#we were the last to abolish slavery

[idkimnotreal]

anti-racist reaction is so strongly and utterly universal in brazil (in response to attacks against vini jr in spain) that i reckon racism is going to be eradicated in 50 years or so just like smallpox (it’s a virus of the mind, so to speak). it’s incredible. there’s no one in brazil, not in its whitest regions, where whites number up to 80% of the population, that will say in public that an anti-racist protest is reverse racism (they might claim it’s a waste of time, but not that the initiative is misled. eradicating an opinion in public, making it shameful, is the first step to eradicating it completely) or the sort. just amazing.

[djuvlipen]

Of course media representation is important, especially for children who grow up and always see their people depicted as thieves, criminals, spirits with a special bond with the devil itself, be it on TV, in movies, in cartoons, in books, etc etc. Of course it is important to give acting opportunities to aspiring Romani actors.

But media representation isn't the main purveyor of anti-Romani violence in the world. 80% of Romani people in Europe live below the poverty rate. Romani women are disproportionately impacted by the sex trade. In many places in Europe (both Eastern and Western), Romani people are still segregated in neighbourhoods and at school, our access to healthcare is poorer and our life expectancy is 15 years shorter than the European average. Every month or so, we have to hear about anti-Romani protests held by Neo-Nazis in Europe, about a Romani person killed by the police, or about pogroms carried against Romani people.

So while it is good to talk about media representation, it becomes a problem - a big problem - when it receives much more attention and engagement than actual acts of brutality against Romani people. I have seen hundreds of posts on here and on Twitter, I have seen leftist influencers talk about it on Tiktok, but where was this energy last week when a romani man was murdered in france? when romani children were stripped away from their parents in leeds? when is that energy every other day of the year when Romani people (and women in particular) have to face poverty, homelessness and segregation, are at risk of human trafficking, get discriminated against in the workplace?

While it is good to advocate for better Romani representation now and then, media representation won't fix any of these issues. You can't place that much hope into TV shows and movies. Media and culture aren't powerful enough to get rid of social/economic oppression. Quite the contrary; it is the economical and social marginalization of Romani people that leads to racism in media and culture. And at the end of the day, it feels very callous and disheartening to see so many people care more about fictional Romani people than they do actual, breathing Romani people. If you actually want to support Romani people's rights, then you should redirect all of that energy into supporting causes that actually address the root of Romani people's oppression:

reparation and acknowledgement of the Holocaust and Romani slavery,

boosting conversations about segregation,

holding the police accountable when they kill a Romani person,

abolishing the sex trade,

supporting Romani women's reproductive rights (compensation for forced sterilization + better access to abortion facilities)

supporting homeless people's and migrant people's human rights

[nesiacha]

Mini Portraits of Three Revolutionary Women from Overseas Territories

French womens revolutionaries from mainland France are largely forgotten in France. But those from the Overseas Territories and Haiti are even more overlooked.

Victoria Montou aka Aunt Toya (presumed portrait)

(? – 1805)

A former slave working for the colonist Henri Duclos, she would be considered a second mother by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the future Lieutenant General under Toussaint Louverture, who briefly allied with General Leclerc as a strategic move before fighting against him again and becoming Emperor of Haiti. It is believed that she taught Dessalines about African culture and some combat skills while they were enslaved. Duclos saw their association as dangerous and decided to get rid of them by selling them to different slave owners, ensuring their separation.

On her new estate, where she was exploited again , Dr. Jean-Baptiste Mirambeau, who would later become the Emperor’s physician, noted, "Her commands are identical to those of a general." This observation would prove accurate as events unfolded. Toya led a group of slaves she was affiliated with, and together they took up arms, fighting against a regiment. According to Mirambeau, "This small group of rebels, under Toya's command, was quickly surrounded and captured by the regiment. During the struggle, Toya fled, pursued by two soldiers; a hand-to-hand combat ensued, and Toya severely wounded one of them. The other, with the help of additional soldiers who arrived in time, captured Toya."

Upon the proclamation of independence in January 1804 and Dessalines’ coronation as Emperor, he made Victoria Montou an imperial duchess. However, she fell gravely ill in 1805. Jean-Jacques Dessalines tried to heal her, saying, "This woman is my aunt; treat her as you would have treated me. She endured, alongside me, all the hardships and emotions while we were condemned to work the fields together." She died on June 12, 1805. She was given a grand funeral; her funeral procession was carried by eight brigadiers of the imperial guard and led by Empress Marie-Claire Bonheur.

Marthe Rose-Toto (1762? – December 2, 1802)

Marthe Rose-Toto was born around 1762 on the island of Saint Lucia, which became free following the abolition of slavery in Guadeloupe in 1794. According to some sources, she became a close companion of Louis Delgrès, an officer and fervent republican revolutionary, so much so that he was called a "Sans Culotte" by Jean-Baptiste Raymond de Lacrosse ( I've already discussed Louis Delgrès here: https://www.tumblr.com/nesiacha/751677840407330816/on-this-day-die-louis-delgres-freedom-fighter?source=share) . However, in 1802, Bonaparte sought to reinstate slavery and sent General Richepance. Louis Delgrès and many others took up arms. It is noteworthy that women were as present as men in this struggle to maintain their freedom and dignity. When all was lost, Louis Delgrès and 300 volunteers chose to commit suicide by explosives, shouting the revolutionary cry "Live free or die," after ensuring the evacuation of the estate for those who were not willing. The repression was brutal.

According to historian Auguste Lacour, during the evacuation, Marthe Rose-Toto broke her leg and was brought to the tribunal on a stretcher. She was accused of inciting Louis Delgrès' resistance and inciting the murder of white prisoners. It should be noted that these accusations were generally false, intended to legitimize death sentences. She was hanged, and according to Lacour, her last words were, "Men, after killing their king, left their country to come to ours to bring trouble and confusion: may God judge them!" In any case, Marthe Rose-Toto is considered one of the most important women in the fight against the reinstatement of slavery, alongside Rosalie, also known as Solitude. Their struggles and sacrifices should not be forgotten, and they were not in vain, as slavery was once again abolished in 1848.

