Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome

Back in the fall, I completed a book called To Be a Slave by Julius Lester.  It's a nonfiction collection of personal accounts of what slavery was like at the time, through the eyes of slaves.  It is labeled a children's book, but the content is very descriptive and at times graphic.  Since what slavery entailed was different depending on where you were, there are various descriptions of all the types of conditions people went through, from bad to worse.  The book starts out with the horrors of abduction in Africa.  It continued on to the slave trade and separation of families.  Next, the horrible working conditions on the plantations.

While reading this book, it showed me a point of view that I never learned in school.  I may have been told about the bad conditions of slavery, but never in this much detail or from the mouth of a slave.  It was raw and made me think about how powerful and evil power and evil can be.

When we sin, it is quite natural to want to sweep it under the rug and forget that we did anything wrong.  A kid might try to glue a broken vase back together as to not get in trouble.  Also when we sin, it is almost automatic to either blame someone else, justify our wrong-doing, or escape from condemnation.  There's a video I'm including in this blog that I watched just at the start of the new year.  It's a lecture by Dr. Joy de Gruy Leary about the conditions of slavery, and the effects afterwards.  There was a lot of "sweeping under the rug" and it makes me think about the United States today.

I ask that you please watch this.  That fictional TV show can wait.  There will be another sporting event.  I know some of you may have a legitimate excuse to not watch this.  You may start the video and within five minutes you may have assumptions or judgments about what is being said.  I ask that you ask yourself, "What is my reaction to this video?  Is it anger, confusion, disbelief, dismissal?  Why do I feel this way?"  To move on with your life after this video without engaging what you think about these issues, unfortunately, reveals what I believe to be the response of many people today when thinking about modern-day racism, class issues, and stereotypes.  These issues are so much more prevalent in my life now that I'm aware of it and living where I live.  Please take the time.  I'd love to engage in some conversation about it too if you'd like.