Assignment 1

             In Banneker’s letter to Jefferson and Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative we get two different views of African American’s about slavery. Banneker was a free black American who saw and a felt a great injustice of black people with their human rights. Equaino was an African who was kidnapped from Africa and sold to be a slave. Banneker expressed his feelings in a very well mannered educated and spiritual letter to Thomas Jefferson who at that time was the United States of America secretary of state. Equiano’s reflection of his life was a real life experience of being kidnapped to be transported around and be sold for slavery. In my essay I will try my best to show how I interpreted the feelings of both of these men during those times they write about in these stories.

              After reading Banneker’s letter’s to Jefferson I got the impression of an highly self educated man hurt and pain reflected in a letter to Jefferson about the unfair and morally wrong doings and happenings to his race as a whole. In Banneker's letter he expresses the pain and injustice he witnesses on a regular basis to his race as a whole. Banneker's seems to be very religious in this writing and seems to believe that Thomas Jefferson is just as religious as him. Banneker’s is a Christian; most people in those times were Christian. In the letter Banneker refers to a higher power, how we are all children of the universal father. He also mentions how the universal father not only made us of one flesh, but also without putridity, afforded us all the same faculties, and that however variable we may be in society or religion, however diversired in situation of color, we are all of the same family, and stand in the relation to him. I believe that he was writing out of hurt and frustration to Thomas Jefferson about all of the injustices his race was facing on a daily basis and having their human rights compromised. To me this letter was a cry to Thomas Jefferson to honor the human rights of all people and not only to a selected few no matter what role or position they may hold in society.

               In the story The Interesting Narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano I believe he was emotionally distressed, fearful, and terrified. In this very detailed account of his life Olaudah  describes to us his views first hand from being kidnapped from Africa to being shipped around to Barbados where the cargo which were slaves were sold and dispersed around the world to slavery. He details the time from when he and his sister were kidnapped from their home while their parents were gone. They were bounded and carried away deep into the woods. It happened so fast they were carried away before they could even get a scream out or rather a cry for help. The only brief relief since being captured was the short time they had to sleep. He describes the accounts of not wanting to eat anything but was forced feed. Cries for help were screamed from far and away only to fall on deaf ears. Moved from slave master to slave master Olaudah recounts the pain, frustration, and confusion of what was really going on. He recalls being moved around so much he almost got use to it until he was sold and separated from his sister.  He talks about slavery and the hardships, mental break downs, and emotional wear and tear that slavery put on him. During his time of being shipped around Olaudah was introduced to or rather shipped around with other slaves from different parts of Africa with who spoke a different African Language. This story reminded me of Alex Haley’s movie and book Roots. It reminded me of the struggles African’s went through from being hunted like animals captured bounded shipped away and forced to work long grueling hours or be beaten and possibly killed. Families were destroyed and Generations of family histories were erased or rather hard to trace due to the separation of many families. After watching such a powerful movie and reading such a heart felt story such as this I felt as if I was right there experiencing the same sorrow as these men were. The pain, fear, and misfortunes this man has endured are almost unbelievable.

                       I believe that these two readings were very motivating in the learning experience of the slaves point of view in a time where slaves were treated worst than or equal to an animal. The emotional distress of these readings only confirms my thoughts of the readings that the slaves were experiencing things that I truly believe that no one word could possibly explain  to make a person understand what they were going through. There was no one or no where a slave could possibly turn to, to escape the inhuman conditions of slavery.