This week I really wanted to comment on a Sophia's blog post on Awiti and letting go, however it's come to my attention that for some reason my comment wasn't showing up. Thus for the time being I'll post my comment here with a link to the original post. My comment is at follows:
Hi Sophia, I really enjoyed reading your blog post here! I really agree wth your assertion that Awiti's pain is immeasurable and justified, but that violence will never bring her the peace she desires. I also really appreciated how in the first paragraph you discussed your own family history and acknowledged that perhaps full assessment of Awiti's pain is not possible for those who were not victims of the slave trade. One thing that really intrigued me about your post was by your frequent use of "we" in the second paragraph, for example, "we must come together as a country- and the world- in admitting our mistakes", "we need to fight for equality", etc. Who is this "we" you are referring to? Who should be responsible for starting this dialogue about culpability in the slave trade? Should black people be the ones leading the conversation? White people? How should Native Americans be involved in this dialogue? Should immigrants between 1865 and now also take responsibility for the actions done during slavery? Again, really great post and I look forward to discussing with you more!
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No matter the destruction that ensues, I have learned no amount of vengeance can replace what I lost. There is no reparation great enough to substitute for what was stolen. Is there truly a cost for an altered destiny? There is nothing that can overturn the curse of a nation that was once blessed.
I agree with Awiti’s final sentiments here. Unspeakable harm and trauma was enacted upon Awiti, other Africans stolen from their homes, and all of their descendants, and our society continues to discriminate against and brutalize these people today, from racism in political rhetoric to continued acts of police brutality. Millions of lives were irreversibly altered and hurt by the actions and policies of the past, and that is fact that America, a country whose prosperity and progress came at the expense of black slaves, will always have to contend with. Racism was both a cause and effect of slavery, and as long as racist beliefs and systems (including white privilege) endure in this country, there are people profiting off of the vestiges of slavery and of the suffering of Awiti and other descendants of slaves, preventing us as a society from finding peace. I am a Chinese adoptee, and although my story in no way compares to the trauma that African slaves in the US endured, I often find myself asking similar questions as Awiti. I don’t know my ethnicity, where my family came from, or the language of my ancestors, and my ending up in the US was a direct result of national and international policies, and potentially even baby-buying. I have lived an extremely fortunate and happy life in the US for which I am forever grateful, however all international adoptions inherently begin with a loss of family and a loss of culture. Growing up I always wondered if my life was truly my life, or an inadvertent twist of fate (perhaps even a mistake). At times I was resentful or angry of being stolen away from what I perceived as my real destiny in China. Who could I have been? What would my life have been like? However, contrary to Awiti, I believe that ‘replacing’, ‘substituting’, or ‘overturning’ what was already done are all completely different and unrelated to truly finding peace. Awiti, like myself and everyone else, is entitled to her feelings and her hurt, but ultimately not even she can change what has already happened. As long as she focuses only on the past, she can never be satisfied or at peace because the past will never change. Moreover, by focusing on the past, Awiti only deepens her own trauma and brings others new hurt. The past shapes who we (as individuals, as a society, as a country) are and how we view the world, but it does not control who we will be in the future. We must all live and contend with the present, and we have the power to change now; by rectifying the remains of slavery that live on in our current society we can make sure that history never repeats itself and that Awiti's pain is not inflicted on a new generation. In this way we can create a better present and a better world for our descendants, hopefully proving to Awiti and other restless souls that we as a society will be okay, and that they can move on to the next phase in peace, without worrying about us. This is not an easy path and there are no clear-cut answer for how we should go about enacting this change, however it is the only option that provides any possibility of sustained success. |
KateHi, I'm Kate! I'm from Madison, WI and am planning on majoring in SIS focusing on East-Asia China. I like practicing kung fu, listening to music, and drinking bubble tea. Archives
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