggle and teach each new generation coping and survival strategies.
When I was young attending an all white private school I was ashamed of my legacy as the descendant of slaves. It was not until I became obsessed with this historical period in my college years that I truly began to revere the struggle behind the long centuries during the period of African American Enslavement. As a teacher I read slave stories to my students. These chronicles were often compiled by abolitionists who interviewed slaves and former slaves. They were also compiled from interviews of freedmen after emancipation such as the accounts in the novel, "Bullwhip Days." These accounts are not unlike the interviews of our Jewish brothers and sisters describing their experiences during the Holocost at the Second World War.
The purpose of these slave interviews is not to insight anger and hatred of whites, rather it is to inform us of the true nature of struggle and to identify the reality that both wihtes and blacks shed sweat, blood, tears and sacrificed their lives and comfort for the greater good of human equality and freedom.
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