The Delaware Governor will pardon Samuel D Burris, a free
black man during the time of the Underground Railroad and slaves, on Monday
morning. Governor Jack Markell will conduct the ceremony on the very place
where Samuel was convicted, on the 168th anniversary of the date it
happened. Of course during that time adding and abetting slaves to escape the
south was illegal and when Samuel was caught he was held for 14 months. A white
abolitionist bought him while playing the part of a slave trader and freed him
but Burris went right back to helping people escape the horrible conditions
that slavery placed on them. After all this time he is finally being recognized
as the hero he was for helping so many people even if it put his life and
family’s safety in jeopardy.
This pardon should’ve happened a long time ago. I’m glad it’s
happening now but the fact that its happening at all reminds us of the black
smudge in our country’s history. Slavery should never have happened even if it
means our country didn’t develop as quickly as it did with slavery. But this
pardon may help us move past that horrible time. We should never forget slavery
and we should try to everything we can to move past it. Burris wasn’t a
criminal, he was a free black man doing the right thing to free other black
people from the chains that caused them so much suffering.
No comments:
Post a Comment