Quote from: CarseyWerner on November 21, 2015, 01:42:28 PM
I wasn't making a comparison, I was just making an observation.
I get it though, people here are so used to someone trying to stir up debate.
I see what you mean. But I have to still stand by this..
it makes sense why many ex cons come out of prison unchanged.
They are released as criminals, with a criminal record.
Not as a freed person with a clean slate, suddenly with more equal rights that they didn't previously possess.
A former slave is now "free".
A former free person is labeled a "prisoner", then labeled an "ex-con" upon their exit.
And I cannot align with your observation because there is proof that many of our ancestors SCRAMBLED to teach one another how to read once they were free. They sold their land at extremely discounted prices in order to make room for schoolhouses. Anyone who already knew how to read in the community was seen as a hero, and they taught other blacks how to do the same free of charge. Our people were united by their excitement of freedom and had an amazing sense of community that many of us do not have. They had a FIRE to get things going.
So I cannot comfortably include ex-cons in any discussion regarding their struggle and hunger.