12 Ways Neo-Racists Deny Responsibility for Slavery and How to Respond

Slavery ended in 1865. Get over it! Response: “Get over it” is a statement used to dismiss or minimize the negative impact the Trans-Atlantic slave trade -- the largest (15 million-60 million) forced-migration of human beings in history -- had on Black people. It assumes the racism upon which the institution was built no longer exists. Slavery was an institution that had a large impact on the economic, political and social fabric of the Western world. The wealth and privileges that whites enjoy today are a direct benefit from slavery and the system of white supremacy that was built to support it. Wealth is transmitted across generations and so are the racial wealth disparities brought on by racism and slavery. Nobody in my family ever owned a slave. Response: Your ancestors did not have to own slaves to benefit – either then or now. Although less than 3 percent of whites owned slaves, the wealth and opportunities that the institution generated were extended well beyond those whites who owned slaves. I wasn't there! Response: This excuse is another attempt to distant oneself from the negative impacts of slavery while enjoying the benefits that it produced. The response to the "Nobody in my family owned slaves" argument will also work for this excuse. Stop living in the past. Slavery is ancient history. Response: Although dissolved (or repackaged, depending on how you look at it), slavery still profoundly affects the present. For instance, three centuries of enslavement followed by another century of explicit racial apartheid has completely sabotaged Black wealth accumulation. A similar response to the "Get Over It" statement would suffice in addressing this excuse. Look at Africa now! Blacks should be thanking us for slavery. Response: This argument is an attempt to ignore history and what brought on the conditions of modern-day Africa. It also grossly exaggerates how European oppression benefited Black people. Slavery and colonialism did not help Africa, it underdeveloped it, so no thank you! Africans were savages and slavery helped civilize them. Response: This argument is another racist attempt to distort history. The Europeans did not find a backwards people when they encountered Africans; it was a story made up to justify slavery. Instead, they found organized and complex societies. So slavery did not civilize Africans. Instead, it subjected them to the most uncivilized, inhumane treatment the world has ever seen. Black people sold themselves into slavery. Why blame white people? Response: Some Africans did sell other Blacks into slavery, but not because of the color of their skin. This does not justify their participation in slavery, but the racial component was a large factor in what made the European slave system crueler than any other system of slavery that existed before it. As a matter of fact, many African slave traders went to war with Europeans over the enslavement of Africans once they became aware of its brutality. It was the times. Response: “It was the times” is an argument that attempts to excuse past evils, to avoid facing up to them. Even when evil becomes the norm, past or present, it's still evil. My ancestors were slaves, too, and I don't let that hold me back. Response: This is another way to avoid facing up to historic wrongs by minimizing the impact slavery had on Black people. The Trans-Atlantic slave trade was different in scale and brutality. It robbed several generations of Blacks knowledge of their culture, language and homeland, and excluded them from opportunities for advancement. On the other hand, whites were never targeted for slavery because of the color of their skin, and any setbacks experienced by the enslavement of an ancestor were likely reversed in future generations by the establishment of white supremacy. Arab traders sold slaves, too. Response: Arabs did sell slaves, and although it didn't start out that way, their system of enslavement became a brutal, racist institution also. However, this excuse is used to divert attention away from the atrocities committed by some white people. The "he did it too" excuse should be left to children. Slavery has been happening for thousands of years. All races practiced it. Response: This is another "he did it too" excuse and has no part in an adult conversation about slavery or racism. White people ended slavery. Response: Let's not pretend slavery was abolished out of goodwill for Black people. The truth is that economic pressures stemming from the multitude of slave uprisings, changing economic realities and suppression of competition were the real reasons behind the demise of the institution. This is even more evident when you consider the fact that slave owners were given reparations for the abolishment of slavery, yet its victims have yet to see any compensation.

Slavery ended in 1865. Get over it!

Nobody in my family ever owned a slave.

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