Episode 11: 19th Century Superheroes: Unchained and Unmasked Part 1

February is Black History Month. And while Black History is American history, and should be celebrated and taught all year long, we are going to spend a few podcasts talking about abolitionist who literally hid themselves in plain sight to help themselves and other slaves escape the grasps of slave owners during the 19th Century Abolitionist movement. Click on Link Below

Episode 11: 19th Century Superheroes: Unchained and Unmasked Part 1

When I first began my abolitionist journey, I understood that one thing was important: We must look back on our history to help us continue forward in the fight against today’s human trafficking. I love history. I almost majored in history in college. It has had that big of an impact on me. While I have written many blog posts about human trafficking, I needed to do a revamp in my approach. My first blog on my website is titled “I am an abolitionist.” This post was not only an outward declaration that I am an abolitionist but also a direct and poignant response to slavery that had gripped America and the world for hundreds of years. My focus was on the U.S. abolitionist movement of the 19th century. My reasoning for the start of the Civil War in America was slave states and slave owners were about to lose their money maker.  

After writing that post there were people wanting to argue that it wasn’t about money. I recently read an article about a Confederate plaque in the Texas Capitol that was recently removed. The reasoning for the removal was that the plaque declared that the Civil War didn’t begin because of slavery. While it took 60 years to finally remove it, Texas Governor Greg Abbot said that the Capitol should not have “substantially inaccurate historical statements” on display.  With that notion, I wanted to expand more of my initial thought.  

Is it Money or Love of Money…? 

Have you ever heard of the phrase “Money is the root of all evil”? This is often the most misquoted phrase when referring to men (and women) who dehumanize people to pursue wealth. The actual phrase comes from the Bible:  1 Timothy 6:10 

“For the love of money is the root of all evil…” 

It wasn’t just the money itself that caused hundreds of years of slavery around world. But It was the LOVE of money that has caused pain that is still affecting many in the world today. Love can be intense and strong. It can also lead to irrational thought along with misguided decisions. Where there is money, there is always power (or an advantage) that is sought to gain the upper hand. Money moves things. It helps set any desires, dreams, and ambitions in motion. As the age-old adage states: Money is power. Imagine adding love to the equation.  

Have you ever loved something or someone so deep, that you would do anything to protect it? When the slave states and owners were told to free their slaves, they didn’t care if there were any human beings involved. Being told to release and free the very thing that brought you money (that in term brought you status and power) caused an even deeper hate and irrational response by the slave states and owners.  

The Emancipation Proclamation wasn’t just to proclaim and declare to the slave states and owners that slavery was over. It was also a declaration of war if there were to be a rebellion against the Executive order: 

“Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion…” 

It was the love and pursuit of money that caused the 16th Century African slave trade to wreak havoc around the world. It was the love and pursuit of money that caused the Civil War to begin in the 19th Century United States. It is now the love and pursuit of money that is causing today’s Modern-Day Slavery in the 21st Century to take many different forms. Those forms include: Forced Labour, Sex Trafficking (or prostitution), Child Labour, Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, Forced and Child Marriages, and Child Soldiers.    

Like the Emancipation Proclamation we must put a stop on the demand of human beings for money. We must declare war on all persons who seek to physically and emotionally harm and abuse any and all people. If there is a rebellion to be had, it must be for us as abolitionist to come together and pursue at all cost to end today’s Modern-Day Slavery.