GPP 150AC Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: The Main Point, Pope Francis, Spiritualized
Document Summary
Last week: before the idea of black and white, people were distinguished by their religion, not by their color, white indentured servants were replaced by african slaves. Blackness and slavery became linked: they were easily distinguished by their skin color. Dark skin became associated with slavery: all men are created equal yet people of a certain race were excluded. Blacks were considered expendable (of little signi cance, and therefore able to be abandoned or destroyed: later, native americans entered the picture, and unlike african americans, they were readily accepted by the white population. Native americans were considered as equal to whites. However, skin color seems to be what many individuals based their judgment on people. This goes hand in hand with what the speaker said about receiving preferential treatment because he had a lighter skin color than others. His family expected more of him as compared to others simply because his skin was a lighter shade.