Enslaved people were brutalized in undeniably vile ways. While this anti-Black administration is trying to make us think slavery wasn't all that bad, here's the reality of one of its worst forms of punishment.
Cat-hauling was a method of torture. "The cat-haul; that is, to fasten a slave down flatwise..and then to take a huge fierce tom-cat by the tail backward, and haul him down along the..bare back, with his claws clinging into the quick all the way."
There's no question that slavery was beyond "bad." So why does this matter right now?
Knowing this history is not just about recalling the violence committed against our people. Still, it's also about realizing that slavery was an institution, and its legacy is still harming us today, which is evident in the racial wealth gap, mass incarceration, health disparities, and more.
So when the current administration or anyone anti-Black uses talking points that try to convince us that slavery wasn't "that bad" or that we should "get over it,” the only right answer is hell no. There's nothing to get over when millions of Black people are still being harmed.
No matter what anyone else does, we can never forget any part of our history. We must remember. May our memories be long so we are never tricked outta the truth.