{"id":39842,"date":"2024-11-05T23:01:42","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T07:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=39842"},"modified":"2024-12-07T10:44:27","modified_gmt":"2024-12-07T18:44:27","slug":"rethinking-colonialism-and-slavery-what-i-believed-and-what-ive-learned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/rethinking-colonialism-and-slavery-what-i-believed-and-what-ive-learned\/","title":{"rendered":"Rethinking Colonialism and Slavery: What I Believed and What I\u2019ve Learned"},"content":{"rendered":"

What I Believed Before the Readings<\/strong><\/h4>\n

When I reflect on colonialism and slavery, my beliefs are rooted in a deep understanding of their economic and social implications. For colonialism, I\u2019ve long believed its primary motivation was economic\u2014how to acquire wealth and ensure power. It\u2019s about systems designed to keep a specific group on top while marginalizing others to live a life of comfort without needing to adapt. The results of colonialism, while providing benefits to some, have largely been destructive. The progress we see today, particularly in places like North America, is impossible to separate from the cultural and physical destruction it caused to Indigenous populations. Even the benefits enjoyed by some of the colonized were born from the displacement and erasure of their identities.<\/p>\n

This perspective has been shaped by my work in education. At the college where I worked, we took an active role in understanding the effects of colonialism, particularly on Canada\u2019s Indigenous populations. One notable effort was the construction of a building that embodied First Nations\u2019 values around education\u2014a tangible effort to honor their perspectives. Initiatives like this, along with an Office of the 8th Fire, deepened my awareness of the long-lasting harm caused by colonialism.<\/p>\n

My views on slavery, similarly, center on its role in building wealth and power, especially in the United States. The slave economy accelerated expansion, enriched a nation, and even laid the literal foundations of its capital city. But slavery wasn\u2019t just an economic system; it was a moral failure whose effects linger to this day. Slavery persists in different forms, from human trafficking to corporations prioritizing profit over people, perpetuating cycles of inequality.<\/p>\n

Again, my understanding comes largely from education and personal experiences, including a trip to South Africa, where I saw firsthand the remnants of systems designed to oppress. My framework for viewing both colonialism and slavery is rooted in justice and equality. As a middle-aged, cisgender white man, I recognize the privilege I hold, and I\u2019m committed to using it to uplift those whose voices have been historically silenced.<\/p>\n

How My Beliefs Were Affirmed<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Nigel Biggar\u2019s Colonialism<\/em> reaffirmed my belief in the economic motivations of colonialism. He doesn\u2019t shy away from acknowledging that much of colonial expansion was driven by the pursuit of wealth and power, particularly for European nations. This drive led to the exploitation of both resources and people, reinforcing my understanding of colonialism as a system built on destruction. Biggar also highlights the lasting inequalities colonialism created, a reality I see reflected in my own country\u2019s history with Indigenous populations.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Black\u2019s A Brief History of Slavery<\/em> confirmed much of what I\u2019ve come to believe about the economic foundation slavery provided, particularly in the United States. Black discusses how the wealth generated by the transatlantic slave trade fueled industrialization and allowed for rapid national growth. This wealth came at an unimaginable human cost, which the book doesn\u2019t minimize. It reinforced my view that slavery\u2019s legacy isn\u2019t confined to the past but remains embedded in systems of inequality we see today.<\/p>\n

Both authors also emphasized something I\u2019ve believed for a long time: that colonialism and slavery didn\u2019t just harm the people directly affected\u2014they created systems of privilege and power that continue to benefit certain groups while oppressing others. These reminders solidified my conviction that the privileges I hold today come with a responsibility to address the inequities left in their wake.<\/p>\n

How My Beliefs Were Challenged<\/strong><\/h4>\n

What surprised me most in Biggar\u2019s Colonialism<\/em> was his argument that not all aspects of colonialism were purely destructive. He makes a case for the unintended benefits that emerged, such as the introduction of infrastructure, medical advancements, and governance structures in some colonized regions. While I still hold that these benefits came at too great a cost, his perspective challenged me to see colonialism as more complex than a purely exploitative force. It\u2019s a perspective I\u2019m hesitant to fully embrace, but it\u2019s one that has given me pause.<\/p>\n

In Black\u2019s A Brief History of Slavery<\/em>, I was challenged by his exploration of slavery\u2019s global history. While I\u2019d focused primarily on transatlantic slavery, he broadened the lens to include slavery in other parts of the world and across different time periods. This forced me to reconsider my assumption that slavery was primarily a Western phenomenon. It also revealed how deeply entrenched systems of servitude have been in human history, making slavery not just an aberration of the past but a recurring theme in societies worldwide.<\/p>\n

Both books made me confront the uncomfortable reality that these systems of oppression weren\u2019t just about greed or malice\u2014they were often rationalized by the perpetrators as necessary, even moral. This doesn\u2019t excuse the harm, but it challenges the simple narratives I\u2019d previously held. It\u2019s a reminder that to truly understand history, we have to engage with its complexities, even when they make us uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

A Call to Action<\/h4>\n

Colonialism and slavery are topics that stir strong emotions and convictions, and these readings have deepened both my understanding and my resolve. While my beliefs about the economic motivations and destructive legacies of these systems were affirmed, I was challenged to see their complexity and global reach in new ways. These insights don\u2019t change my moral framework\u2014justice, equality, and using privilege to amplify marginalized voices remain central to my perspective\u2014but they do remind me that history is rarely simple.<\/p>\n

In a world still grappling with the effects of colonialism and slavery, the challenge isn\u2019t just to understand their legacy but to act. Whether it\u2019s advocating for reconciliation with Indigenous communities or addressing modern forms of slavery and exploitation, the lessons of the past call us to build a future rooted in equity and compassion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What I Believed Before the Readings When I reflect on colonialism and slavery, my beliefs are rooted in a deep understanding of their economic and social implications. For colonialism, I\u2019ve long believed its primary motivation was economic\u2014how to acquire wealth and ensure power. It\u2019s about systems designed to keep a specific group on top while […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2310],"tags":[2489,3120,2012],"class_list":["post-39842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-of-leadership-3","tag-dlgp02","tag-biggar","tag-black","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/175"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39842"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39844,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39842\/revisions\/39844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}