Policy, Popular And Media Response To The Abolition Of The Slave Trade By Emma Waterton
opinion Essay
1389 words
Slavery always has been, and always will be, a sensitive subject for all races. As our society evolves we try to become more in-tune with other people’s thoughts and emotions on any and all subject matters. The main issues for Americans – to this day – is still slavery. However, the United States is not the only country still struggling with the past captivity of other human beings. In her article, Talking the talk: policy, popular and media responses to the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade using the ‘Abolition Discourse’”, Emma Waterton focuses on the issues of race, guilt, and identity that is an ever-growing theme in today’s cultural politics. She puts emphasis on the bicentenary of Britain’s abolition of the transatlantic …show more content…
In this essay, the author
- Opines that if the media treated their job as what it was designed to be, an unbiased educational system, focusing on current events, the world would be filled with people more accepting of other’s thoughts and feelings on different topics.
- Analyzes how '2007 wilberfest' became a slap in the face of the african, african british, and african-caribbean people in britain.
- Analyzes how the skepticism for the "white man" never truly dies. people, especially those with ancestors that were slaves, will always have a chip on their shoulder.
- Opines that the abolition act of 1807 was put on the backburner due to it being an issue of the past that had since been solved.
- Opines that the media controls our lives and helps shape our opinions about anything from slavery to heidi klum wore to the emmy's.
- Opines that if the media would just share the facts like they're supposed to, the world would be a much better place.
I firmly believe that if the media were to treat their job as what it was designed to be – an unbiased educational system, focusing on current events – then the world would be filled with people more accepting of other’s thoughts and feelings on different …show more content…
Based off the words written by John Sekora in 1987 and the feelings of the British citizens in 2007, we learn that the skepticism for the “white man” never truly dies. People, especially those with ancestors that were slaves, will always have a chip on their shoulder and will always find something to have an issue with – even when that something is the celebration of a significant moment in history that changed the dynamic of their country. The Abolition Act of 1807 was officially passed on March 25, 1807. However, the slave trade was not officially over until 1838. Despite the fact that it still took many years for slavery to be one hundred percent abolished, there was still a lot of compassion and the sense of achievement encompassing Britain. Now, eventually people move on… they find other things to fight for and support that are current, pressing issues affecting their everyday lives. “Quite often, what they tell us relates to a complex process of collective amnesia and national forgetting, through which oppressive power relations are subtly sustained and reinforced” (Waterton 382). I don’t believe that Waterton was saying that the Abolition Act forgotten, but it was placed on the “back-burner” due to it being an issue of the past that had since been solved. When the celebration of the bicentenary was brought up it also brought new publications and now had a wider array of public opinions. With opinions, come burned hands
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- Analyzes how reparation can have a substantial impact on the black community.
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- Argues that reparations have a positive and negative effect on the black community. the lack of critical understanding and institutionalization of racism hinders the progress of such cost.
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