Slavery and Freedom

I wanted to blog not only on my portion of this presentation, but also on the project as a whole. I was inspired by David Walker’s Appeal in a number of ways. What struck me (and enticed me) to educate the class on this material was Walker’s way of bluntly “telling it like it is.” There are many different literary forms that were produced during this time such as songs, novels, poetry, etc. Of all the readings assigned for this period, I believe that Walker’s was the most revealing. He had a way of showing the flaws of white “theories” on slavery through religious and historical examples. Walker wrote, “…and who (whites) are of the firm conviction that Heaven has designed us and our children to be slaves and beast of burden to them and their children.” This quote shows the pure ignorance of slaveholders during this time. No writer before Walker had the courage or the audacity to just put it out there in such a violent, up front manner.

I also wanted to comment on this project as a whole. While extremely work intensive, I learned and grew from this experience. The slavery and freedom period (1746-1865) was a very violent, biased, socially unjust time. Writers such as Walker, Douglass, Wheatley, and Harper had the courage to start a movement to abolish slavery which I can only view with admiration. I personally have never been in a situation that called for such a dire need of bravery. The manner in which these literary works had to be dispersed to the slave population also intrigued me. These individuals risked their lives to spread the knowledge and will of freedom to those which needed it most – the enslaved. This project has helped me to have a broader understanding of our nation’s history and to realize the magnitude of the social injustices.