Flore Bois Gaillard

Flore Bois Gaillard was a former slave and also a leader. She was reportedly one of the leaders of the "Brigands" revolt on the island of Saint Lucia during the French Revolution. Little is known about her as a former slave, only that she lived in the colony of Saint Lucia. Local historian Thomas Ferguson says of Flore Bois Gaillard, "A woman named Flore Bois Gaillard—a name that evokes intrepidity—was among the main leaders of the revolutionary party," and that during the French Revolution, she was "a central figure in this turbulent group that would be defeated by the military strategies of Colonel Drummond in 1797."

The group that included Flore Bois Gaillard consisted of former slaves, French revolutionaries, soldiers, and English deserters. They were determined to fight against the English regiments, notably through guerrilla strategies. This group won a notable battle, the Battle of Rabot in 1795, with the help of Governor Victor Hugues and, according to some, also with the help of Louis Delgrès and Pelage. However, this group was ultimately defeated by the British, who retook the island in 1797. At this point, Flore Bois Gaillard’s trace is lost. Writer Édouard Glissant imagines in his book that she was executed by the British after the island was retaken in 1797. Nevertheless, she remains a symbol in this struggle and a national heroine. The example of Flore Bois Gaillard is also interesting because it clearly shows us once again that the French Revolution was also taking place in the overseas departments and that slaves or former slaves played a crucial role there in order to make her revolution triumph and were in all the battles.

[hoodreader]

the lynching/murder of Khaliifah Williams (Rest in Power & Peace ✊🏾🕊️)

transit, mundane, & political astrology ramble from a pro-Black + afro pessimist leaning astrology student. i’m still learning so take that into consideration when reading.

trigger warning: state sanctioned violence

it is with insurmountable sadness that i write this post regarding the recent lynching of Khaliifah Williams, a wrongly convinced Black man who was sentenced to death by the state of missouri/mike parson. after countless of calls, protests, marches, blockades, pleas from the victim’s family and the williams family, Khaliifah was murdered by this system.

i see his face and i see all of us. all of us black people!!! i see oldhead uncles, barber shops, corner stores. i see something so familiar. do not let this mourning be for nothing. arm urself with knowledge, community, and bravery.

i know i can’t physically hold a moment of silence with text, but please allow thirty seconds of quiet before clicking ‘Keep Reading,’ to simply honor the memory of another soul lost to this system.

read his poetry here: “Perspectives and Emotions” by Khaliifah Williams, aka, Marcellus Williams.

On September 24, 2024 at 6:10 pm in Bonne Terre, Missouri, Khaliifah Williams was lynched by this system / Mike Parson.

1H in Pisces containing Saturn in Pisces Rx

a water sign shows emotional sensitivity. in a mutable modality, it shows that there is change coming. i feel Khaliifah is represented by Saturn in this chart, as saturn in the mundane chart represents the oppressed, isolated, imprisoned, dead, and poor or enslaved. i also personally ascribe race (and racial oppression) to saturn as well.

if u have any understanding of the USA prison system, it is derived from the abolishment of chattel slavery in the united states. when it was illegalized to own slaves on plantations, it was then only allowed within prisons, and so, black people became disproportionately imprisoned. thus… slavery persists. source.

communally, saturn in the mundane chart rules sadness, sorrow, depression, and disappointment in the public. as u can see, saturn is in a tight conjunction to the ascendant. the moment of his lynching was a moment of disappointment and misery to the people, as it became (once again) grimly bleak what the state of this nation is. i wonder if it functions as “the last straw.”

jupiter is the chart ruler here. and it’s actually quite interesting… while saturn is the signifier for the proliteriate, the poor, the enslaved, the imprisoned, and the marginalized… jupiter is the signifier of the bourgeoisie, the wealthy, judicial leaders, justice, and judgment. but not only that, it represents hopes and aspirations.

the ascendant being in a jovial sign shows hope & aspiration. but saturn Rx in pisces shows hope is misplaced. it shattered the delusion that the united states - of all governments - and the crooked people running this nation would suddenly gain a conscience. but the united states is devoid of that. mike parson is devoid of that.

saturn in pisces Rx and the recent partial lunar eclipse in pisces tells u to let go of ur delusions, especially with saturn telling u to let go of delusions regarding structure and hierarchy. yes, this is a sad moment, but the sign pisces is the last mutable (transitionary) sign in the zodiac cycle. there is an impending change.

we need to invest hope in ourselves instead of those who oppress us. when has an oppressor EVER given their victims the keys to free themselves?

“Nobody in the world, nobody in history, has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them.”

— Assata Shakur

5H Cancer Moon conjunct Cancer Mars

the moon represents the common people, and with the moon conjunction mars (strong moon, weak mars), it can definitely be read as some form of defensiveness happening among the people. which i don’t blame. we need to defend ourselves. i interpret this as the response being heavily emotional, and the people feeling like they need to protect themselves and their sense of “homeliness.” in this case, the fifth house represents what is valued by the people, and here, it’s valued to protect itself.

8H Libra Sun

the sun represents rulers and leaders. i feel like the president is represented here, as we are nearing a presidential election. but also general leaders (of law). it’s weakened times three — in fall, in the eighth house (bad house), and it’s conjunct the south node (a malefic). it’s also harsh aspecting the moon (benefic, ruling over the people). the sun is not in a confident configuration, and i feel like that’s reflected in the people’s (moon) lack of confidence in the country’s ridership. there’s a lot of uncertainty. and this didn’t help.

the eighth house represents death, lack of control, fear, anxiety, psychological illness. with a weakened sun here, i wonder if someone judicial or presidential is going to die in response to this, or have declining health… delays in getting in office. or if there’s going to be a dramatic deconstruction of how the president/law is viewed due to radical change in belief of the general public. the south node (the headless body of the dragon) represents destruction in the mundane chart, and being in conjunction to the sun shows a destruction to the ruler/head. in libra, i wonder if the deconstruction relates to the USA’s part in imperialism/genocide/colonialism in sudan, the DR congo, haiti, palestine, and more. libra is the foreign affairs, venus rules giving/receiving, and the eighth house rules economic foreign affairs to the states. but i’m truthfully struggling to interpret this.

