Places where there are only the very poor and the very rich, where people can he sold like cattle. We forget that there are parts of the world where people live just as they did 1,000 years ago. ![]() My great-grandfather was a slave, but I know I never think of it any more than an American of Russian descent worries about his grandfather being a serf. Most American Negroes, like myself, are only three or four generations removed from slavery. I was being sold on the block as a slave. But this wasn’t history – it was happening right now in the year 1954, and it was happening to me. The whole scene seemed unreal and ancient like an illustration from Arabian Nights, a slave market right out of the dark ages, complete with smoking lamps, Arab buyers and chained rows of slaves. A hard-faced Arab in the front row leaned forward and prodded my leg muscles, the way a livestock buyer would examine a horse. ![]() The auctioneer’s harsh voice ground into my ears as he addressed the prospective buyers. ![]() I received a blow on the head for my clumsiness and was barely conscious of being dragged forward. The sharp edge of the platform cut into my ankles and I stumbled and almost fell. I tried to turn aside, but the guard behind me twisted the chain until the handcuffs bit into my wrists.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |