New President

[hilly]

Congratulations to you all over the water on your new President Barack Obama.... What a momentous day and occasion....

It means something very special to me personally as it was in the late 1050's when I was working for a plantation owner in the deep south and got thrown out onto the streets because I had taken photos of the black servants...I guess I was lucky not to be lynched.

Best to you all, Hilly x

[tcmgpt13]

Hmm, hope you had a dew rag on when you were thrown out of the plantation, to protect yourself from the heat.

Was it the late 1050s this happened? That would place this event and you in the deep South in the years just prior to the Battle of Hastings. Dastardly Normans. Conquered England and changed the whole course of British English history on October 14, 1066. Guess it was very exciting times though for the English, momentous in fact.

Still I am sure you are referring to the late 1950's. Yes, just weren't southern plantations owners who were white so insensitive? Such a northern view and emanating from across the pond too. Sounds pure Yankee.

Originally Posted by hilly

Congratulations to you all over the water on your new President Barack Obama.... What a momentous day and occasion....

It means something very special to me personally as it was in the late 1050's when I was working for a plantation owner in the deep south and got thrown out onto the streets because I had taken photos of the black servants...I guess I was lucky not to be lynched.

Best to you all, Hilly x

[niecy]

As an American, born and raised in the "deep-south", as you referred to it Hilly, it made me a little sad to see the post you made earlier. So, I, having never studied slavery pre Civil-War, that by the way, ended in 1865, decided to do a little research on the origins of slavery in America. Here is just a little bit from Michael O'Brien. I am still searching, but from what I have found so far, it originated from Great Britain. And......slavery was only abolished there some 22 years before it was in America. But if you dig a little deeper, it actually started in Africa, as they marched their own brethren to the coast to be sold........

In your post you said you also worked for the plantation owner, were you compensated for the work that you did? As I am positive that the black "servants" that you spoke of were? I am not quite as old as you are apparently, but in my 43 years of living in the deep south, I have not heard of one person being "lynched", as you put it.

The deep south in America is in my opinion the only place in the world to live......and I am certain that there are a few other southerners on this forum that feel the same way.

This new president, that I pray for daily, is hopefully going to start a new era in history....and I am sure it would sadden him to know that people are trying to keep the old history tangled in for the mix. Obama is not an African.....he is African-American, he is not only a black man, he has a "white" mama.....so I would guess that he isn't prejudiced either way, but that's just my opinion.

Niecy


Historian 'buries' slavery in book - News

Historian 'buries' slavery in book
Renowned author discusses events leading to Great Britain's abolition of slave trade
Published in the Monday, December 5, 2005 Edition of
By Michael O'Brien
Marketplace Editor


Adam Hochschild explains the sequence of events that drove Great Britain to outlaw the slave trade.
Media Credit: Nick Tarnoff
Adam Hochschild explains the sequence of events that drove Great Britain to outlaw the slave trade.

"It's a story that begins more than 200 years ago, but I'm going to think that it has a certain amount of resonance for today, especially for anybody who cares about social change, about human rights, and about enlarging our idea of what human rights consist of," said Adam Hochschild, the author of six history books, including King Leopold's Ghost and the new Bury the Chains, which chronicles the British abolition movement.

The event, titled "Twelve Men in a Printing Shop, May 22, 1787: A Great Human Rights Movement is Born," took place in Devlin 101 Thursday. Hochschild addressed the history and nature of the slave trade in different countries worldwide, especially Great Britain, and outlined the steps taken to eliminate Britain's slave trade altogether.

"Let's begin by rolling the clock back mentally to the world as it existed at the end of the 18th century a little over 200 years ago," said Hochschild while displaying a map from that time. "One of the extraordinary things about the world at that time, which was something I must say I was not at all aware of until I started work on this book, was that roughly three-quarters of the people in it were involved with slavery or servitude of one kind or another."

At this time, slavery was taken for granted as the world lacked human rights awareness. Slaves existed throughout the Americas as well as in the Arab and Islamic worlds, he said. The slave trade had begun on the East coast of Africa many years prior to the inception of the transatlantic slave trade, and the majority of sub-Saharan Africans were also enslaved since European ship captains had little trouble finding, transporting, and trading them.

In India and China the vast majorities of citizens were peasant laborers.

"They were in debt bondage to landowners, tied down to a particular landowner for all their lives as closely as any slave at this time in the Americas," said Hochschild.

The serfs in Russia experienced similar situations.

Hochschild chronicled the the slave trade, saying that it was first promoted in the interior of Africa by African slave traders who marched their brethren to the coast to be sold. Times gradually changed as Great Britain realized how lucrative the market was and began to dominate the market more than any other nation, he said.

The British didn't escape confrontation as there were more than 300 documented slave uprisings. Almost all of the uprisings were unsuccessful, he said.