10H in Sagittarius, 10H lord Jupiter in Gemini

the tenth house is those in power or authority; the ‘rulers.’ in sagittarius, it shows that the authoritative figure is a judicial person (and thus, i think this what mike parson represented by). fire signs represent action - some possibly violent - and mutable modality again represents change.

i notice sagittarius is significant in the mundane charts of cultural events. for example, the death of george floyd had a sagittarius ascendant. and the january 6, 2021 chart also had a sagittarius ascendant. i wonder if there’s going to be another incited cultural action in response to this - or maybe that could be represented by all of the protests that had already happened in response to his sentence. it’s something that mobilizes the people.

i feel like because jupiter is in gemini — which is detriment for jupiter — it can be read as this lacking direction. the sagittarius sign is the archer, so it’s right on target. but gemini is scattered, & while the people may mobilize (sag energy, sag rules masses/gatherings & worldly affairs such as protests), they can lose sight of the objective thru being distracted. which is quite literally what happened with the 2020 Floyd/Taylor/etc. protests. and it’s interesting because there’s quite a few thematic overlaps between the chart of George Floyd’s death and the chart of Khallifah Williams’ death. i may or may not make a post on it. depends on my mood.

moving on though. since jupiter is read for optimism, a weakened jupiter in the invisible house supports the idea that this will be a time of confusion, distraction, anxiety, and pessimism. it’s expected that people feel hopeless in response to this.

11H in Capricorn, 12H in Aquarius, Lord in the 1H

there is awareness of how we bypass, deny, repress, or ignore reality. the twelfth house is how we are responsible for how we undo ourselves. i’m thinkinggg it may be readable as us thinking we were at the end/close to a resolution, but we are actually just beginning. same for the eleventh house lord in the first.

eleventh house is our alliances, our community, our communal goals & aspirations in the mundane chart. and i think it shows our (meaning anti-colonial radicals, i guess lmao) goal is to dissolve this system due to its violence. pluto is present in this house, retrograded and at the anaretic degree. pluto brings destruction and so does the anaretic degree. in capricorn, the destruction is to institutions, customs, hierarchies. it’s the tower card. the lord placed in the first house may signify that the power to manifest hope in placed in the hands of the people, not the government.

regarding the twelfth house, maybe it’s saying that naïveté and misplaced hope is how we undo ourselves. deluding urself into thinking voting, peaceful protests, or petitions will challenge hundreds of years of colonialism in this country. especially because of the 2020 protests. mfkas really thought that was revolutionary and it’s like no… it was cute and all i guess but that wasn’t revolution.

revolution can’t be planned or organized, and the eleventh/twelfth lord = saturn in pisces Rx shows that. i’m not saying that tomorrow mfkas gon go outside and start burning shit to the ground (although i wish they would). but hopefully… this death won’t be another forgotten name. i know he won’t be the last to get murdered to this system, but i hope we see this for what it is: it’s genocide, it is modern day lynching, it’s anti-black, & there is no justice in this justice system.

like i said, i don’t really post mundane or political astrology. but i’m trying to speak from my heart about something very sensitive to me. if there are any more seasoned mundane astrologers who can provide feedback, that would be helpful & even more helpful if they are also black.

the shit that happens in this world is so fucked up. we supposed to be using these tools (spirituality, divination, etc) to aid us because the colonialism we experienced was also spiritual warfare. like i said, as a black person this shit hit mad close to home so when i see another one of my people getting murdered to this system, i know it can be any of us. & that’s because the black body & black soul is disposable to this anti black world. so yea… #HellNaw #FuckMikeParson #FuckAmerica #FuckIsntreal #FuckEmAll

black power, HoodReader

[cartermagazine]

Today We Honor Oluale Kossola, Renamed Cudjo Lewis

Zora Neale Hurston tells the story of Cudjo Lewis, who was born Oluale Kossola in what is now the West African country of Benin in her book “Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo.”

A member of the Yoruba people, he was only 19 years old when members of the neighboring Dahomian tribe invaded his village, captured him along with others, and marched them to the coast.

There, he and about 120 others were sold into slavery, after the “Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves" took effect in 1808 slavery was abolished, and crammed onto the Clotilda, the “last” slave ship to reach the continental United States.

The Clotilda brought its captives to Alabama in 1860, just a year before the outbreak of the Civil War. Even though slavery was legal at that time in the U.S., the international slave trade was not, and hadn’t been for over 50 years. Along with many European nations, the U.S. had outlawed the practice in 1808.

After being abducted from his home, Lewis was forced onto a ship with strangers. The abductees spent several months together during the treacherous passage to the United States, but were then separated in Alabama to go to different owners.

“We very sorry to be parted from one ’nother,” Lewis told Hurston. “We seventy days cross de water from de Affica soil, and now dey part us from one ’nother.”

“Derefore we cry. Our grief so heavy look lak we cain stand it. I think maybe I die in my sleep when I dream about my mama.”

“We doan know why we be bring ’way from our country to work lak dis,” he told Hurston. “Everybody lookee at us strange. We want to talk wid de udder colored folkses but dey doan know whut we say.”

Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered in April 1865, Lewis says that a group of Union soldiers stopped by a boat on which he and other enslaved people were working and told them they were free.

He and a group of 31 other freepeople saved up money to buy land near Mobile, which they called Africatown.

