I recently read George Washington Carver & Booker T. Washington's autobiographies. They both point out that they learned trades ("skills") that they were able to use when emancipated. Blacksmithing, farming, cooking, building, etc. The enslavers were at a loss since they didn't know how to do these things and would need to hire the former slaves. It certainly doesn't justify slavery, but there were trades ("skills") learned were essential for adaption into self-sufficiency.
Right, but you'll never find a history textbook trying to argue that Jews who survived the Holocaust "developed skills" in the forced labor camps "which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit" later in life, even though I don't doubt it happened in a few instances.
The whole narrative from these people is designed to minimize the horrors of slavery as much as they can get away with. Over the years, I've lost count of the number of times I've seen right-wing conservatives argue that black people were better off as slaves in America than they would have been living free in Africa. The beneficial skills argument fits right into that narrative.
I guess "Live Free of Die" only applies if you're white...
Crispus Attucks sticks in my memory because of his breakfast cereal, but of course the reason I know of him is that my high school history class covered his remarkable unremarkability. A pointed contrast to the story of John Punch, Victor the Dutchman, and James Gregory.
Here are the “encouraged” qualifications for the workgroup members: https://info.fldoe.org/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-9627/dps-2022-118.pdf
It is not clear that Allen or Rice match up well with these criteria.
My thought exactly.
I recently read George Washington Carver & Booker T. Washington's autobiographies. They both point out that they learned trades ("skills") that they were able to use when emancipated. Blacksmithing, farming, cooking, building, etc. The enslavers were at a loss since they didn't know how to do these things and would need to hire the former slaves. It certainly doesn't justify slavery, but there were trades ("skills") learned were essential for adaption into self-sufficiency.
Right, but you'll never find a history textbook trying to argue that Jews who survived the Holocaust "developed skills" in the forced labor camps "which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit" later in life, even though I don't doubt it happened in a few instances.
The whole narrative from these people is designed to minimize the horrors of slavery as much as they can get away with. Over the years, I've lost count of the number of times I've seen right-wing conservatives argue that black people were better off as slaves in America than they would have been living free in Africa. The beneficial skills argument fits right into that narrative.
I guess "Live Free of Die" only applies if you're white...
Crispus Attucks sticks in my memory because of his breakfast cereal, but of course the reason I know of him is that my high school history class covered his remarkable unremarkability. A pointed contrast to the story of John Punch, Victor the Dutchman, and James Gregory.