"In historic times we make a distinction between the term migration, which simply means moving, and immigration which means moving across national frontier." (Daniels, 3)
From reading the quote above one could almost think that immigration was a good thing. Afterall, it got us all here to the United States and many others where they are today. Moving across a national frontier can be harder than it sounds and can lead to deportation. Today many people have tried and are trying now to immigrate to the United States for a better life. A few make it, some die trying, and others never make it. I think the United States has lost it and has gone to feeling that being American is superior to all others. So many of our clothes, food, and accessories come from other countries. They want supplies, but can't offer their international workers a home? I just don't get it.
Lucy, the African Eve whom could possible be the mother who started it all migrated and settled. Her footprints have been tracked and because of her migration we are all here today. Migration has been turned into a negative actions, but it has its positive aspects as well. In a previous class called Cultural Anthropology, taught by Dr. Don, he told the class about having done a DNA test and the results had come back that he was 1% African. He told the class that this 1% African can be found in all of us because of Lucy. It is amazing to me how someone so long ago can be accounted for a part of our personal and very own life, hence we tend not to really think about things like that. We could be all related to Lucy and we could not be, we will never truly know. It feels good to think and have an idea that there is some relation that dates back into time, that being Lucy.
Before I opened the book, I held the pages to chapter 1-3 together and thought to myself, "Ugh, this is just too much!" When I actually began to read the book, the pages seemed to just fly right by. I usually have a difficulty reading and remembering things I read, but this book has me interested. I love learning about the different cultures and ethnicities that exist. Since the beginning of this course I started to wonder, "How did racism come to be?" This book has answered my question just in the first chapter.
"With some notable exceptions, Europeans had a contempt for the cultures and people they encountered, an attitude that would soon evolve into modern racism." (Daniels, 4)
Atlas! That's how racism began. The Europeans felt that themselves and their race was not only better and more important, but that it was SUPERIOR to that of anyone else that existed. Wow, what a shame. I can't help but wonder how the world would be today if the Europeans had been more humble and appreciative of the diversity that surrounded them.
The central mexican population from 1519-1605 shown on pg. 9 was absolutely unbelievable! I can't seem to take in and accept how the population went from 25,200,000 to 1,075,000 in less than one hundred years, while the European population heavily increased (not surprising.)
In Chapter 2, it was brought to my attention how helpful young children were to their families. Widow mothers were appreciative to have 4-5 children around because their labor was worth a lot. I can't help but to think about the children in America today. Child labor laws of course make it clear that we should not slave our kids and make them work when they are under the age of 16 I believe, but the children of today just seem so lazy and unappreciative. I would love to have lived in an earlier age and experienced life before electronics.
One of my favorite parts of chapter two, were the short excerpts about runaway slaves. I find it interesting to read the type of language and word choice that people used in that time period. It reminds me of a lost and found section you would see on craigslist, minus the slaves.
In chapter three, I was most astonished by the realization that hardly if any genuine African American history made it through the cracks of time because they were all nonliterate. I thought that some were literate, but that may not have been for some years to come. It makes sense that for the first years or so that the Africans arrived in America, they were nonliterate and could not possibly have written journals about their experiences. Everything written during that time would most likely be by, "slave traders, masters, and other white observers." (Daniels, 55) This can cause most of the history we know to be inconclusive because of their bias opinions, thoughts, and observations. What a shame that we will never know what the Africans experienced. I would be interested in reading a journal about the hardships, language used, and descriptive imagery given of that time period. Daniels described not knowing what went on in the history of the Africans perfectly, "It is a hunger that can never be satisfied." (Daniels, 55)
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