Hochschild continued to point out that most of the slaves were sent to the West Indies, where which they were forced to cultivate sugarcane.

"The reason for this," said Hochschild, "was that the death rate was so high there that if it were not for these constant arrivals of new shiploads of slaves, the number of slaves on the West Indian plantations would have been dropping by two to four percent per year."

The death rate was high because of the hot climate, prevalence of tropical diseases, malnutrition, and harsh labor to which the slaves were subjected.

The West Indies, particularly Jamaica, were the British plantation owner's favorite locations because of their tropical atmospheres and expensive cash crops like sugarcane.

Hochschild argued that the roots of the British abolition movement originated in two places: the West Indies, due to the efforts of Toussaint L'Overture, and Britain, due to the efforts of Thomas Clarkson.

"England was as unlikely as a place for an anti-slavery movement to develop as, for example, it would be today seeing a movement for renewable energy develop in Saudi Arabia," he said.

The first anti-slavery effort was started by Olaudah Equiano, a freed slave living in England. After reading a newspaper article, which reported a slave captain committing mass murder by drowning all of the sick slaves on his ship, Equiano was outraged. He realized that, if properly exploited, this account could galvanize an anti-slavery movement. Equiano notified Granville Sharp, an outspoken opponent of slavery.

Sharp sent letters to every official he could think of. His attempt was widely unsuccessful, but one of the letters reached the head of Cambridge University, who was so affected by the mass drowning that he decided to make the morality of slavery the subject of the annual Cambridge University Latin essay contest, the university's most powerful tool in educating the public.

"Winning one of these Latin prizes at Oxford or Cambridge was a huge thing. It was like winning the Heisman Trophy of college football today," Hochschild explained.

The winner of this contest was Clarkson, a diligent researcher with true investigative insight, said Hochschild. Clarkson initially had little interest concerning slavery, but after winning the prize he was so invigorated that he dedicated the remaining 61 years of his life fighting against it.

In 1792, the House of Commons unsuccessfully voted to ban the slave trade, said Hochschild.

A year later, an astoundingly large slave revolt occurred in Santo Domingo, modern day Haiti. Under the command of L'Ouverture, the rebels won victories over France and Great Britain. The shock of defeat coupled with a new prime minister and decreased price in sugar evoked a new attitude toward slavery in Great Britain. In 1807, both houses agreed to abolish the slave trade.

Clarkson achieved complete success on Aug. 1, 1838 when the British Parliament voted to emancipate all slaves, said Hochschild.

[carla]

Hilly , What a colourful life you have lead .You never cease to amaze me.
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[ladycolorado]

Well some things moved me on this Inaguration Day. Little things really. That Obama said his oath of office on the VERY same bible that was once owned from Abraham Lincoln. That in the inaguraial parade he walked with his wife for a few blocks TWICE and they took their time with the motorcade so people could see them.

What was sad too was the dedication of Senator Ted Kennedy. As everyone knows he has had brain cancer. He has been pretty sick and it seemed like it was VERY important to him to attend the inaguration.

I think when they had they had the luncheon at the Statuary Hall Kennedy over extended himself. He was sitting at John Kerry's Table and there was also a Rep From Hawaii or something at that table.

He was alone for a bit and Kennedy has a pretty bad seizure. He was not seated really close to President Obama. Apparently it was bad enough he was put into a wheelchair (I think he was still shaking some at that point poor guy) and then was loaded onto an ambulance. From reports later he is OK.

There were some other really sick people I saw at the inaguration as well. One was my childhood boxing hero Mohammed Ali. He does not look the same, he shakes badly with Parkinsons Disease. Too many blows to the head in his boxing years.

Yet he defied convention and to me was ten feet tall as a child. Apparently to him he wanted to come. Yes he was ridiculed for changing his name to a Muslim one back then.

That was NOT why he was there. He had his wife help him to his seat to see a barrier fall. Predjucdice. He was one of the African American athletes who was a pioneer for his time.

Also at the luncheon in the Statuary building was Senator Diane Feinstein. She was the one to toast the new presdient and to preside over the luncheon. Did you know SHE was the FIRST one to write the CDC asking when they would get off their duffs and investigate Morgellons Disease?

For me this is a time not of party not of agenda but it was a time that the African American community could see a wall fall. In my mind it should have happened a long time ago. Just some observations of an interesting historic day.
(LC)

[carla]

Yeah Obama is so popular isnt he . Even over here people were crying about it .
They are selling Obama merchandise everywhere now. The last unproved political figure to get this much adoration was that German guy .......I forget his name now.

[ladycolorado]

I have no idea how The current President shall do. All I know the last administration did NOT listen to the American people. Bush had Lyme yet blocked legislation to help those with Morgellons Disease and Lyme too.

