There are a few recent bubbles of thought bouncing around in my head.
I was just listening to a history professor — the president of Rutgers College — talking about how you can’t understand American history without understanding that America was built on the institution of slavery.
Yesterday, a student who is reading Stamped asked if the is slavery anymore. I gave a pretty weak answer, something like, “Some people think that there is salavery.” If it means that people are forced into labor and that their bodies are used and traded then sex work is slavery isn’t it? And there are many more ecamples. I just don’t feel like I know enough to clearly answer this student and I should know more.
Another conversation about slavery that comes to mind is whether or not Harriet Tubman, who was a slave and who fought in to free the slaves should have her picture on the twenty-dollar bill. The strongest argument against it would b to say that her body was already used to exchange goods, and she would not want it used this way again. Just saying.
So slavery comes up all the time in the news, in conversation. on podcasts. It’s still with us that way for sure.
