VDCJEFF wrote:
>
> One reason  it is so hard interpret slave history is because unlike the
> Holucaust, we were not there to witness it.  At least with the Holocaust,
> there are photographs, film footage, and personal accounts.  This is not the
> case with slavery.  We know that millions of Africans died during the Middle
> Passage but we don't know who these people were.  We don't know what part of
> Africa they came from or their names, ages or sex.
>  We only know what little evidence was left.  We only know what the people of
> that time thought we should know and were capable of telling.  Remember many
> slaves were not allowed to be educated, so we know very little about their
> thoughts and lives.
>
> The real question is where do we start? How do we intergrate slavery into
> AMERICAN HISTORY?  Are there really enough people out there that care?  Are
> there enough parents willing to insist that AMERICAN HISTORY include ALL
> people who lived and worked in AMERICA  instead of  continuing to preach about
> a select few?

Most of the African-American, including slave history has been written
since about the late 1960's and a good deal of it has been integrated
into most U.S. History textbooks.  It is still difficult to deal with in
the classroom, however, because you feel like you are focusing special
attention on African-Americans and if you have some in your class you
get the sense that they are uncomfortable with the special attention.
At least that has been my experience in teaching the intro course at our
local community college.

There is, however, a fairly large body of literature on the subject,
most as I indicated, being produced in the late sixties and beyond.
--
Bob Handy, Director
Brazoria County Historical Museum
100 East Cedar
Angleton, Texas 77515
(409) 864-1208
(409) 864-1217 (Fax)
http://www.bchm.org