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From a Wall Street Journal editorial today by Roland Fryer, a black economics professor at Harvard who also is a fellow at the Koch-funded Manhattan Institute,
American slavery ended as it began—by brute force—yet debate over its modern economic and social aftershocks continue. For two decades I have asked my Harvard undergraduates whether slavery harms them today; they invariably answer yes. Pressed for specifics, they cite lack of wealth creation, neighborhood segregation, or lingering notions of black inferiority once used to justify bondage. But when I request empirical proof, the room goes silent.
I then point them to the brilliant work of economist Nathan Nunn, whose data-rich studies quantify slavery’s enduring drag on economic growth, inequality and social capital. Parsing evidence from Africa to U.S. counties, Mr. Nunn finds a clear pattern: The heavier a region’s slave reliance in the 1800s, the worse its economic performance today. Within the U.S., for instance, low-slave states such as Maryland and Missouri outearn high-slave states like South Carolina and Louisiana even 1½ centuries later—differences that persist after controlling for education, urbanization and other confounding variables.
Mr. Nunn’s most striking evidence concerns trust, and his approach to causality is as impressive as the result. He exploits a quirk of geography: In the 19th century, regions cut off by rugged terrain or far from navigable rivers were too costly for slave raiders on horseback to reach, so they supplied far fewer captives. By using this natural variation in accessibility, Mr. Nunn isolates the slave trade’s causal effect. Communities with the heaviest historical slave exports now report the lowest levels of trust—toward neighbors, other ethnic groups and their own governments. That distrust is no historical footnote; it remains a brake on social capital formation and growth. The institutions themselves may function well, Mr. Nunn argues, but the culture shaped by the slave trade, and stories handed down through generations, still affects how people perceive others, and institutions, today.
I'll add that Jim Crow laws and the like after the end of slavery continued to affect the economic well being of many black Americans.
And it's not just economic effects of slavery that persist until today. Look at homicide rates in those countries in the Caribbean and Africa and states in the USA where slavery was most common. And also countries in Latin America where Spanish oppression of native peoples was equivalent to enslavement. They're higher than in places on the three continents where slavery was less common.
The institution of slavery ended over 150 years ago. Its legacy unfortunately continues. I don't know what the solution is. Perhaps esteemed board members have some ideas.
There’s likely no political answer or fix. Factionalism in the US in particular is so ingrained in our culture that even if there was a possible fix some faction or factions would shoot it down.
There’s likely no political answer or fix. Factionalism in the US in particular is so ingrained in our culture that even if there was a possible fix some faction or factions would shoot it down.
the answer is stop talking about it and the fix is one faction needs to admit their own heavy involvement in the african slave trade. and stop with all this reparations nonsense.
the answer is stop talking about it and the fix is one faction needs to admit their own heavy involvement in the african slave trade. and stop with all this reparations nonsense.
and we know which faction that is.
Sorry I am so dense. Please tell us. PLEASE. What could go wrong?
And there we have it Tiny. Though I believe hardly any blacks in America (meaning nearly nonexistent number) were involved in the slave trade except as slaves. Could be that I'm ill-informed.
Some interesting links for sure. Estimated between 27-50 million world-wide. Wow.
I doubt that includes things like China's forced relocation for labor of a shit ton of Uyghurs. They pay them. But it is part of the campaign to disrupt their lives and destroy their culture.
And there we have it Tiny. Though I believe hardly any blacks in America (meaning nearly nonexistent number) were involved in the slave trade except as slaves. Could be that I'm ill-informed.
No. you aren't ill-informed. you are denying the history. there were some free blacks who owned black slaves.
but that's not the real issue. you know the real issue here. the bulk of slaves 50-70% especially in the US a British colony at the time came from the African slave trade. that's the truth that blacks today won't admit.
No. you aren't ill-informed. you are denying the history. there were some free blacks who owned black slaves.
but that's not the real issue. you know the real issue here. the bulk of slaves 50-70% especially in the US a British colony at the time came from the African slave trade. that's the truth that blacks today won't admit.
there's your problem.