CARTER™️ Magazine

[reasoningdaily]

History of the Slave Trade: The Origins of the Slave Trade and Its Impacts Throughout History and the Present Day

by Hareth Al Bustani, Josephine Hall, Edoardo Albert

Book Overview

The transatlantic slave trade is one of the most shameful chapters in human history. Between 1500 and 1900 it's estimated that around 12 million African men, women, and children were stolen from their homes by Europeans, before being forcefully transported thousands of miles across the Atlantic. Those who survived the horrific 'Middle Passage' would then be sold, often separated from their families, and put to work as enslaved labor on plantations throughout the New World. While this inhumane trade was eventually abolished in the 19th century, the scars still remain and the lasting impact is still being felt by communities around the world. In History of the Slave Trade, we seek to tell the story of the transatlantic slave trade - from its origins to its abolition. We discover the impact on Africa, the horrors of the Middle Passage, and what life was like for millions of enslaved people. We also look to explore the legacies of slavery and how the effects are still being felt in the modern world.

CLICK THE TITLE TO DOWNLOAD FROM THE BLACK TRUEBRARY

[oattoast]

im just flabbergasted that californians voted the opposite of me in most propositions on the ballot. we voted NOT to abolish prison slavery. we voted against a minimum wage increase. we voted against rent control despite skyrocketing housing costs and homelessness. we increased penalties for nonviolent theft and drug crimes (walking back a measure that lowered them to misdemeanors and saved taxpayers untold amounts and kept people out of prison). we voted to punish an HIV/aids healthcare nonprofit and restrict how it spends its money (a measure brought onto the ballot by landlords and housing developers as retaliation for that org supporting housing related causes like the rent control measure). just about the only progressive thing that passed was the repeal of the same-sex marriage ban we passed in 2008 (my first election, where i obviously voted no. "no on h8!" poor teen me; if only you knew what was coming). note we do not actually have enshrined same sex marriage (yet...? <- the question mark wouldn't have been there before i saw the 2024 election results).

this is one of the more progressive states, right? i am astounded at how many californians voted against our own interests and the interests of our citizens. is everyone a landlord? is everyone rich? does everyone have stakes in prison slavery? we couldn't say no to slavery. actual slavery.

this. this is real life.

i feel like grimes clowntweeting musk "this isnt your heart" when. of course. obviously this is the ugly beating heart of a state, and a nation, founded on violence, subjugation of the other, and bigotry.

california hasn't answered for the violent mission system, and the native tribe in my area, the tongva, are not federally recognized and their lands and sacred sites are routinely violated. as children in the public school system we had lessons on the california missions and how they "converted" and "anglicized" the natives, making it sound like spanish colonization was a quaint settlement of ranchos where the natives and the spanish worked side by side to make california a "civilized" place. we built models of our favorite missions and wrote cute little reports and took field trips to these sites where uncounted people, kidnapped from their families and used as slave labor by the spanish, are still buried in unmarked graves. craft stores sold model kits of these sites. we have streets named after and statues depicting the colonizer who led the charge. in 2015 he was made a saint by the catholic church. after one of the missions was intentionally set on fire (and after a statue of the saint/colonizer was toppled) many local latinos mourned the damage of a building where countless people, some of them their own ancestors, suffered, because that's where they attended church or got married or baptized.

not to mention more recent history. our beloved dodgers who won the world series this year have their home stadium built on land seized from poor mexican american families. "chavez ravine" is the former neighborhoods of la loma, bishop, and palo verde. families who had been pushed to the poor neighborhood by racism and redlining, and thus had nowhere else to go, were violently forced out of their homes for a baseball stadium. and now their descendants wear blue caps and set off fireworks for the franchise that makes millions off of them and gives nothing back to the community (besides financial support to one of the most violent police departments in the country... and a statement in support of israel's genocide...)

this is a picture from the LA Times in 1959 showing aurora vargas, one of the very last holdouts of the battle for "chavez ravine," getting carried out of her family home by LA sherrifs deputies. i remember this image whenever my fellow poor or working class latinos spend $$$ on dodgers merch or paint dodgers murals or celebrate in the streets when they win games.

as i get older and grow more and feel more empathy and learn about our real history, i get more radical, not less. it doesn't make sense to me that my community is getting more hateful and conservative, but there is an obvious basis for it. it's ingrained, despite a popular perception of working and middle class californians being liberal and accepting. it feels like i'm fighting against a riptide. my uncle, an immigrant with dark skin who speaks broken english, is a trump supporter, and i only found out today. do i even have the right to be surprised or disappointed?

i am obviously going to retain hope, and fight where i can, when i can. i just have to be mindful of where i come from and what we are capable of when we are enmeshed in and misled by powerful, deep-seated forces on this blood-soaked land.

[wifeofsnowbaird]

You put a spell on me

[A/N: I was too lazy to wait for the end of the poll. also i haven't watched the show and wikipedia is kinda holding me up so don't get mad at me for messing smth up, i'll go on the fan wiki tho, they always have everything.]

[EDIT: guys I forgot about the civil war 💀💀💀 I finally fixed it tho so yay]

Part 1/Part 2

Masterlist

[Billy the Kid (Tom Blyth's version) x desi!oc]

Warning: description of blood, slight violence, flogging, racism, flogging, slaves, smut in maybe part 6?

Summary: Sheila was a slave taken by a British couple at the age of 12 for her singing. She was brought to America even though they had the 13th Amendment where slavery was abolished. She saw a friend of hers, who was brought with her, getting flogged and that was her last straw, proceeding to run away. Until she sees the most notorious outlaw in the South, then she settles to free her friends from the British couple that came to America for money.

It was July.25, 1878, Lincoln County, New Mexico. Sheila woke up to nothing but harsh screams coming from one of her friends as she was beaten and whipped. She felt worried because the girl was new…Unlike Sheila who had been with the owner since she was twelve, merely because his wife liked her singing when they had come to visit British India.

