Obama Slavery Speech 2015: The President's Remarks On 'Nation's Original Sin' On 150th Anniversary

[Jefferson23]

*Outstanding

Obama Slavery Speech 2015: The President's Remarks On 'Nation's Original Sin' On 150th Anniversary Of The 13th Amendment
By Bruce Wright @bctw on December 09 2015 12:30 PM EST


U.S. President Barack Obama commemorated Wednesday the 150th anniversary of the 13th Amendment during a speech at the U.S. Capitol. In marking the landmark legislation that effectively abolished slavery in America, Obama ran down a list of milestones achieved in the country to show how far the nation has progressed, and how far the nation still has to go.​

Evoking images of lynching that “justice turned a blind eye to,” Obama said that slavery was wrong in every sense.” Noting that black people at one time couldn’t vote, fill most jobs or “protect themselves or their families from indignity or violence,” the president went on to say that “through all this, the call to freedom survived.”

He continued: “Maids, porters, students, farmers, priests, housewives – because of them, the civil rights law passed” and “doors of opportunity swung open.” Not just for blacks, Obama was sure to note, but also for white menial workers. “Freedom for you and for me. Freedom for all of us. And that’s what we celebrate today. The long arc of progress. Progress that is never assured, never guaranteed, but always possible,” he said.

http://www.ibtimes.com/obama-slavery-speech-2015-presidents-remarks-nations-original-sin-150th-anniversary-2218291

[Jefferson23]

2. I would agree that is where it is most obvious, but racism crosses over by many other

means and is insidious..found in places many would not expect to find it.
One needs to only listen to those who feel the brunt of it daily, and you'll
have a more accurate account of it.

Welcome to DU, btw.

[yurbud]

3. this is the first I've heard of this anniversary