Exactly what history am I denying. I conceded some small number of blacks in America might have had something to do with the slave trade, if you mean owning them. But again that number is so small as to not matter. I'm fairly certain a even fewer number of them were not part of the import of slaves.
As for what Africans were part of the slave trade, how does that matter to the persons that were enslaved in the US? Once the slaves were dropped off on US soil, the USA became responsible for the acts of slavery here in the US. Let’s assume Africans brought them all the way to the US port, once they were enslaved in the US, any acts from then forward is on the US. So I'm not sure what your argument is. Or rather what's your point.
Exactly what history am I denying. I conceded some small number of blacks in America might have had something to do with the slave trade, if you mean owning them. But again that number is so small as to not matter. I'm fairly certain a even fewer number of them were not part of the import of slaves.
As for what Africans were part of the slave trade, how does that matter to the persons that were enslaved in the US? Once the slaves were dropped off on US soil, the USA became responsible for the acts of slavery here in the US. Let’s assume Africans brought them all the way to the US port, once they were enslaved in the US, any acts from then forward is on the US. So I'm not sure what your argument is. Or rather what's your point.
Here is a very concise essay on slavery and those that profited from it.
However, we are one of the few Countries to ever have paid such a horrific price in human lives and suffering to abolish slavery.
The maternal side of my family were English settlers in what is now eastern Pennsylvania. My Sister did a search and they went all the way back to the early 1830’s. The trace showed that one of my mother’s distant relatives was a Union soldier who died at the battle of Shilo.
Considering the numbers of dead that the Civil War produced on both sides, I suspect that there are countless family’s that can trace an ancestor that was killed or wounded in that horrible conflict.
Of course, that has absolutely nothing to do with my 78+ years of life in the 20th and 21st century.
I go back to my previous sentence. Whilst we as a Country all share the guilt of Slavery, we as a Country did more, and paid a higher price in human life, to abolish it.
Excellent post Jacky. About the link, yeah, Blackman's right, it's not so relevant today. I agree Waco Kid, I don't like reparations.
What can be done to improve the situation, that wouldn't be shut down by factionalism? Here are a few ideas,
Better education for the underprivileged, all the way from pre-kinders to graduation. More emphasis on programs that will give people the skills to make a living and less on college degrees in areas like the liberal arts.
Criminal justice reform - stop putting young black men, and all men for that matter, in jail and throwing away the key for nonviolent crimes. And more effective policing for violent crimes
Take welfare money away from able bodied adults and seniors and the middle and upper classes in general. Use some of it in ways that will help poor kids.
Republicans IMO are better at providing efficient local government. Elect more black Republicans to local office and school boards in what are now blue counties. Blackman, you should change party affiliations and run.
Exactly what history am I denying. I conceded some small number of blacks in America might have had something to do with the slave trade, if you mean owning them. But again that number is so small as to not matter. I'm fairly certain a even fewer number of them were not part of the import of slaves.
As for what Africans were part of the slave trade, how does that matter to the persons that were enslaved in the US? Once the slaves were dropped off on US soil, the USA became responsible for the acts of slavery here in the US. Let’s assume Africans brought them all the way to the US port, once they were enslaved in the US, any acts from then forward is on the US. So I'm not sure what your argument is. Or rather what's your point.
excellent DA NILE. very lawyer like. it matters because blacks sold blacks into slavery. trying to deflect that is ignoring the fact that they never would have been slaves in the first place if not for the long standing african tribal wars and resulting slave trade. this is the truth blacks ignore today while trying to blame it on the whites.
the only people today making a stink over this is guilty white libtards and black crt activists who whitewash their own involvement in the slave trade.
the answer is stop talking about it and the fix is one faction needs to admit their own heavy involvement in the african slave trade. and stop with all this reparations nonsense.
and we know which faction that is.
That's not a bad idea. Besides Juneteenth is a stupid Holliday anyway. Blacks think they are the only ethnic group that endured slavery, they aren't.
On Juneteenth, the legacy of slavery
