SURVIVORS – THE ACTUAL VOICES OF ENSLAVED PEOPLE TELLING THEIR STORIES. – A RAINBOW OF ROLE MODELS {WEDNESDAY SERIES}
I celebrate ACHIEVEMENT EVERY DAY! WEDNESDAY’S “A Rainbow of Role Models,” I do not see race, skin color, religion, sex, attractiveness (ok, I do like beautiful ladies), age, or any other nonsense. I love learning from inspirational people that inspire me to drop MY EXCUSES and JUST DO IT! Role models who stretch my ambitions and model GIVING BACK!
There is dignity in achievement and success—in becoming a great factor in civilization.” Carter G. Woodson.

I hope you will share these short articles; perhaps a few people will be curious to learn more.
Disclaimer: Good Day, Readers. WealthBuildingPowers blog is a financial literacy/competency blog and does not provide specific investment recommendations.
A RAINBOW OF ROLE MODELS {WEDNESDAY SERIES} – SURVIVORS – THE ACTUAL VOICES OF ENSLAVED PEOPLE TELLING THEIR STORIES.

STYRON’S INTRODUCTION
Listening to real people describing their lives in slavery brought me to tears. When I listen to these voices, I better understand the inhuman conditions of slavery. Slavery is Savagery, Rape, Torture, Starvation, Murder, and EVIL!
Is it even possible to conceive of a slave: owner, master, overseer, trader, etc., getting into heaven?
Some of my great-grandparents may have been born into slavery. I do not know because the birth records of blacks in that era are inconsistent. My paternal grandparents lived in a condition of poverty, except for the homeless, which we no longer see in the U.S. I marvel at Dad’s strength to work his way to attend university and become a respected High School Principal.
VOICE RECORDINGS OF FORMER SLAVES OFFER INCREDIBLE FIRST-PERSON ACCOUNTS OF U.S. HISTORY!
The segment is well worth your ten minutes to watch:
When we think about the era of American slavery, many of us tend to think of it as the far distant past. While slavery doesn’t exist as a formal institution today, there are people living who knew formerly enslaved black Americans first-hand. In the wide arc of history, the legal enslavement of people on U.S. soil is a recent occurrence—so recent, in fact, that we have voice recordings of interviews with people who lived it.
Many of us have read written accounts of enslavement, from Frederick Douglass’s autobiography to some of the 2,300 first-person accounts housed in the Library of Congress. But how many of us have heard the actual voices of people who were enslaved telling their own stories?
ABC News’ Nightline with Ted Koppel aired a segment in 1999 in which we can hear the first-person accounts of people who had been enslaved taken from interviews conducted in the 1930s and 40s (also housed in the Library of Congress). They include the voice of a man named Fountain Hughes, who was born into slavery in 1848 and whose grandfather had “belonged to” Thomas Jefferson.
The segment is well worth ten minutes to watch:
As Koppel says in the segment, “The results of these digitally enhanced recordings are arresting, almost unbelievable. The idea of hearing the voices of actual slaves from the plantations of the Old South is as powerful—as startling, really—as if you could hear Abraham Lincoln or Robert E. Lee speak.”
Indeed, hearing formerly enslaved people share their experiences of being bought and sold like cattle, sleeping on bare pallets, and witnessing whippings for insubordination is a heartbreaking reminder of how close we are to this ugly chapter of our history. The segment is well worth ten minutes to watch:
STYRON’S – CONCLUSION
These former slaves are among MY ROLE MODELS!
I am NOT posting this because of anger or hostility against my country. I achieved my success and financial freedom because of the sacrifice and suffering of so many people before me. I have been determined NOT to waste the doors opened for me.
I admire and respect the strength and character of just the act of surviving required. My ancestors lived in a brutal era and experienced the worst forms of racial prejudice and American hypocrisy. Yet believed we could and would do better together.
I hope in heaven my family members celebrate the life they worked so hard to ensure. I am grateful for their fight to survive. Without that fight, I would not be here.
TO READ THE ARTICLE, CLICK BELOW:
https://www.upworthy.com/voice-recordings-of-ex-slaves-rp
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ABOUT ME
I am a proud nerd (as my beautiful wife and daughter have told me) investment and finance blogger with an N.C. State, Chemical Engineering, University Rutgers, MBA and Harvard University, Advanced Management education.
I left a corporate career because I desired to make a difference as a speaker and writer. I was blessed to be coached and mentored by strong women and men in my family and professional life. It is my time to serve and give back.
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I started my first business at ~13 years of age (a small but brilliantly created plant nursery). I am a successful investor in stocks, options, and real estate and am happy to share my finance and investment lessons. I am NOT a licensed financial advisor. Please do not construe my suggestions on this blog as recommendations for your situation. As an investor, you must establish your risk/loss tolerance. Investment in any asset involves risk, including complete loss.
Please seek your licensed CPA or fiduciary financial advisors for individual financial advice.
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