ALSANNAA 1 Effects of Slavery Ahmed Alsannaa AFAS 342 ALSANNAA 2 Slavery had some effects during the colonial period and the effects can be seen throughout the 20th century. It was practiced widely during the colonial era mostly affecting black families. The effects of slavery can still be seen in some regions around the world today. The people’s way of life and traditions are a result of slavery which was practiced in colonial times. Some literary work has been written with the aim of educating on slavery. Scholars have been able to show the reader how life during slavery was. Authors have also tried to show the effects of slavery during the era. Slavery was practiced in many parts of the world but was mostly seen on the American continent. Slavery began before written history in many cultures, but it is now outlawed in all recognized countries. Slavery, though, is still active in our society in many ways. The most common slave trade today is human trafficking. Slavery is also seen in the form of debt bondage, forced marriage, child soldiers and domestic servants being kept in captivity. Slavery had a significant number of effects at the time, and their effects can be seen up to now. The people who were most affected by slavery were black families and those on the African continent. Slavery led to broken traditions. African cultures could not be replicated in the new world after a number of them were forced into slavery. The slave trade saw children being often separated from their parents. In the U.S. it was because law did not recognize their families. As a result, it led to broken families. The people were viewed as property and thus could not have a permanent family. Slaves had no right to live together as a family. It was common for parents to live separately from their children. It would thus lead to broken families. In Toni Morrison's novel, Beloved, Sethe doesn't want her daughter Denver and herself to be enslaved. They are haunted by memories of Beloved. As Sethe was escaping from Sweet Home to her mother in law's home, she was found by her master. The idea of slave masters separating her from the family was too intense to bear. Sethe grabbed her children and ran to the shed where she tried to kill them all. She ALSANNAA 3 succeeded in killing her youngest daughter by running a saw along her neck. She claimed that she was putting her babies where they would be safe. Morrison is trying to show us that life in slavery was too painful and unpleasant to the extent that Sethe chose the death of her child over .

1. ALSANNAA
1
Effects of Slavery
Ahmed Alsannaa
AFAS 342

2. ALSANNAA
2
Slavery had some effects during the colonial period and the
effects can be seen throughout
the 20th century. It was practiced widely during the colonial era
mostly affecting black families.
The effects of slavery can still be seen in some regions around
the world today. The people’s way
of life and traditions are a result of slavery which was practiced
in colonial times. Some literary
work has been written with the aim of educating on slavery.
Scholars have been able to show the
reader how life during slavery was. Authors have also tried to
show the effects of slavery during
the era. Slavery was practiced in many parts of the world but
was mostly seen on the American
continent. Slavery began before written history in many

3. cultures, but it is now outlawed in all
recognized countries. Slavery, though, is still active in our
society in many ways. The most
common slave trade today is human trafficking. Slavery is also
seen in the form of debt bondage,
forced marriage, child soldiers and domestic servants being kept
in captivity. Slavery had a
significant number of effects at the time, and their effects can
be seen up to now.
The people who were most affected by slavery were black
families and those on the African
continent. Slavery led to broken traditions. African cultures
could not be replicated in the new
world after a number of them were forced into slavery. The
slave trade saw children being often
separated from their parents. In the U.S. it was because law did
not recognize their families. As a
result, it led to broken families. The people were viewed as
property and thus could not have a
permanent family. Slaves had no right to live together as a
family. It was common for parents to
live separately from their children. It would thus lead to broken
families. In Toni Morrison's novel,
Beloved, Sethe doesn't want her daughter Denver and herself to

4. be enslaved. They are haunted by
memories of Beloved. As Sethe was escaping from Sweet Home
to her mother in law's home, she
was found by her master. The idea of slave masters separating
her from the family was too intense
to bear. Sethe grabbed her children and ran to the shed where
she tried to kill them all. She
ALSANNAA
3
succeeded in killing her youngest daughter by running a saw
along her neck. She claimed that she
was putting her babies where they would be safe. Morrison is
trying to show us that life in slavery

5. was too painful and unpleasant to the extent that Sethe chose
the death of her child over slavery.
She is trying to salvage her children from living in slavery.
Slavery had a psychological impact on the slaves. It was
because of the constant abuse that
many experienced. Slave women were regularly sexually abused
by white men in the African
continent. They had no right to refuse since it meant opposing
slavery. A black woman's body was
not considered hers; control was passed from white person to
white with a bill of sale. Sexual
abuse of women was common during slavery. The novel
Kindred by Octavia Butler depicts an
instance where sexual assault is seen. In the book, Dana seeks
refuge in the home of Alice
Greenwood and her mother. They live as free blacks. At the
plantation, she witnesses white men
smashing the door. They drag Alice's father, who is a slave, and
whip him for living there without
papers. One of the men punches Alice's mother after she refuses
his advances. When Dana comes
out of hiding to rescue Alice's mom, one of the men hits her and
attempts to rape her. We also find
an instance where Rufus is getting beaten up by Alice's

