From Descendants of Slaves to Mass Incarceration

Chapter 1- Blacks in Colonial America

To do diligence in telling this story about my grandson, Sherman, (he could be anyone’s Black grandson), I decided to start in colonial America. That’s where Sherman’s ancestors came from by way of slave ships from Africa. I’m starting there in colonial America because it’s my view that there are many young Blacks especially (other races too) who haven’t read an account like this – even though this information is in the World Book Encyclopedia, c. 1973. With all the new phones and computers, etc., many still might can’t afford the monthly expense for that kind of phone. And if they can afford such a device, I wonder if there’s that much information available on apps about Colonial America where many young descendants of slaves come from.
Being a trained librarian in the 1960’s, I remember that encyclopedias were once the main source for accurate information, but now there’s Google, etc., if they include information from times way back. History notes that early slaves were of all races—and at one time, conquerors simply killed their prisoners. However, things changed from slaves being of many races. Most later slaves were Negroes—Sherman’s ancestors.
One source defined slavery as when human beings are owned by other human beings. A slave works for his master or owner without pay. Slavery in the U.S. began in the early 1600s. By 1860, there were about 3,954,000 Negro slaves. Most American slaves came from Africa either voluntarily or against their will.
I will show how life in Colonial America compared to, and was still very much like back then, and fast-forward to Sherman’s later years growing up in the 2000s. Many things are still the same. Research notes that back in early colonial times, many different kinds of people lived in the 13 English colonies that became the U.S. Even though most of the colonies were of English settlers, thousands of settlers were not. Many settlers came to America because they were unhappy with life where they came from. They wanted to make a better life in the New World. The English of Great Britain were the first Europeans to live in the New World; in large numbers, they carried their racist ideas to America. Owning land as settlers gave them independence and the promise of a good life for their children.
According to World Book Encyclopedia, some settlers received several 100s of acres of free land from individuals or companies to develop—and since Colonial America was the most democratic in the world, members of lower classes (except slaves, Sherman’s ancestors) could easily rise to a higher class. A free settler had several new opportunities in the New World and could choose several lines of work. He could be a successful farmer, owner of a large estate, owner of livestock, a shop keeper, set up a business, or be a skilled worker and invest their money. Only slaves were limited and bound to spend their lives at the lowest level of society. Most could not move up. Most worked in southern colonies as laborers or house servants in homes or shops. Slaves and their children remained slaves unless their master freed them. They were prevented from rising to a higher class as European settlers could because of the color of their skin.
That free land and all kinds of opportunities to make a living were bootstraps for settlers’ new start. On the contrary, slaves mostly didn’t have much opportunity for bootstraps. And yet some whites (but not all) said “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.” There were none in slave ships crossing the ocean.