A pure lie to diminish the evil of slavery
One purpose for this project is to give a general idea to readers just how far the institution of slavery extended.
After a year of writing the stories of those held in slavery, there are still many thousands of stories yet to be told. I constantly question whether the project can be finished and who will do it if I do not.
A major problem: The stories I have uncovered only tell a small slice of the story. How many of those who suffered in slavery will never be named to the wider world? It is a societal crime that we forget them.
The project will continue, though my subscriptions do not nearly cover the costs of research, they do help offset some of them, so I am content doing the work.
Not all these stories, as you’ve probably noticed, have much difference from others. There are a few unique ones that often lead off each week’s entry, but not many.
That does not make them less important and perhaps the lesson there was an awful sameness in the slave experience. The idea that slaves were treated well is a fantasy that many have told themselves to lessen the guilt their ancestors’ bear.
It’s true that no one alive today in the United States has been a slave owner, but those who refuse to admit the horrors that slaves endured, or even try to diminish it, are guilty of not telling the truth.
There is a special guilt that goes to those politicians who are supporting and passing bills that require schools and teachers to tell less than the whole truth about slavery and to remove the possibility that Critical Race Theory is a fact and not simply a possibility.
No one who reads these stories with an open mind can doubt and, though the numbers may be small, I appreciate each of you.
On to this week’s stories…
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