Slave:

They forced us onto the damp, crowded ship. They used force and guns. None of us really knew what was happening. All we knew was that they were killing us one by one. If we hadn’t acted soon they would have killed us all. My father is dead. My whole family, we all tried to run; to embrace that one little glimmer of hope that we could all remain free, and most importantly, alive. We were running. So close to freedom and then it was all snatched away with a gun shot.

So now I’m here on a ship. I don’t really get what is going on. My mother says that we are going on a trip, but even my naive, 10-year-old mind could detect the sadness in her voice and the catch in her throat as she talks. My older brother says that he overheard some of the people saying that we’re going to some place called Virginia. I don’t like it here on the ship. It’s nasty and foul. It smells really bad and we’re very cramped. A lot of the people are getting sea sick too, not to mention certain other “bodily functions”…

At last! We are finally on land again. We just arrived, but unfortunately they’ve put us right to work. There is so much work to be done! There is hardly a single moment to rest. If we do stop to rest, we are immediately and painfully punished. Oh how I wish to go back home to Africa.

Tobacco Plantation Owner:

I just got back from the auction. They had a pretty good selection of cargo this time around. All the men were strong and able. All the boys had full potential to turn into those strong and able men; even more so with the proper training. The women and girls will be very helpful in the kitchen and around the house with the chores.

All in all I brought home 2 men, 7 boys, and 2 women. As I watch over them (I always watch over them on the first day of work), I see that they are all very hard workers so far.

The men and boys are strong enough to pull the weeds and harvest the tobacco when it is in season. So far no one has been whipped or flogged or punished in anyway. It’ll be in their best interest to keep it that way.

Church Pastor:

You know, I used to think like all of you. I believed that slavery was OK. I, though I’m not proud of it, used to believe that there was no problem with treating human beings like that. I used to own a great number of slaves. But one day, one of my slaves came up to me. He said to me: If the Lord, your God, tells Christians to treat others the way you would want to be treated, how can you, of all people, bear to enslaved my people and think it’s OK? At the time, I told him it was just policy.

I said that it didn’t matter because all it was was business. But later that night, when I went home, I sat down in my chair, and I thought about it. I prayed to God, asking if it really was OK by him, or if it was a just a lie or even an excuse Christians used to make themselves feel better and to trick themselves into thinking this kind of treatment was OK. By the end of the night, I had formed my answer. And now I stand here, before you, the people of Williamsburg, Virginia, and say this:

As far as the issue of slavery goes I believe it is very wrong. God calls unto us, as Christians, to treat others the way we want to be treated. How we, who call ourselves God’s children, can be so lacking in compassion for others.