By Sosamma Samuel-Burnett, J.D.
Founder/President, G.L.O.B.A.L. Justice
As we look on the horizon of the 21st century, we can see two paths – one that leads to revolution and one that leads to reconciliation. The question of which direction we go depends in large part on what kind of world we are choosing to create or recreate for our future. But that future and our chosen path are also shaped by lessons we may have learned from our past. When we look on that horizon and consider two of our most significant historical and present evils, racism and slavery, we also have to determine which direction we should go, informed by history and present. Do we fight racism and slavery today through revolution or through reconciliation?
Revolution is a complex topic and direction. Revolution means that we are overthrowing “what is” in the hopes of what might be better. If we feel that what we presently have in political, economic, or social structures and systems are unjust, ineffective, or both, we may seek to tear down those structures and systems that we consider as unjust or ineffective. Revolution generally provides a process to do that, to tear down or break away from what is. But it doesn’t usually provide a designated outcome, for that matter something better. The outcome generally is an outgrowth of whatever remains once the revolution is done. From ashes a phoenix could rise; but often there is no phoenix, just more ashes. Without something more and intentional, a revolution only overthrows what is, but it does not create what should be. The “more” has to be a concerted effort to formulate structures and systems that are just and effective, or at least better than what was. But sadly, often that is not the case.
Consider the result of the American Revolution of 1776 vs. the French Revolution of 1789. Each of these Revolutions inspired their respective countries, and were decisions based on the unjust nature of the ruling powers in each country. But in the end, the American Revolution’s outcome -- after much literal and intentional blood, sweat, and tears -- was a constitutional democratic republic. The French Revolution by contrast resulted in the end of feudalism, but also the end of democracy and the rise of dictatorial leadership, most notably Napoleon.
Thus, when we consider revolution, we have to remind ourselves that overthrow is not enough. The peculiarity of unjust and ineffective systems is that they tend to replace themselves with more unjust and ineffective systems unless the revolutionaries have an ideal and an intentionality that they are willing to sacrifice and even compromise to get, at least in semblance. The harder work of revolution is not, surprisingly, the revolution or the resulting chaos, but the intentionality that needs to follow to create something new and better.
Reconciliation is no less complex. To reconcile means to put together that which was pulled apart. In racism and slavery the issue is whether we can actually find the place and space when that pulling apart happened and whether that could actually be put back together again. In the United States, racial reconciliation may need to go back as far as West Africa where slaves were literally sold by their own people; to Great Britain which established the American colonies to exploit the colonists and slaves for economic and political gain; to the American slave holders and traders who exchanged and treated people as chattel; to today’s leaders and policymakers who utilize modern day methods to oppress people; to businesses and institutions that create barriers for people of color to get an education, find a job, live in a home; to one another and our neighbors who continue discrimination and racism, particularly against Black people who face insecurity, conflict, and violence. The reconciliation that needs to happen is between heritage and legacy, systems and practices, races and races, man and man, woman and woman. Reconciliation would mean that we put together brothers and sisters of all races who should have equal human rights and value that were otherwise prevented by historical and contemporary injustice. But how does such deep and long efforts of reconciliation even begin?
The starting point for determining whether to choose revolution or reconciliation, and how to begin either, is by first studying and understanding history – not from a politicized lens or for self-serving purposes, but for clarity and information that can breathe wisdom into our decisions. In determining our path in addressing racism, let’s consider the history of slavery as a reference.
Slavery, bondage, & servitude have been societal phenomenon that started in ancient times and continue today. It has been part of many if not most cultures, nationalities and religions. It has been the basis of various forms of disparities, discrimination, and conflict among many peoples worldwide. In many ways, slavery is a product of civilization. Not that slavery is conceived by or acceptable as part of civilized communities, but that it is an immoral outgrowth of social stratification that often is part of civilization’s structures. That outgrowth is not necessarily politically or socially based, as much as economically rooted and then justified by the culture on that basis, creating related political and social dynamics.
