Quoting an earlier post:
... Our forefathers told the citizens how they were to handle such matters;
to rid ourselves of them.
Which is what the War for Southern Independence was all about, not slavery.
The Industrial Revolution was bringing slavery to an end.  It was over in
Europe.  It would soon end in the Americas.

    It amazes me that so many genealogy and Southern state lists are still
debating slavery (usually in a rather strange way to my thinking), not to
mention the Civil War Between the States (take your pick).  Don't both
topics have their own lists? But that probably doesn't matter.  These issues
seem embedded - for some, unresolved - in our consciousness, as well as our
genealogy.

   With regard to the post tidbit above, I would like to say - the end of
African slavery in the Americas was not 'just around the corner'.  And some
related discussion - not only here - stops just short of debating the status
of Black people - whether some people 'like', 'approve of' us, or not, etc.
And often minimizes what Black chattel slavery was, and was about.  And as
most of us on this list probably know, South Carolina is and will continue
to be one of the most important regions in the U.S. and in the Americas when
it comes to getting the records straight on Slavery.  The information/
records many South Carolinians still hold onto (and hopefully will share) is
crucial history.

    Black chattel slavery in the Americas did not end until 1888, in Brazil,
by a decree of the Queen.  I think she snuck and did it while her father was
out of the country or something.  In Brazil in the 1880s, the Parliament
(their Congress) was debating whether to extend African Brazilian slavery
for another 50 YEARS, which - had this succeeded - would have continued it
into the 1930s, and perhaps longer.

    Cuba was the last country in the Caribbean, and the Spanish-speaking
Americas, to abolish chattel slavery - in 1886.  They continue to deal with
their legacy, also.  And so do we, in the States and throughout the
Americas.  And frankly, thanks to persons like Ed Ball of Charleston and New
York City ("Slaves in the Family"), I am optimistic some of us will make the
effort to 'work this history out'.

    Thanks, Marian Douglas
    Skopje, Macedonia





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