#slavery — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #slavery, aggregated by home.social.
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Arkansas Times: A researcher at the Old State House discovered slave auctions had once taken place on museum grounds. Her bosses told her to stay silent.. “Wahlquist said she informed her superiors of her discovery, but the reaction was not what she anticipated. ‘They immediately said, “Do not mention this to anyone.” They said to keep researching, but don’t say anything about it because they […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/08/19/arkansas-times-a-researcher-at-the-old-state-house-discovered-slave-auctions-had-once-taken-place-on-museum-grounds-her-bosses-told-her-to-stay-silent/ -
“…the abolitionist Mr. White implies that if whites were forced to choose between white supremacy and the Constitution, they would uphold supremacy and reject the Constitution. It was prophetic because Southern leaders, including generals who had once sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States, abandoned their allegiance to it during the Civil War. It is prophetic again.”
#uspoli #politics #books #slavery https://lithub.com/reinventing-the-slave-narrative-ishmael-reed-on-flight-to-canada-at-50/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=topic/culture
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Slavery was abolished in 1807*
Slavery and forced labour is alive and well in Xinjiang. Major retailers complicit. Welcome to ‘cotton laundering’
August 2026
Many people believe that slavery ended sometime in the 19th Century and many – certainly older people reading this – think that Britain led the way. Slavery continued for many years afterwards. The reality is that slavery is alive and well and that you are wearing the products of this vile system while sat reading this. You may feel that you have purchased your cotton garments from a respectable high street retailer so this surely cannot be the case. If you watch the video in the RTE programme [link below], they will explain how retailers such as M&S who feature strongly in the film, are evading controls with vague labelling.
The story of cotton
Around 80% of cotton production in China comes from Xinjiang, using forced labour from the Uyghur which represents 20% of the global cotton production. Following an uproar and call to action in 2020 that called on numerous fashion brands (such as Nike, Adidas, Zara, H&M, Amazon, etc) to sever ties with Uyghur forced labour, many of these brands decided apparently to stop sourcing cotton from Xinjiang. If we were to ask these brands today about their commitment to Uyghur rights, they would answer that Uyghur forced labour has been cut from their supply chain. (Photo is one of the major companies involved in China).
However, the reality is not that simple. Cotton production has not reduced in the region since 2020; instead, Chinese manufacturers have resorted to “cotton laundering”. Once the cotton has been transformed into yarn or fabric, the cotton enters the supply chain through third countries such as Bangladesh or Vietnam. This results in cotton that is extremely difficult to trace.
Cotton laundering
Some brands may claim that having the label ‘Better Cotton’ to claim that their supply chains are ethical. However as investigated by RTÉ, it appears that “the Better Cotton can be mixed or blended with what they call conventional cotton very early on in the supply chain, and that includes cotton from the Uyghur region“. The RTE film (5 mins) can be viewed here.
Although companies have acted on demands to stop using suppliers that rely on Uyghur forced labour, it can be easy to imagine that cotton harvested in Xinjiang finds its way to those factories through cotton laundering. That is why we are asking you today to write a question to a company that produces apparel which contains cotton to ask them what processes and safeguards are in place to ensure forced labour is not present in their supply chains.
Research published by Sheffield Hallam University shows in detail how the system works and contains much evidence. They say that previous research has provided significant evidence indicating that these programmes are indeed tantamount to forced labour, human trafficking, and modern slavery and that this system of repression is particularly deployed in the cotton and textile industries, which for China are centred in the Uyghur Region. Reports have shown that much of the region’s cotton is hand-picked by people who are forced to do so, that textile factories in the Uyghur Region employ forced labour, and that minority citizens of the region have been “transferred” thousands of miles into the interior of China to work in factories for major textile and apparel exporters.
The notion of slavery today is universally condemned. Britain was heavily involved in the trade for nearly two centuries transporting well over 3 million in the triangular trade. Many are often surprised to discover that the slave owners (not the slaves) were compensated and the debt was only paid off in 2015.
As we have noted before, although Xinjiang seems a long way off and few will have been there, the products of this obnoxious and cruel system are sitting on the clothing racks of our major high street retailers and hence in your wardrobes. Truly we are all involved.
[*Quite when slavery ended is difficult to be precise. Many ships simply reflagged to avoid patrols. Slavery persisted for decades in the Caribbean and America. Slaves were still transferred between countries. A separate act was later passed to end the practice in India. Freed slaves simply became indentured.]
Letter
This is a sample letter to a retailer or manufacturer to model yours on. It is likely you will receive a standard reply but it will register with the retailer that they are being watched and if not careful, they could receive reputational damage:
Dear xx,
I am writing to express my concern as to the possibility that your cotton products contain cotton produced in Xinjiang using Uyghur forced labour.
One tactic used by Chinese manufacturers to sell cotton produced by forced labour and internal displacement of Uyghur population is “cotton laundering”. These companies will transform cotton into yarn or fabric and then introduce them to global chains through third countries such as Bangladesh or Vietnam. As a result, the origin of the cotton is extremely difficult to trace.