Her friend, Catherine, was a sad sixteen-year-old, mourning the death of her parents. They had threatened the owners of telling law enforcement what was happening but they knew that they wouldn't do anything about it.

The other slaves ran to her screams but were faced with fear and did nothing besides revel in their powerlessness. Sheila sat there, her damp brown skin and greasy raven hair clinging to her shell of a body. She knew how this would end, knew that they would be feeble against the man–Edward J. Mason– but she was ready to clean Catherine’s wounds and reassure her that she would be alright.

“Oh, look at my slave, Sheila, so obedient! You never have to hurt her, Edward!”

The sadistic gray-haired man chuckled, kissing his wife.

“ And aren’t I glad, Penelope! We chose her when she was twelve, it has been seven years since, of course, she’d love us, this is why I love Indians! They always gift us with beauty and trust.”

They both glanced at the gaunt, starved girl before chuckling. The Mistress patted Sheila’s head and reached for a rake beside her, beckoning to the other slaves. 

Penelope Mason was a woman no different from her husband. Many wives were afraid of their spouses but Penelope was a wife who had nothing but pride in her bones. The rake in Penelope’s hand was covered in blood, meant to whip the slaves that threatened their control and most times Sheila could willing block out the screeches and screams, but now she just felt angry, ready to beat the couple with no morals. 

But she was stuck being useless to defend them.

Fear is a burden that was attached to her like a drug, and only withdrawal held her back from screaming her heart out.

Until she found a boy with the brightest blue eyes. 

From what she’d heard, he was an outlaw.

Billy the Kid was infamous because he was the man who killed a sheriff months ago, and chased out of the state. It was a mystery how he gained the courage to return to New Mexico.

“ Who’re you?” The man questioned, his vibrant cobalt eyes gazing at her with hostility.

Sheila didn’t want to think more about the dominant color in his entire posture and frame. His clothes were darker than sin and brighter than the sun, but his eyes were the only thing she could pay attention to, causing her to ignore their proximity.

“ I am a slave, belonging to the Mason family.”

He tilted his head, shocked eyes analyzing their surroundings.

“ I didn’ ask what you were forced to be, I asked who you are.”

“ My name is Sheila, is that what you want?”

“ Huh, I’m Billy, but considerin’ the poster you were starin’ at a min’ ago, you already know that. But...how did you...No, how dare they have slaves!”

The dividers were made by @wandanatromanova

[eaglesnick]

“A generation which ignores history has no past -- and no future.”  

The National Centre for Social Research Centre's Social Attitude survey, finding that there has been a sharp decline in British national pride in the last decade has driven the pundits and politicians on the right into displays of righteous indignation. 

Peoples pride in being British has fallen from 83% in 1995 to 64% in 2023. Only 53% think democracy works well in this country, down from 60% in 1995, and only 49% would rather be a British citizen than any other country, a decline of 20% since 1995. What has particularly agitated those on the right is the finding that pride in British history has dropped from 86% in 2013, to 64% in 2023.

Nigel Forage, never one to miss an opportunity for self-promotion, went on a “blistering rant" concerning the decline of national pride in British history, claiming he has been “railing against" an education establishment that is constantly  "talking down Britain’s past”.

What’s happened claims Forage is there has been a “Marxist take-over, of people that hate the country, hate what it stands for, and they have done their job” Primary school teachers, secondary school teachers and university lectures all “rejoice” in putting Britain down.

Who would have thought it? That seemingly lovely Mrs Jones, who does so much for the infants in her care, a revolutionary Marxist. The dusty secondary school history teacher Mr Smith, also a Marxist, just waiting to advance the communist revolution on the streets of Britain. Unbelievable! And as for all of those university academics…just don’t get me started.

What a load of utter piffle Mr Farage. But he knows that. What he is doing is dog whistling as usual.

Taking the teaching of slavery as an example , Forage condemns the educational establishment for teaching that Britain was “the only country in the history of mankind that had ever conducted slavery.” What’s more says Forage, Britain  "far from being the one nation, actually, that ended it,..lost a lot of money and a lot of lives driving it out."

Lets examine these claims.

First, no one has ever said that Britain was the only slave-trading nation. Portugal, France, Spain, Netherlands, USA and Denmark ALL profited from slaves.

Second, Forage was right in asserting that  Britain was one of the first major European powers to officially abolish slavery. The Abolition of Slavery Act was passed inn 1833 but not all British owned slaves were covered by this act as it specifically excluded many slave colonies owned by the East India Company and British slaves on the islands of Ceylon and St Helena.

Third, British sailors did die fighting the slave trade but nowhere near as many as has been claimed on social media. Fullfact.org, state that the figure of between 17,000 and 20,00 Royal Navy sailors dying fighting illegal slave traders is untrue, the figure being much nearer 2000.

Forth, did driving out slavery cost a lot of money? Yes it did, but none of the money went to the slaves themselves, only to the slave owners as compensation for their losses.

Despite the repugnant and morally corrupt practice of slave ownership that the 1833 Abolition of Slavery Act represented, a mere four years after this law came into being another piece of slavery legislation was enacted: the Slave Compensation Act 1887.

This is something Forage and those other millionaires and billionaires on the right of British politics often neglect to tell us. Despite the repugnant and utterly immoral practice of slave ownership implicit in the Abolition of Slavery Act 1833, this new act ordered the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt to compensate slave owners in the British colonies to the tune of £20 million pound – around £17billion pounds today. This payout was a massive 40% of total government budget.

What else Forage neglects to say is that the last compensation payment for loss of slaves paid for by the British government was in 2015.

In short, we the British taxpayer, have been paying compensation to slave owners and their dependents for "loss of their property” for the past 182 years!

I only wish we did teach these things in our schools but we don’t. In fact, the Conservative government, in its Education Act of 1996 made the promoting of partisan views by teachers illegal.

So much for Marxist conspiracy theories!

[scotianostra]

On April 28th 1742 Henry Dundas, powerful politician, known as "Uncrowned King of Scotland was born.

