David Hynes

Well produced, directed and acted. However, the scene of burning alive an escaped and captured slave appears to be gratuitous violence that is problematic in today's charged racial atmosphere. it took on the violent attitude of a Quentin Tarantino movie, not that of what should be an instructive historical account. It is therefore inciteful to the emotions of those who fully believe America was not founded on the principles set out in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution but rather primarily on the core concept of slavery. Yes, slavery existed around the world at the time of the colonizing and founding of America, including in Africa. There were African slave owners who sold slaves to be delivered around the world. Our Founding Fathers came to realize that racism was wrong. Many of them set their slaves free. Thomas Jefferson attempted to have slavery outlawed but others in Congress were not ready to abandon it. Of course, the Civil War finally brought about the end of slavery yet free blacks still suffered further violence and discrimination. Our country has made significant progress in the ending of black violence & discrimination, such that there are blacks in positions of significant authority and achieving lives of middle to upper class economic status. There is still significant poverty among blacks in the U.S. despite trillions of dollars spent on welfare programs since the mid-1960's such as the Great Society and the War on Poverty. This is a travesty that these programs using our citizens' tax dollars have not further achieved the success they promised One hindrance to many blacks rising out of poverty is the continuing of breakdown in the black family, most significantly evidenced by the steady increase in the rate of unwed black mothers who become dependent on government welfare. Until the continuing breakdown in the black family structure can be overcome, poverty levels will continue to remain. As long as belief that slavery still infects our beliefs about blacks in America, even to this very day, then black families will continue to be fractured by a belief in victim hood rather than rising above it. There is too much evidence today of so many blacks having risen above being victims. Certainly, the election of a black President and the prevalence of rich black pro athletes, entertainers, as well as black congressmen, senators, judges and mayors is proof of this. Therefore, we don’t need to sensationalize slavery stories to the point that they undo the progress that has been made in race relations. Sadly, today we are even seeing reverse discrimination and segregation being promoted by blacks. This subverts the tremendous progress already achieved.