6. husband, Isaac Jackson. It’s due to Rufus
trying to rape Alice who was once her friend.
Slavery led to illiteracy of slaves. The enslaved children had no
schooling facilities. It was
illegal for the enslaved people to read and write. Many states
didn't acknowledge the idea of
African Americans going to school. During slavery, only white
people took their children to
school. It thus became hard for them to know how to read and
write. In Toni Morrison's novel
‘Beloved' we read that Sethe's youngest daughter Denver is
described as shy, friendless and
housebound. The sons Howard and Buglar have run away from
home by the age 13. It shows that
ALSANNAA

7. 4
the children didn't attend school. In the novel Kindred by
Morrison, Weylin whips Dana
mercilessly when he finds her reading. It proves that slaves
were not allowed to read and write
The level of mortality during slavery was higher among slaves
than among white people.
In statistics, more than one-half of African American infants
died before they were one-year-old.
The mortality was almost double compared to white people. It
was hard for black children to
survive up to the age of fourteen.
The treatment that the black people faced was harsh and rough
during slavery. Those who
made a mistake were punished in brutal ways. There was racism
experienced in some occasions.
In the novel Kindred by Octavia Butler, we find Dana trying to
resuscitate a boy who was
drowning. The boy’s mother who was unable to rescue him
begins to hit Dana and accuses her of
killing her son Rufus. We also see an instance where Rufus
reacts with strong disbelief when he

8. finds out that Kevin and Dana are married. Whites and blacks
were not allowed to marry. Dana
and Kevin’s families opposed their marriage due to ethnic bias
forcing them to marry without
family present. In the text, Isaac and Alice are caught after
Isaac had beaten Rufus for attempted
rape. Isaac being black is mutilated and sold to traders going to
Mississippi. Alice is ravaged by
dogs, beaten and enslaved for helping Isaac escape. Alice is
forced to be Rufus' concubine. Dana
is also obliged to nurse Rufus after he was found drunk. Weylin
appoints her to nurse him under
threat over her life. We can see that the treatment that the black
people faced was harsh and violent.
The novel by Octavia shows some instances where the black
population like Dana are punished
severely.
The effects of slavery have been witnessed in the current
society. It's generational as the
old whites and blacks grew in an era of racial segregation. In
the current culture the way African

9. ALSANNAA
5
Americans are disrespected and tarnished by the messages that
are broadcasted by the media. In
the African continent, people are leaving their traditions and
following those of western culture.
During slavery, the slaves were not able to follow their
traditions as they were absent from their
homes. Slavery shaped the cultural, economic and social
outcomes. Slavery led to a change in the
African continent. The people of Africa before and after
colonialism are seen to have different
lifestyles. The African continent was the one affected the most
by slavery. Slavery left one major
problem seen in our everyday society. Racism is one major
problem that still exists and is being

10. tackled by almost all states. The race is a big problem as we all
can see that we face a problem of
the color line. The eminent Negro man of letters W.F.B. Du
Bois predicted way back on 1903 that
in the 20th century that the problem of color line will be an
issue. Race problem is viewed as a
dilemma facing the democratic experiment. In the American
society, however, the black middle-
class people have emerged and are participating in the political,
economic and the cultural life
(Wilson, T. W., & Grim, C. E. 1991)
No one likes to talk about slavery. It’s because, for blacks, the
subject brings shame and
embarrassment due to the degradation of slavery. For the
whites, there are feelings of guilt. Slavery
thus has become shrouded in secrecy and stigma. In the African
continent, there are political, social
and economic problems due to this. The African continent is the
one primarily affected because
slave trade was common in the pre-colonial times there. During
the colonial period, the whites
didn't offer the slaves anything that would benefit them later.
The African continent consists of

11. countries with some problems associated with their living
standards. It's in Africa where we find
a large number of illiterate people. The African countries do
have the worst health facilities and
education too. It is evident that slavery caused a major problem
in the society. Lack of education
and civilization in the African continent early enough has
shown an effect in the current living
ALSANNAA
6
standards of the African countries. Some nations in the West
Africa mostly were involved in the
Trans-Atlantic trade where the slave trade was widely practiced.
Some countries exported labor in

12. the form of slaves and thus couldn't get enough labor to help
them in developing the economy.
Most African countries don't have sufficient resources to
support their survival. Few people know
how to exploit the available resources. The people of Africa got
exposed to education late, and
thus they haven't got the expertise to run the continent well
enough to cater to all the people
available. Slavery blocked the way for a significant number of
Africans from accessing education
(Brown, E. B. 1994)
In the American society, racism is still a major problem in the
current world. From the
colonial times and slavery, we all see that the slaves were not
able to access the best facilities. A
good example is in the novel ‘The Invisible Man' by Ralph
Ellison. In the text, the narrator
experiences a lot of racial segregation. In the book, the narrator
is expelled from campus just by
showing Mr. Norton the underside of black life. We also see an
instance where the narrator is
tricked to bombing the boiler room by Lucius Brockway. The
invisible man is a novel that tries to