Sometimes there are posts I make about people I just don't like, Dundas is one of those people. I mentioned "The Uncrowned King of Scotland", well he did have another name, he was less affectionately known as, "the Great Tyrant"

No great surprise that he was a lawyer turned politician – a very capable and ruthless one, commonly known as the Governor General who effectively ruled Scotland for over thirty years.

But the power he exercised as William Pitt’s fixer in London was much greater. He was variously Home and War Secretaries, First Lord of the Admiralty and Treasurer of the Royal Navy. Above all, he was the critical figure in the expansion of British trading empires in India and the West Indies through what has been described as “pillage and patronage”

Dundas had fingers in a lot of pies, but most notable was his opposition to the abolition of slavery, which he delayed for years and even on it's abolition made sure his friends in the trade were suitably compensated.

He was "relieved of his cabinet post and position as head of the Admiralty after a misappropriation of funds, the sums were astronomical for the time, in fact even nowadays it would have created a massive scandal, some £15 million over two decades. He was impeached due to this and was the last person to be tried in the House of Lords, choosing to be tried there rather than face a criminal trial, the Lords acquitted him but it left his political career in ruins.

Married twice, first to Elizabeth, daughter of David Rannie, of Melville Castle, in 1765. Almost all of his wealth (£10,000), as well as the castle, came to him through this marriage but, after leaving Elizabeth in the country residence while he remained in Edinburgh, she committed adultery with a Captain Faulkner in 1778. Within days she had confessed by letter to her husband, and approximately a month later they were divorced. She never saw her children again, dying in 1847, aged 97. Henry Dundas, as was THE law at thetime, keeping all of the money and property. He then married Lady Jane Hope, daughter of John Hope, 2nd Earl of Hopetoun, another wealthy woman.

Henry Dundas died in May 1811, aged 69 and despite his fall from grace a public subscription for a memorial had already raised £3000 five years before his death, many of you will have walked past this memorial and statue which tops it in the middle of St Andrews Square. This was truly monumental. Robert Louis Stevenson’s grandfather even had to design a new crane to build it with 1500 tonnes of stone. The final cost was £8000, there is still doubt about whether his statue was intended to be put on top. It may have been an afterthought.

While we celebrate the statues we have in Edinburgh, the Damned Rebel Bitches history group points out, there are more than 200 hundred of them in Edinburgh but only two are of women and even two of dogs!

I took the picture from The Scott Monument in February 2016, I find it quite ironic, that given his resistance to abolishing slavery, over the years in the sooty atmosphere we once called "Auld Reekie" his face is now quite clearly black!

[thecatholicbozo]

"In any case we clearly see, and on this there is general agreement, that some opportune remedy must be found quickly for the misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class: for the ancient workingmen's guilds were abolished in the last century, and no other protective organization took their place. Public institutions and the laws set aside the ancient religion.

Hence, by degrees it has come to pass that working men have been surrendered, isolated and helpless, to the hardheartedness of employers and the greed of unchecked competition. The mischief has been increased by rapacious usury, which, although more than once condemned by the Church, is nevertheless, under a different guise, but with like injustice, still practiced by covetous and grasping men.

To this must be added that the hiring of labor and the conduct of trade are concentrated in the hands of comparatively few; so that a small number of very rich men have been able to lay upon the teeming masses of the laboring poor a yoke little better than that of slavery itself."

-Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum, Paragraph 4, 1891

[ivansergeyevichturgenev]

teaching the civil war and reconstruction has created a new sense of like. awe in me? is that the way to put it? the institution of slavery lasted longer than it has been abolished. we have many narratives and pictures of people who were enslaved. harriet tubman died in 1897. the civil rights movement is recent history. i'm talking about the us, not the americas, but the first enslaved african people were brought to virginia in 1619. you are an idiot at best and a white supremacist at worst if you think that the united states is not built upon the legacy of slavery!

[mightyhydrator]

Whoever blamed all of Metallic Rouge's problems on only having one cour owes me 20 dollars.

There's just no fucking way you have the protagonists successfully liberate all slaves, only for the sequel-hook villains to go "AHAHA NOW ALL THE ROBOTS ARE EVIL BECAUSE WE ARE EEEEEVIL ALIENS", and then have the machine just undo the evil virus anyway for no reason, only because you planned for the family drama to last 10 more episodes. There are deep problems with leadership, direction, concept-building, and planning.

Indeed, I am sure they wanted it to last longer, but the deeper problems are resource allocation (not enough time to plan anything out) and piss-poor leadership (nobody had any idea on what to fucking do with the thing). Like, gee, I don't know. Maybe the fact that the show keeps flip-flopping between how it frames conflicts and characters (Gene was supposed to be evil!!), the unending torrent of stupid nonsense reveals that add nothing, and the entire character of Roy Fucking Junghardt indicates a lack of vision, that there are problems with the writers' thinking, and maybe a half-baked planning process, and not that the writers are perfect and only if they were made to write 26 episodes instead of 13 then the show would have been perfect.

Never mind the absolute racism steaming off the thing up until it pivots entirely to family drama. White/black cop duo where the black cop dies and says "wow you made me feel so welcome, like I wasn't black at all". fuck. OFF. Stupid fucking status quo brain "if we abolish slavery, there will be chaos and the slaves will suffer". Could it have been better if they had a whole cour more? Maybe, marginally. It would also have been 13 more episodes of Racism Is Nuanced.

What a dogshit fucking show. Detroit on Mars: Become Brand New RWBY Egg. I absolutely adored watching it. I was genuinely cry-laughing at the end.