Dating back as far as 3500 BC to some of the earliest civilizations such as those in Mesopotamia, slavery has been referenced by early writings including the Code of Hammurabi. Slavery is also referenced in the Bible – particularly with regard to the Hebrew people and their captivity in Babylon and enslavement in Egypt for many centuries.
In the early Middle Ages, Europe began utilizing slavery more commonly and continued to do so for many centuries that followed. Those slaves included European people and Christians. But starting in the 1500’s and particularly in the 1600’s, the Dutch, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and British engaged in slave trading with West African Kingdoms. However, from the 15th century to the 19th century, many if not most of the European nations began abolishing slavery.
Great Britain, in particular, has had a long and challenging history of slavery that dates back to the post-Roman era, but reached its height in the Transatlantic Slave Trade of the 1500-1800’s. It wasn’t until 1805 that slavery was abolished in Britain. Given the vast reach of the British Empire worldwide, that long history of slavery in and by Great Britain has influenced many of the countries that were under its rule, including the colonial United States.
The history of slavery in the United States dates to the colonial era which began during the British slave trade era. Ships carrying slaves from West Africa came to the colonies to import and export goods and trade slaves – mostly African and some British. Slavery increased in commodification as the British Empire grew globally and particularly in the America. Slavery in America was the central form of labor “necessary” for economic growth, particularly in the South where there were high demands for manual labor for cotton, tobacco and other large scale crops. Demand for cheap and ample supplies of human labor gave the South and the U.S. in general an unconscionable justification for slavery.
In 1776 when the colonies waged the Revolutionary War against Great Britain, slavery existed in full force in both regions. And slaves were even employed in the revolutionary battles, only to return to their slave status after the war. Many of the revolutionary leaders, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, were slaveholders during and after the Revolutionary War.
In 1787 when America saw the significant weaknesses of its first constitutional structure outlined by the Articles of Incorporation, the Constitutional Convention delegates initially set out to revise those Articles. But after significant debate, deliberation, and compromise, they ended up with a new structure and document, the Constitution of the United States of America. This document continues to this day as perhaps the most significant political document in human history. But even with the Constitution’s significance and ideals, slavery was embedded in its structure, still remained in the United States at its ratification, and many of the signatories remained slave holders thereafter.
The infamous 3/5 compromise in the Constitution is often referenced to signify the devaluing of the slave and of African Americans more generally. On a technical basis, the focus was less about the value of the person and more about the issue of representation. The South had many more slaves than other people. If slaves were not counted for representation, the South would be less of a political power in terms of that representation. But if slaves were counted fully, the South would be overrepresented from the perspective of the Northern states. Thus the 3/5 compromise was a way to address that representation issue. While many understand the moral implications of such a compromise, this too was unconscionable but “necessary” justification in that context.
Four score and seven years later from the founding of the U.S.A, the Civil War was fought starting in 1861. It is considered the deadliest war in U.S. history – an estimated 750,000 deaths of people from the North and South. And its also often considered the war to end slavery. But at its core, the Civil War was really about keeping the Union together. Central issues of the Civil War included the advancement of industry, particularly in the North, versus the furthering of large scale commercial agriculture, particularly in the South. The Civil War was also about states rights (preferred by the South) vs federal, centralized governance (preferred by the North). And, the Civil War was also about slavery, whether or not to abolish it. While the slavery issue was a key part of the Civil War, the other aspects are also important to consider. Those that fought and even died during this War did so on moral terms, but also on regional terms. As such, the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery did not result in the end of debates on regional concerns or the end of discrimination against newly freed slaves. The effort to maintain the Union did not mean that everyone accepted that unity without conditions and without holding onto their regional and related socioeconomic perspectives.
Reconstruction and into the Civil Rights Era, we can see the vestiges of both slavery and the Civil War conflicts. Continued political, social, and economic divides meant that discrimination and disparity persisted, particularly for African Americans. Jim Crow laws and segregation in general was another form of slavery – perhaps not in terms of forced labor but in terms of a form of bondage to a society that would not allow full civil and constitutional rights for Black people.
