"Slave and Citizen"

   We as people are all expecting to be treated with a certain amount of dignity and respect. Human rights are a guideline to treating all humans regardless of color, creed, and religion. These ideas coincide with a religious aspect of harmonious living and treating all our brothers and sisters as we expect to be treated.

   The problem was slavery in the United States did not follow this basic human right system. A rampart  was created by the white Americans in the United States to stop the black man from achieving equal rights,  according to the book, “Slave and Citizen” by Frank Tannembaum page 42. He also states, “That this barrier has served to deny the Negro the very things that are of great importance among us, equality of opportunity for growth and development”. These main factors have played a major role in the development of African American men in the United States.

   In the book on the same page mentioned above, there is one line that is of great significance, “This barrier has not completely been effective”. That means through perseverance and the willingness to overcome adversity and slavery, American black men have become successful.  This key fact allows us to understand that success may be derived from experience, knowledge.

   Experience allows the individual to remember their history, and prepare for obstacles that might confront them in the future. Knowledge allowed the black man to have a deeper understanding of the struugle they faced within the American Society. I believe that these two qualities greatly enhanced the success of the African American in the United States.