I was recently reading an article about the history of the African slave trade. It occurred to me whether as a white person, I should feel some shame at my ancestors for having done such a thing. As a modern person, after all, I had no direct role in the slave trade (discounting the possibility of a role in a previous life). Why should I feel shame about something I had nothing to do with?
After considering this issue, I now feel that I in fact should feel shame. The shame, however, is not directed at my ancestors because I am descended from them. I do not feel shame at being their descendent; the familial lineage has nothing to do with my feelings. The shame is directed at people in general throughout history who have treated other people in this way, regardless of their progeny. It is right to hold those people accountable for their wrong actions. Obviously, no recourse can now be taken against them, for they are all dead, but symbolic accountability is still important.
One may argue that the original slave traders cannot be blamed for their actions, since their cultural climate and social atmosphere had not set the stage for the ownership and commerce of slaves to be “wrong,” or even a moral issue. Native Africans were seen by white Europeans and colonial Americans as an animal workforce, and distinction was hardly drawn between black slaves, and say, cattle. I abjure this argument because I believe that people as individuals have the ability (and in fact the duty) to perceive moral issues regardless of their society’s standards.
There were people during the slave trade who saw it as a moral issue, who recognized the human in the African, and who called for the freedom and sovereignty of African peoples. The people who perpetrated and perpetuated slavery were those who either convinced themselves of moral appropriateness, or refused to examine the issue at all, almost certainly for their own gain. It is these people at whom I feel shame, for they chose to act wrongly, or not to act rightly.
Today, humans have other slaves, other living beings, other animals. Animal ownership and commerce is likewise a moral issue, and there are those who champion it as such. There are many more who either justify their actions or insist on ignoring them. In several hundred, or perhaps several thousand years, our descendents will look back on our actions and they will hold us accountable, and some, too, will feel shame.
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