As Civil Rights and political, economic, and social opportunities have expanded in more recent decades, more people of color in America have achieved the highest levels in arts, business, church, education, government, media, sports, and other arenas -- even going as far as having our first African American President. But there remains a significant concern over disproportionality that dates back to slavery. While more White people are poor in America overall, a disproportionate number of the poor are people of color. And that intersection of race and poverty raises many other disparate impacts, particularly for Black people, in regard to education, employment, housing, police and other areas. Despite the various advancements in the U.S., the vestiges of slavery persist.
For that matter, slavery itself has not disappeared even today. As of 2020, slavery has been outlawed throughout the world, but it has not yet been truly abolished. In many places, including in the U.S., there are provisions to allow slavery as punishment – whether as criminal or economic punishment. And more so, slavery remains a global human rights crisis in the forum of forced labor and human trafficking. An estimated 45+ million people are enslaved around the globe today. In West Africa today, slavery continues but especially in the form of child slavery. The countries with the reported worst statistics on slavery include: Eritrea, Burundi, Central African Republic, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Iran, Mauritania, North Korea, Pakistan, and South Sudan. And human trafficking has grown to an international scale with countless of billions of dollars worth of exploitation in every part of the globe and most notably in the U.S., Europe, Mexico, Eastern Europe and Asia.
As we look at our 21st century, we can still see the political, economic, and social impact of our global history of slavery and the influence that it has had on every country, including America’s practices and underlying attitudes. We can also see the various negative impacts not only on America’s structures, systems, and people, but also in the world around us, since slavery and racism are both far broader and older than America itself. As we work to address slavery and racism, we must understand how historically wide and deep this issue has been in our country and our world in order to understand the complexities of revolution or reconciliation applied to these issues.
We must also understand that trying to undo systems and structures in our efforts to address racism and slavery is even more complex, and might actually not be in the best interests of the country or its people of any race. The United States, in particular, has a history, culture, systems, and structures that go beyond the impact or issue of slavery. Both historically and presently, the United States has demonstrated remarkable endurance, achievements, and positive influences on various political, economic, and social fronts nationally and internationally. The U.S. as a constitutional democratic republic has stood for 244 years since its Revolution, and 233 since its adoption of its Constitution. The U.S. and its Constitution has directly influenced more than 150 other nations and constitutions. The United States as a political, economic, and social power has had as much, if not more, impact on the world than arguably any society or country before it. While the United States can be rightly criticized for many ways it has fallen short, those shortcomings do not erase its legitimate achievements. For all the historical and present bad we have had in the U.S., far more good has come from our structures, systems, and people both in our country and around the globe. Despite its historical and present failures, the U.S.’ successes set it apart as an aspirational model of its constitutional ideals.
So the question of revolution vs. reconciliation in America to fight racism and slavery hinges on what we have learned from our history, our failures, and our successes. It requires us to ask what we want to achieve in our future and to what degree we can achieve it.
If we want to achieve a tearing down of the structures and system because of their tainted history, we might be able to do that, but that doesn’t guarantee what replaces it will be better. In fact, if we look at the history of most other countries, the tear down has rarely been better. A revolution now may ultimately lead to successive revolutions over time, unless there is truly a better outcome with intention and great effort.
If we want to achieve human rights, and opportunities, we need to recognize where we have fallen short but also where we have achieved, and determine how to continue forward from generation to generation. That is the essence of reconciliation…but it’s a difficult and long term process. Reconciliation is not easy, quick, or clear and requires renewal in each generation.
As we stand at this crossroads, we may realize that the evils of racism and slavery may persist not just today, but even into the future. At this crossroads, we also realize that there are decisions and efforts to be made now with implications for that future. Our generation, and each successive generation, needs to consider how they will address this issue within their generation and what that might mean for the next generation. Whatever direction we go, we have to face the facts of history and our current realities to understand where and how we can make intentional and marked progress and not just for today. We may not achieve an end to racism and slavery now, but our collective decision in the 21s century to work toward that end may allow the next generations to achieve it.