What I have learned from Beloved-reflection

Malcolm X once said “America preaches integration and practices segregation.” After reading this quote, I still believe that it applied during the time period of Beloved in 1873, and still applies today. I think this book really highlighted the emotional impacts of slavery, and really illustrated the effects on the people. In APUSH last year, we learned about the emancipation proclamation, and all of the consequences of the slavery and the civil war had on society, but until I read Beloved, I never pictured how horrible it was even after slavery was illegal really puts the reader in the perspective of the African Americans at this time. In a way, these millions of “freed” slaves, were still enslaved by the prejudice and inequality that African Americans suffered through. This book doesn't just tell the story of one family, it captures the struggle many families went through and represents years and years of oppression.

Recently in government class, we have been studying current events, and one very common issue that has been brought up is police brutality. As I have mentioned in a past blog, this seems to be a reoccuring event and the racism and prejudice that is left over from slavery, still seems to affect our daily lives. In a recent event in Baltimore, after arresting an African American suspect who suffered many fatal spinal injuries from an arrest, died of unknown causes from the car ride with the police. Police had handcuffed him, and neglected to buckle his seatbelt, which caused even more severe spinal injuries, and resulted in his death. After hearing about this event, it reminded me of a part in the book, when Paul D and other prisoners, were chained up in boxes and treated like animals, beat up by the slave owners. Though this is an entirely different situation, it seems just as inhumane to do this to another human being. Just in the last couple months there have been countless incidents that involve violent attacks from the police, which cannot be a coincidence. This book really made me think about the long term effects of slavery and how it has affected present day. When reading about the past, it is easy to just think about what it was like back then, but there it is still so influential even today. There is still so much inequality of education, socioeconomic status, and discrimination.  More than 100 years later, as a society were still suffering from slavery’s horrific consequences.