[metamatar]

In English translations of the early nineteenth-century writings of German idealist G. W. F. Hegel, Aufhebung is sometimes translated as “positive supersession,” and intriguingly, this rather stiff bit of jargon unites the ideas of lifting up, destroying, preserving, and radically transforming, all at once. These four components can be illustrated with reference to slavery, the earliest example of a radical cause calling itself “abolitionist” in history. The successful global fight for the abolition of slavery meant that the noble ideal of humanism, trumpeted in the French Revolution, was simultaneously lifted up (vindicated), destroyed (exposed as white), preserved (made tenable for the future) and transformed beyond recognition (forced to incorporate those it had originally excluded). Slavery was overturned in law and eventually more or less done away with in practice. What we must understand, however, is that our very capacity to understand these events was generated by them. In the “before” times, the ideals that governed slave-trading societies really were human rights, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The world manifested those ideas as they existed then, until, at the end of an enslaved person’s rifle, the self-styled inventors of “freedom” in these societies learned at last what real freedom (a more real freedom, for the time being) looked like. Humanism: negated, remade, born, buried, prolonged. By winning the struggle against slavers, abolition gave the lie to those societies, and supplied those brave ideals with their first-ever shot at becoming more than words.

Sophie Lewis in Abolish the Family

[astoldbyaja]

The Pink Blossom- Ch.20

I followed behind Emperor Meiji not knowing what I should say, but then again, I knew well enough to just not say anything until he spoke first. I looked to my right to see a small fountain with flowers and trees growing all around it. Some women with white painted faces were watching as young children were playing around the fountain.

“I trust… my teacher treated you with respect during your stay in the mountains.” the emperor said catching my attention. I looked up at the back of his head. I nodded softly.

“Yes. I was not harmed.” I replied wondering why we were having this conversation. He nodded.

“I knew as much. Does Mr. Algren plan to fight with him or against him?” he asked, and I bit the inside of my cheek keeping my hands together as I followed.

“I do not know, Enlightened one.” I replied. At least I wasn’t fully lying. I didn’t know what Nathan planned, but I knew he would not go up against Katsumoto. The emperor stopped and suddenly turned to me.

“You follow Mr. Algren wherever he goes even if he is going to war?” he asked, and I lifted my head some before nodding and letting my head fall back down to maintain my respectfulness.

“Yes.” I replied, and he nodded stepping toward me. I glanced back up at him before looking down again.

“If you had a choice to return to America… where there is slavery and horrors brought upon your people or stay in Japan where you would not experience such a life, which would you choose?” he asked. Now I looked at him deeply confused and taken back by his words. To remain here would be never seeing Nathan again, but right now with my future so unclear, that could mean the same thing with Ujio.

“I would have to ask why I was even given such a proposition.” I replied. Emperor Meiji nodded and continued his slow stroll down the hall, and I followed.

“Please walk closer, Ms. Grasuh, I do not want to keep twisting my body all the way around just to speak with you.” he said. I was stunned at the fact he was able to give a command so clearly, and I was even more stunned that he would want me closer. But I picked up mild speed and walked to the point I was almost by his side.

“You seem to be more knowledgeable on Africans and slavery.” I replied and he nodded.

“Yes. After our last talk, I have realized I know little about slavery in America and took it upon myself to learn as much as I could. I read many books. Your President Lincoln abolished it back in 1865. Does this not please you?” he asked, and I stared at him for a moment before looking ahead at the gardens we were now at.

“I wish I could give a clear answer. Yes I am happy slavery is abolished, but I had been with the American for nine years and even though slavery was abolished, I am forever still in danger, still seen as an animal.” I replied. The emperor was shocked some as he listened.

“I take it… slave owners and other whites are still very unkind to you Africans.” he said, and I nodded.

“If I am separated from Nathan, I could be kidnapped and still sold into a horrible life, because to Americans I am not a human being. Not many care what would happen to me.” I replied before giving a gentle scoff and looking ahead at the cherry blossoms. I even moved over to some of the flowers that fell on the floor and picked one up. “If I knew I would be treated with respect here like an actual human being, like my life amounted to something, then I would stay here.”

Emperor Meiji followed and nodded. I remember the cherry blossom tree in Katsumoto’s Garden. These flowers were pinker than I remember. I then feel the emperor’s hand raise up to my own. He gently curled his hands over mine.

“So let me offer you a place in my palace as my consort.” he said. Now I whipped my head at him and took a step back before bowing at him. I had never heard that word before so I did not understand.

“I- I don’t understand your highness. Why would you want a colored person- woman no doubt staying in your wonderful palace?” I asked. My brain was officially rattled. None of this made sense!

“Because I want to know more about American ways through the eyes of someone who is also on the other side like I am. I hear they are greedy, but Omura thinks I should trust them and let these business men westernize my country. But it seems through you I already know the great lengths they will go to in order to have power and to get what they want.” he explained. I stared at him for a moment thinking of his words. It wasn’t a good idea especially because he is at war right now.

“Enlightened one, I mean no disrespect, but you are in a war right now. Maybe this is something we should discuss maybe after the rebellion has died down. You are looking for peace-”

“And how do you think I should go about bringing peace and doing what is right for my people?” he asked with a tilt of his head. I stiffened some and looked down not knowing anything about war.

“I am not skilled enough to answer that. I do not know about your country, only what I have seen in the mountains and your culture is beautiful. Your history is beautiful. Even you and your people are beautiful.” I said, and he smiled at my words. I shook my head some. “My people were taken from our beautiful history and culture. If I was a tribal elder, I would accept that times are changing, we can only move forward even after becoming slaves. But even though I was born a slave, I would not dare try to forget my history or let anyone bully me into forgetting.” The emperor continued to smile.

“You love your people, and you also love the samurai.” he said. My body stiffened some, and I looked down feeling flushed. Which is also a reason why I wanted peace. I didn’t want Ujio to fight and die not after the weapons I have seen. I inhaled some and nodded.

“I do.” I replied. His eyes flexed as he looked me over.

“And he loves you?” he asked. I smiled warmly at the ground and nodded.

“He does.” I replied, and he gasped softly.

