Hannah Jones 1619
Destiny DeSilva
For many many years African American were in search of freedom for decades. It was really hard for them as human beings because they were treated as animals and most especially slaves, as they were called. They were in search of a new life, something new, something different, a life with no worries, less beatens, no one controlling them or telling them what to do. They were looking for their rights, the ones they deserve. In the article The 1619 Project, Hannah Jones has made some key point during her fathers time of slavery. Her father thought that joining the military would he would finally be treated as a human being and an American, however he thought wrong. Although he has his benefits as a person who served the country he still treated as if he had no purpose being there. “He would be discouraged under murky circumstances and then labor in a series of service jobs for the rest of his life.” Hannah’s father believed in hard work no matter what the circumstances are, but she did not understand by representing something where you don’t feel welcomed? Where you’re treated as a human and not as a property, representing something or a place where you don’t feel safe or comfortable. To Hannah the flag was nothing but disappointment. African Americans were being sold to the white people, their children were not legally their own and they were also up for auction. Black women being raped by their own masters and no would receive no do seques whatsoever. On July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence “proclaims that “all men are created equal” and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” ” Once it was signed white men did not like the idea of “all men are equal” especially for the hundred and thousands of slaves in “their midst.” The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution played a very big role in the slaves. They would fight for their rights no matter what the cost is but due to laws and the Constitution their effort to the white people was worthless.
In my opinion, African American did not deserve what they got from the white people. All they ever wanted was to live a normal life like the others and have their rights as humans and as citizens. White people took the advantage of their worth, which was low, and used them for their own purposes, treated them like animals, used them as property of their own, and sold them like objects. It is really upsetting to read these types of articles because people did not have a kind heart and think about these people as one of them. No matter the skin color, no matter the race or ethnicity, they are like everyone else. We all have our difference, but we are still people at the end of the day
In the introduction to the 1619 Project, we get a first-person perspective of an African American family who lived during those times. Hannah Jone’s father felt proud of being an American but she did not on the other hand. “How could this black man, having seen firsthand the way his country abused black Americans, how it refused to treat us as citizens, proudly fly its banner? I didn’t understand his patriotism. It deeply embarrassed me.” We know that she is aware of the situation that went on for many years and also knows that she does not agree with her father even though he has proud feelings for being an American. In the reading, it mentions how her father joined the army for two main reasons, one was to escape poverity but the one I find more important is how he joined it for the sole reason that he’d hope to finally be treated like an American by the country. Reading that, it showed me that her father really wanted to be acknowledged as a true American despite everything that was going on not only to him but the rest of the African American population and it also shows how determined he really Is to achieve because after all It was his choice to join the Army. We can aslo assume that many African Americans joined for the same reasons. I agree with Hannah when it comes to not understanding why her father wants to be treated like an American despite the way they treat them. They were from Mississipi and during the time, especially from the place they were from, they would lynch many African Americans and it was a horrible period of time for them. Hannah’s father was a man who believed in hard work but she can’t accept the fact he represents the flag but they don’t even treat him like a human. Hannah could not accept the flag. They were sold as if they were possessions, they did have full custody of their children and the females would be raped by their own masters. It was a dark time for them but no matter what they always kept fighting for their rights they so long deserved and then came the Declaration of Independence which was signed on July 4, 1776.
Slavery was one of the Evilest things that has existed in this world. I believe that it was created by man because, we are all human, we all bleed the same blood and are born the same way as well die the same way. It is very unjust to determine what group of people is superior to the other. It is unhuman like and completely wrong to treat and label people as objects. One fact that left me speechless was when it was mentioned that the first man to die in the American Revolution was one of African American descent. and he was not even free. Slave owners promised them freedom after the war and still did not recieve that freedom they so long sought for. It was wrong of them to give them false hope and lie to them like that just for their own benefit. No matter who we are, what we possess, where we come from, at the end of the day we are all human.