Life as Slaves (till the early 60's)

abc ^ | 12/20/03

[Smokin' Joe]

And by the way, there are still blacks all over the South living in uninsulated shacks that look like the door is ready to fall off and you might break through a floorboard if you step in the wrong place. I have seen it myself.

I have seen whites living in similar conditions; blacks have no monopoly on poverty.

I have also (in the same time and area) seen blacks who lived quite well, with nice homes and cars, well dressed and prosperous by all accounts. One had a statue of a white jockey holding a lantern (light) in his front yard.

Many of the blacks who lived in such conditions of poverty where I grew up are no less slaves, kowtowing to a different (Social Services) massah, living in public housing.

The greatest difference has always seeemed to be the willingness to learn, and to work hard to succeed.

It is difficult to imagine living in the isolation these people describe, but not impossible to believe. I imagine illegal immigrants may suffer the same fate in some instances. But I believe a majority of poverty is ultimately self-imposed.

[Smokin' Joe]

Reparations for a modern (or relatively so) incident involving slavery is the camel's nose under the tent.

Any settlement will likely be tied up in courts until the old man dies.

After his death, his heirs sue for his share.

If granted, the next step is to use it as a springboard to 'reparations' for slavery in the distant past, to have the heirs of those alleged slaves collect.

I say alleged because not all blacks were slaves. Nor were all slaveowners white. Nor are all blacks in the US the descendants of slaves.

[G.Mason]

"I can also tell you there are some whites that live the same way."

That's what I was saying.

I'm sure there are enough horror stories to exhaust the most ardent social worker.

Makes me so glad, and fortunate to be me.

Merry Christmas

[Smokin' Joe]

I believe it was poor white coal miners (they weren't black, they just looked that way--after work) who owed their souls to the company store.

They lived in conditions tantamount to slavery, too. That has changed, but the only reparations are for black lung disease, something they got from working.

[Old Professer]

If we give these people any money at all they'll just spend it on bridges and beachfront property.

[usadave]

have joined a class action lawsuit in Chicago seeking reparations for the 35 million African-Americans who are descendants of slaves.

I honestly feel that blacks will never give up on their quest for slavery reparations. Hundreds of years from now, Americans will probably still be hearing about it.

[Old Professer]

In 1973 when I lived in Ohio, a black guy there owned some property in Mississippi that he had sharecroppers farming for him - they were white people; he planned to retire there after he left the place he was working.

[international american]

"But some people say...")"

Whenever you hear "some say" you know it is a bare-faced LIE!!

[cyborg]

Well right here in New York, the Chinese mafia brings Chinesd people in cargo containers and puts them to servitude making clothes in the garment district.

[cyborg]

Ya think??

[cyborg]

There is NO excuse for lack of success in the United States of America. No excuse for ignorance in the age of Al Gore's Infohighway. No excuse for wallowing in pitiful ignorance, and that goes for everyone.

[liberallyconservative]

Did you by any chance watch the Diane Sawyer interview of Oprah Winfrey Weds. night? Politics aside, the focus was on the epidemic of AIDS' orphans in Africa. Ms. Winfrey's point was that the key to dealing with this situation and any other like it is EDUCATION.

[cyborg]

No wish I did. Education is key, concerning AIDS in Africa, esp. where superstitious customs are concerned, men wearing condoms, and basic nutrition. I like Oprah and find her more tolerable. My boyfriend doesn't like her as much because he says there's enough interloping libs in southern Africa.

[liberallyconservative]

Oprah made the point that the spread of AIDS in many areas is out of control due to the superstition held by many men that they can be cured of the disease if they have sex with a virgin.

Oprah is spending something like $10 million in one area alone to build schools, and has promised to pay the salaries of teachers in some other areas for a guaranteed period of time (something like the next 5 years, I think.)

Sawyer pointed out Oprah's own story of triumph over poverty and a less-than-rosy childhood. Oprah said she knew from an early age her only ticket out was education, and that it was the answer for all who find themselves in similar situations.

[cyborg]

sounds like a good show. maybe that's why I didn't hear any media buzz about it. Oprah apparently is the only hollywood personality doing her homework.

I agree with you about Oprah too.

[rastus macgill]

LBJ freed the slaves with his "Great Society" programs.
Seriously there was a social/economic change at this time.Old and infirm sharecroppers/tennant farmers were supported by the landowner by custom(noblesse oblige).LBJ's welfare programs "freed" the landholders of this burden and many people were moved off the farms where they had lived all their lives,their houses razed,and moved into housing projects or subsidized housing.
Needless to say this was a mixed bag for the poor people.Family and social networks were broken.Rural poverty and dependence on large landowners was changed to somewhat more "urban" poverty and government dependence.
I remember when I was in college there was a program by a Black ag college in town to give people like this fenced off garden plots and drive them to tend their gardens several times a week during the growing season.
many lamented the change from farming to welfare.

[henderson field]

What happened to the so-called charming, professional Chinese family? Any thought to deporting them, as should have happened?

[rdb3]

"$40 acres and a mule" was the government program then. Welfare hasn't stopped since.

Which "Afro-" Americans are worse off than your average West Coast African there in "Eden" now? Loosers, stupid, and those who can't get a rap contract.

That was just a touch stereotypical and bigoted. Yeah, just a touch.

[mhking]

Just damn.

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[Diva Betsy Ross]

"Their story, which ABCNEWS has not confirmed independently..."

Then why is ABC reporting this at all? Do they not have a duty to report the news and not everyone persoan's mellow drama that happens to fit their political agenda?