Hopefully this administration will do better. It may not. Only time will tell.
(LC)

[hilly]

Hi all... sorry about the date ! lol It was the 1950's of course !! I was working my way round the States mainly as a mother's help and stayed with fantastic families who all treated me so well, I'll never forget it... highlights included riding with two cowboys, Lloyd and Jess in Texas !!! But I travelled on greyhound busses and in the south, the whites sat in the front and blacks in the back... I sat in the middle ! and all the loo's, and cafe's were of course segregated, and children were bused into black or white schools. The plantation owner was a woman in New Orleans who I was a companion to.. (her servant as well !) 1 I had to sit with her at meals and catalogue her vast collection of records. I also had to give her orders to the cook, house boy and maid..and had the keys to the food stores.... My great sin was one evening when I showed her photos I had taken of them. She went very silent and spent the eveining having hushed converstions with her faimily. Then early in the morning about 5.0am she burst into my room and told me to get out immediately...the actual words she used were 'get out you nigger lover'... quite scary for a 17 year old girl in another country...

Neicy, of course the British were guilty of slavery as well (we put little boys up chimneys and all sorts of nasty things ) and I certainly was'nt getting at people from the south, and I'm sorry if it upset you....I was just saying what happened to me..I was very lucky that I had met a delightful family there who took me in and looked after me until I went on to my next job. It was interesting too that the British Ambassador did not want to help me for fear of alienating the powerful families in New Orleans.....It's just amazing and wonderful that so much change can happen in a lifetime..

I loved New Orleans, the French style buildings, little courtyards, the wrought iron work and the jaz and would love to go back one day....if I ever get better.... and Neicy, I love the people from all the States of America !

Hilly xx

[niecy]

Hilly, I am sorry that I got so defensive yesterday about the south. It is a touchy subject here about all that went on. It went on before my birth actually, but not all of the "fall-out" of course.

Just a little history on my own family.....my dad's family were share croppers, and while they were alive, they were very very poor. My grandmother, his mom, died at 42, when he was only 2 years old. His dad died when he was 15, so I never met either of them, but I know what happened after my grandmothers death, and it wasn't a fairy tale story.

There may have been some wealthy folks in the south, and I am not as far south as New Orleans, but have been there, and yes, it is a beautiful place!! But most of the people in the south have been poor, for most of their lives, especially during that era of history.

My grandparents on my mothers side owned their own land, but they were farmers also. While my mom was growing up they were, guess what?? cotton farmers!! That's also what my dad's folks did as share-croppers. They were all desperately poor. My mothers mom made their clothes from flour sacks...no joke, and they got one new pair of shoes each winter....in the summer they mostly went barefoot.

I can't remember it, but my husband can, and I know a member or two here on the forum that can, when there was no electricity....more importantly, no indoor plumbing!! It has been very cold lately, I simply cannot imagine having to go outside to go to the bathroom.....or to have to take a bath in a tub of cold water that 5 or 6 already had.....

I know things haven't always been done right in the south, or anywhere else for that matter.....but this is my home, and there are many great people here. It's only the people that would even make you want to stay where I live....family. Believe it or not things turned around over the years, after segregation..... Now, you may say, that's ok....and it is cause we dealt with it, and I have a couple of friends that are black that would fight a grizzly over me, and I would them also. But you have to remember......there is no one living today that can be blamed for anything that happened in the past.

I personally didn't vote for Obama, but it's not because he's half black, it's because I am not a democrat. I didn't vote for him...........but I do pray for him!!! And I do have hope that he will turn America around, and I actually know that he is a very intelligent man, and WANT with all my heart for him to be able to accomplish his goals.

He is OUR president, not some peoples....he said it at his acceptance speech, for those of us that didn't vote for him...."I am your president too", and that he is!!! He has my support and prayers!! I envy you your travels Hilly. And I am sorry to have been a little testy yesterday, and maybe you can forgive me.....

I buy every magazine and Newspaper that comes out with President Obama's picture on front....as I realize what a truly historical event this has all been!! One day when I am not around any longer.....my kids and grand-kids, and possibly great grand-kids will be able to go through my things and be very proud that I have kept up with things about this particular era in history. It is for them......that I live.

Niecy xxxxxx

[hilly]

Neicy, thankyou so much for your lovely reply. Of course noone in America or in Britain living today can be blamed for the slave trade or segregation and colour bar that caused so much grief....Unfortunately there is still prejudice in this country between races and I guess also in the States tho' perhaps not quite as much. I just hope and pray that the spin off from Barack Obama will do wonders for racial tolerance all around the world.
Of course our families are so important and I quite understand that you love the place your family lived, the same goes for me..and I'm glad you accept that I love you all over there, I had a fantastic year and met so many wonderful people, north and south.... perhaps not that one woman !!!! but she'll be long gone now.. lol. She has her name on a popular sauce bottle..to this day...I expect you use it sometimes,.very hot..!.. I'd better not say the name in case one of her grandchildren posts here !
Love, Hilly xxxxx