13. show how the black man is invisible in the society. It indicates
that the problem of racism started
way back during slavery and colonialism era. Racism is one
effect of slavery that has taken ages
to handle. It's an issue that will take some generations to deal
with. We can see that slavery led to
the rise of racism in the world. Racism is thus one of the effects
of slavery present in the society
till now. Many scholars argue that slavery created racism and
artificial black and white categories.
Racism was formed to justify slavery. Beliefs in white
superiority and black inferiority began
under slavery (Wilson, T. W., & Grim, C. E. 1991)
ALSANNAA

14. 7
Slavery is still existent in the world today. It's existent in many
forms. There is modern
slavery that still harms people all around the world. Common
forms of slavery are forced labor,
debt bondage, human trafficking, child slavery and forced
marriages. Slavery can affect people of
any age gender and race. People living in poverty are vulnerable
to accepting deceptive jobs that
can turn exploitative. The place where slavery is still practiced
today is where the rule of law is
weak, and corruption is frequent. In the current society, 20.9
million people are in modern slavery
in the world. Slavery has many forms. If a person is physically
constrained on their freedom of
movement or if treated as a commodity it’s considered slavery.
In Mauritania slavery exists till
now. The slaves are forbidden from owning property. Ethnic
division, natural disaster, and political
turmoil have made Mauritania a 21st-century slave state
(Wilson, T. W., & Grim, C. E. 1991).
Racism has an impact on mental health in many black people.
Alvin Poussaint in his book

15. explained that black males committed suicide in large numbers
due to believing that the afterlife
would be better than slavery. In the novel of Beloved by Toni
Morrison, also Sethe views it better
that her children will be safe in death than in slavery. It makes
her kill her youngest daughter. Joy
DeGruy's research shows that black elementary school pupils'
suicide rates increased in 1993 to
2012. It shows that slavery has a significant effect in the world
up to the present moment (Eyerman,
R. 2001)
In conclusion, we can note that slavery had and still has a
substantial impact on the society.
The biggest problem we have in our society is the case of
racism, and it's a major one. It can’t end
overnight as it needs a lot of time to be tackled. It will take a
lot of time and changes in the society
for us to find a community where people will live irrespective
of tribal or racial lines. In the society,
a lot needs to be done for people to be able to stop racism. In
the current society the areas where

16. ALSANNAA
8
racism is rampant need to put up measures that will help avoid
racial segregation. The black people
are the most frequent victims. Many literary works talk about
the case of slavery in the colonial
era. Many authors try to show readers about the slavery regime
and the effects it brought to the
victims. Africa is the continent that was affected by slavery like
most of the slaves were from there.
The effects of slavery are seen to affect both the white and
black people. Racism is the biggest
problem that arose as a result of slavery, and it will take time
for the society to end it.

17. ALSANNAA
9
References
Krumholz, Linda. “The Ghosts of Slavery: Historical
Recovery in Toni Morrison’s Beloved.”

18. Toni Morrison’s Beloved: A Casebook. William L. Andrews
and Nellie Y. McKay,
editors. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. 107-125. Print.
Wilson, T. W., & Grim, C. E. (1991). Biohistory of slavery and
blood pressure differences in
blacks today. A hypothesis. Hypertension, 17(1 Suppl),
I122.005). Racial
disparities in health and wealth: The effects of slavery and past
discrimination.
The Review of Black Political Economy, 32(3), 95-110.
Levine, L. W. (1978). Black culture and black consciousness:
Afro-American folk thought from
slavery to freedom (Vol. 530). Oxford University Press, USA.
Eyerman, R. (2001). Cultural trauma: Slavery and the formation
of African American identity.
Cambridge University Press.
Brown, E. B. (1994). Negotiating and transforming the public
sphere: African American political
life in the transition from slavery to freedom. Public Culture,
7(1), 107-146.

19. Write a four-five page paper (double-spaced) on the following
topic:
The Umayyads remain one of the most controversial dynasties
in Islamic history. In the eyes of many historians, they either
were impious rulers who had an overwhelmingly negative
impact on Islam, or rulers who were dedicated to the cause of
Islam and played a crucial role in its successful transition from
a local Arabian religion to a world civilization.
Your task is to write a paper in which you discuss both the
positive contributions of the Umayyad Caliphs, as well as their
shortcomings. In your conclusion, you should assess whether
their impact, on the whole, was positive or detrimental to
Islamic civilization and the MENA region.
You may only use readings assigned for this class for this
paper.
Please cite The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates as
(Kennedy, [page number]) in the body of your paper. You do
not need footnotes or a bibliography.
Rubric :
1) Does the paper answer the assigned question?
2) Does the paper demonstrate a thorough reading of the
assigned texts by means of numerous citations of the
material?
3) Does the paper begin with an introductory paragraph and
follow a coherent structure?
4) Is the paper free from grammatical and syntactical errors?