Lasting Effects Slavery Has Had on African American Culture

During the colonial period early American settlers came up with the idea to bring African natives overseas to America and use them as slaves. The white man was higher up than the black man in society at the time because of the color of his skin. Americans consider this the biggest blight on our history. The shame of this period in our history still continues today for many whites, but many blacks still feel angry and oppressed. With the election of our first black president, we are really showing how anything is possible here in America and that it doesn’t matter what color or ethnicity you are. Slavery finally came to an end in 1865. By this time slaves were escaping and fleeing north where many people were against slavery. African American Scholar Michael Eric Dyson once said “The effect of slavery continues to exert its brutal influence in the untold sufferings of millions of everyday folk.” Basically Dyson is saying that slavery has and still is currently effecting everyday people today specifically blacks. If you were to drive through any city today I believe that the effects of slavery are very clear in housing, jobs, and schooling. The white man is still known as the high-class while the black man still struggles. Take a drive through the ghettos and projects and most of the people you will see are minorities including African Americans. In “The Ethnic Myth”, Stephen Steinberg writes, “ghettos are nothing less than the shameful residue of slavery.” Many scholars blame slavery for the pathologies in the black community such as homelessness, single-parent households, and youth violence. More radical views claim, “Slavery is a constant reminder of what whites in America might do.” Now I wouldn’t go as far as Mr. Steinberg and say that “ghettos are nothing less than the shameful residue of slavery”, but they do resemble, in a small way, how life was around slavery. Some argue that African heritage was passed on, through the generations as one form of