Drawing the Color Line

In chapter 2 “Drawing the Color Line”, Howard Zinn states that “there is not a country in the world history in which racism has been more important for so long a time, as the United States” (P23). Howard Zinn answers many of the questions we are asking ourselves today. Why do we have race? How did it start and when will it end? Zinn takes us back to the English colonies where slavery begins to label a difference between whites and blacks.
From the very beginning the black men and woman tried everything to resist their enslavement. From running away to organizing rebellious actions, the blacks would try anything to keep their dignity as human beings. The punishment was death for those caught trying to run away and yet nothing stopped them as they tried to keep their tribal heritage alive. It was a powerful system of control that the slave owners developed to try to maintain their way of life. The slaves were taught to obey the master and to “know their place” (29). They were told that being black was less-fortunate. The slave owners used a psychological and physical system to break down the slaves. They made them weak internally by breaking up their families and making them believe there was no hope. They also made them physically weak by whipping, burning, and sometimes even killing. Yet even after all of that some still escaped. Not a lot but enough to keep the white slave owners living in fear.
When will black segregation end? I believe we have made strides throughout the past fifty years on black segregation. Since the 1960s whites and blacks were given the same rights even though people today still do not support not respect it. For those people who judge people by their color even today is hard to believe. Racism is based on history and happened when America was young and stupid. The type of racism that existed in the 1700s does not exist in 2007. Black segregation has ended as far as I am concerned; we are equal in one country.
I was already familiar with how the slaves were treated but to read about it and how they suffered not just physically but mentally really touched me. It is amazing to see how far we have grown and matured as a country in the past generation. To think twenty years before I was born segregation was still going on is mind boggling and stunning. I was stunned to read how many slaves died not only because of the treatment from the slave owners but being transported to the plantations as well.