news article

How racism cannot be blamed on the South

June 21, 2017 / By By Linda Hughes, CORR

For most of my life, I thought the majority of the racism blame was owned by the South. The Southerners of earlier America were the slave-holding plantation owners and the Northerners were the noble abolitionists. My eyes were opened when I learned the vast majority of slave trading ships were launched from New England; about half of them from Rhode Island. The Trade Triangle was New England, to West Africa, then to Cuba and the southern colonies. From New England, rum and goods were shipped to Africa and traded for people, who were off loaded in Cuba and the south, and sugar (molasses for rum) and tobacco was loaded for return to New England. Between 1500 and 1800, 14 million people came to the USA. Of them, 11-1/2 million were forcibly removed from Africa.

A successful trip in the Trade Triangle could reap a 25% return on investment. Some ship owners, captains, and cargo inspectors amassed great wealth and lived in homes of grandeur. They had fine furniture, chandeliers, grand portraits, and house slaves. They had social status, political influence, and could operate outside of the law.

The everyday New Englander also benefited from the slave trade. They were ship builders, ironworkers for chains and shackles, coopers for rum barrels, makers of sails and rope, farmers to provide food for the crews and for trade, architects, weapon makers, textile workers, candle makers, and tool makers.  The buying and selling of African people resulted in the growth of banks and insurance companies. Both upper and middle class people could buy shares in slave ships, much like we buy shares in the stock market today. The entire coastal town and surrounding areas were invested in slave trading, and it was the basis for prosperity in the Northeast for more than a century.

Does that mean anything to us today? What if our ancestors came to the US after the Civil War, or during the Irish potato famine, or to escape a World War? Does that exempt them (and us) from the benefits of the slave trade? Even though our ancestors struggled when they arrived, if they were white, they joined a society that was two tiered and they joined the upper tier. They had access to education, housing and jobs that were not available to African-Americans.

I have to conclude, as did Thomas Norman DeWolf, in his book Inheriting the Trade, that every white person in America still benefits greatly from the progress and prosperity that the slave trade generated. Does this mean I should feel guilty? I don’t think that would be productive. But I do think it means that I should be invested and involved in the dismantling of the tier system still functioning today that benefits some at the expense of others.

For more understanding, read Mr. DeWolf’s book, or watch the DVD Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North. Then follow it by reading Gather at the Table for some practical guides to healing.