“I have never seen such a thing. A Japanese and an African. I did not think such a love is possible.” he said quite surprised. I have seen numerous marriages in America. Usually, it’s a white man and another race of woman, but I have still seen it in different races of people. I walked up to him and raised my hands to him revealing the flower. He looked down at it with mild confusion and I slowly, and I mean slowly, moved to take his gloved hand. He watched me, and I lifted his hand in between our bodies, and I placed a blossom in his palm.

“It’s a good thing love is colorblind. If the world has no choice but to evolve, then people will have no choice but to evolve.” Was my only reply, and I smiled and took a step back and bowed at him. “Enlightened one.”

He looked at the blossom for a moment gently holding it to his chest before looking at me and bowing at me with his eyes closed.

“Ms. Grasuh.” he replied, and I knew he was giving me permission to leave. I kept my warm smile on my face, and I lifted my dress some and left back down the hall. I was escorted from the palace and once I was back outside with the rest of the world, I realized I was alone, and Nathan was nowhere in sight. I guess now was the time to go and look for him and Ujio too. I arrived in town noticing some people were huddled together watching something. I moved over wondering what had happened until a familiar yelling caught my attention and I pushed through the crowd until I was at the front and my eyes widened as I watched two soldiers standing around Nobutada. But he was on his knees screaming as one of the soldiers were cutting off his topknot. I felt immediate pain at the sight.

“NO!” I screamed moving over toward them. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I was immediately grabbed by Nathan and held back.

“Grace don’t!” he shouted holding me to him. Once they were done, the kicked him over and threw his topknot on the ground. They laughed and mocked him as they walked away. Nathan and I moved over to him and helped him up.

“Nobutada.” I said softly helping him up. I don’t know what happened, but it was a horrible sight.

“Come let’s get you out of here.” Nathan said, and Nobutada nodded.

“Jolly good.” he replied almost defeated. Later on, that night, Nathan, and I managed to check into the inn allowed to us by the emperor when we were last here. Our things were all still here. I knew it wouldn’t be long before it was time to pack and be on our way. I was removing some parts of my dress when a knock on the door caused me to jump some. I moved over to answer it to see it was Col. Bagley. I hid my disdain for him ignoring his wandering gaze. I stepped back so he could come in. I walked into the other room so the two could talk. I had finally shed my dress and put on a pale red dress, and I left my hair pulled back and tightly in place.

And of course, I was worried for Katsumoto and the other samurai who have withdrawn into the forest as agreed upon by the emperor and Omura.

“Well, it doesn’t matter now.” I heard Bagley say, and I looked at the door and moved toward it quietly pressing my ear to listen silently. “Katsumoto has been arrested and Omura won’t let him last the night. And with him dead, it won’t be long before we wipe out the rest of the rebellion. Even without you.”

I backed away shaking my head and covering my mouth with my hand. Katsumoto? Arrested? I pressed my ear back to the door.

“Well, I guess you’ve got it all figured out then.” Nathan said calmly.

“Tell me… what is it about your own people that you hate so much?” he asked, and it was silent for a moment and so I peeked out the door and bowed.

I just gathered Nathan’s cup, not wanting them to think I was listening in. I then glanced back at the colonel who now stared at me with blatant intent and Nathan just glared at him watching him carefully.

“Anything else?” he asked. Bagley looked at him now and shook his head.

“I hope the bottle you crawl back into lasts you forever.” he said and turned and left the room. I looked over at Nathan with wide eyes.

“Katsumoto’s been arrested? We have to do something.” I said, and Nathan nodded grabbing his coat.

“Stay here.” he demanded, and my eyes widened.

“Stay here? Where are you going? Omura’s men are bound to be waiting for you to leave- surely to kill you.” I replied.

“Keep the door locked. Don’t let anyone in.” he said and with that said he was gone into the night. I moved over toward the window before sighing heavily and wondering what it was, I could do. I had to do something right?

[weepingwillow2000]

(Stole this post cause ops a terf)

Of course media representation is important, especially for children who grow up and always see their people depicted as thieves, criminals, spirits with a special bond with the devil itself, be it on TV, in movies, in cartoons, in books, etc etc. Of course it is important to give acting opportunities to aspiring Romani actors.

But media representation isn't the main purveyor of anti-Romani violence in the world. 80% of Romani people in Europe live below the poverty rate. Romani women are disproportionately impacted by the sex trade. In many places in Europe (both Eastern and Western), Romani people are still segregated in neighbourhoods and at school, our access to healthcare is poorer and our life expectancy is 15 years shorter than the European average. Every month or so, we have to hear about anti-Romani protests held by Neo-Nazis in Europe, about a Romani person killed by the police, or about pogroms carried against Romani people.

So while it is good to talk about media representation, it becomes a problem - a big problem - when it receives much more attention and engagement than actual acts of brutality against Romani people. I have seen hundreds of posts on here and on Twitter, I have seen leftist influencers talk about it on Tiktok, but where was this energy last week when a romani man was murdered in france? when romani children were stripped away from their parents in leeds? when is that energy every other day of the year when Romani people (and women in particular) have to face poverty, homelessness and segregation, are at risk of human trafficking, get discriminated against in the workplace?

While it is good to advocate for better Romani representation now and then, media representation won't fix any of these issues. You can't place that much hope into TV shows and movies. Media and culture aren't powerful enough to get rid of social/economic oppression. Quite the contrary; it is the economical and social marginalization of Romani people that leads to racism in media and culture. And at the end of the day, it feels very callous and disheartening to see so many people care more about fictional Romani people than they do actual, breathing Romani people. If you actually want to support Romani people's rights, then you should redirect all of that energy into supporting causes that actually address the root of Romani people's oppression:

reparation and acknowledgement of the Holocaust and Romani slavery,

boosting conversations about segregation,

holding the police accountable when they kill a Romani person,

abolishing the sex trade,

supporting Romani women's reproductive rights (compensation for forced sterilization + better access to abortion facilities)

supporting homeless people's and migrant people's human rights