Takaki Ch. 2 “Drawing the Color Line”

In Chapter 2 of Takaki’s book “A Different Mirror”, Zinn illustrates the history of slavery in the United States and how you were viewed if you were a slave. He deeply describes the desperation of the starving and clueless settlers and how they needed something more. They then took control of the desperate and helpless Africans and used powerful incentive of profit for the common slave trader and farmer. Zinn also describes the temptation of the superior status for the white man and the elaborate controls against the ones who escaped and rebelled. He described this as the “Legal and social punishment of black and white collaboration”. He deeply argues the issue that these types of culture and ways of life are simply historical and not something to be considered natural. He also makes a statement that these kinds of actions for race to make slave of another, was warranted by someone of high status.

Zinn writes numerous occasions where the white man and the black servants actually rebelled to gain their freedom together as one. This brought constant fear among the white planters and slave owners. Were all people of this day and age convinced that slaves were something natural to be doing to another human being? Or were the people of the colonies being told this one specific thing and to obey this? I think this is why some of the whites living in the colonies turned against everyone to help the poor slaves. The slaveholders and planters tried everything to keep the power and wealth where it was. By this time the Africans were giving themselves hope that one day they will not have to live the lives they were currently living.

You often hear the term that “history repeats itself” and I think that is what Zinn is saying in regards to things such as these being historical and not natural. Well of course it is not natural! I’m not sure that everyday you will run into someone and they will tell you that they wish they owned a slave to do all their busy work. Well if history seems to shape who we are today, then we must hope that something such as this will not be in our future. We are still constantly challenged with the issue of racism even though the actions described in this reading took place over 300 years ago.