In addition, the label “Better Cotton” does not prevent products from containing cotton produced through forced labour. The Better Cotton Initiative does not have a traceability protocol and enable mixed or blended cotton with ethically sourced material. Cotton from the Uyghur region may very well be present in those mixes or blends.
As a concerned consumer, I would like to ask you: what protocols and safeguards do you have in place to absolutely ensure that none of the cotton present in your garments is a result of Uyghur forced labour? How do you verify that the cotton used in your garment does not come from Xinjiang?
Thank you in advance for your reply.
Yours sincerely,We have drawn from material produced by RTE (Ireland), Sheffield Hallam University, Statista and from the Uyghur Solidarity Team with thanks.
- Slavery was abolished in 1807*
- Uyghur campaign progress
- Another vigil and is the mood changing in the US?
- Are American attitudes towards Israel changing?
- Latest Death Penalty Report
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Slavery reparations: Why Ghana is leading the demand for compensation
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0j2r15dr1o"He also wants individual institutions that benefited from the slave trade to be held accountable and pay compensation. Among these is the Church of England.
In the 18th Century, the Church's missionary wing ran plantations and owned hundreds of slaves, which helped fund its work across the Americas and beyond."
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The slaves revolted. That was "the loss" ---!?!-- the slaves then "had to pay" the slavers for the loss of their slaves.
This is story of Haiti.
France should be required by the Hague to repay the slaves, Haiti, every penny of rhe billions of dollars.
Shame on France. Shame.
Racists still work together to punish them for taking freedom, still, today.
It's why Trump is extra racist about freedom seizing Hatians.
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Blackbox review – a legendary escape from slavery is told with magic tricks
By Mark FisherUnderbelly, Edinburgh The story of Henry ‘Box’ Brown, who succeeded in mailing himself out of bondage, is recounted rather than fully dramatised
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/16/blackbox-review-underbelly-edinburgh
#Edinburghfestival2026 #Theatre #Edinburghfestival #Culture #Festivals #Stage #Magic #Slavery #TheGuardian #MarkFisher
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"We force animals to adapt to the constraints of farming modelled on the mass production of manufactured goods, whereas farming should respect the ethological needs of animals. This is a transgression because we grant ourselves an absolute right that we do not have. This violence towards animals is a condemnation of us. Yet our relationship with animals could be an opportunity to think about a way of inhabiting the Earth that makes coexistence with other species possible. This requires new foundations for ethics and politics."
– Corine Pelluchon
#factoryFarms #farms #ownership #coexistence #eugenics #capitalism #extractivism #appropriation #landGrab #plantations #slavery #nature #separation #epistemology #speciesism #antiSpeciesism #animals #philosophy #beliefs #squash #inhabitability #grievability #farming #quote #quotes
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Australia’s ‘pioneer’ colonists profited from slavery. That truth must be acknowledged | Paul Daley
By Paul DaleyThe veil is slowly being lifted on the forced or coerced migration – ‘blackbirding’ – of Pacific Islanders for labour
#Slavery #Australianews #Townsville #Queensland #TheGuardian #PaulDaley
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@MikeDunnAuthor
Thank you again for all the information / education elements you share with us.As you mentioned Boukman Eksperyans, may I add one song by as an example? I like it very much:
https://tidal.com/track/2513051/u
(This track has been banned from Haitian airwaves because the band was regarded as a radical threat)TIDAL offers some more music from this band. So it can be explored.
#workingclass #LaborHistory #boukman #haiti #Revolution #uprising #revolt #slavery #reading #books #fiction #novel #nonfiction #writer #author #BlackMastodon
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>> “Terafab Texas will be the largest and most valuable building on Earth by far. It will be stunningly beautiful,” Musk wrote on X. “Sci-fi city is what we’re aiming for,” he said in another post on the site.<<
Musk wants to build this in Grimes county in southeast Texas.
This won't, by the way, be the first time that Grimes county has been the place where new technology intersects with white supremacy; in 1825, one of the first cotton gins in Texas was established there, on a plantation where ninety people were held in slavery.
#ElonMusk #Terafab #Texas #WhiteSupremacy #slavery #GrimeCounty #Technology
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CW: Enslavement, Violence
"Make the first right on the man who permitted the heads of rebelling slaves to be put on stakes and spread across the city in order to prevent the others from getting any ideas.
What name is there for this sort of violence? What do you call it when the road you walk on is named for those who imagined you under a noose? What do you call it when the roof over your head is named after people who would have wanted the bricks to crush you?"
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CW: Enslavement, Death
"I was taught that the Civil War was about states' rights. But I was never taught how the Fugitive Slave Act could care less about a border and spell Georgia and Massachusetts the exact same way.
It's easy to look at a flag and call it heritage when you don't see the Black bodies buried behind it. It's easy to look at a statue and call it history when you ignore the laws written in its wake."
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CW: Bondage, enslavement
Some quotes from the poem:
"I was taught the Civil War wasn't about slavery. But I was never taught how the declarations of Confederate secession had the promise of human bondage carved into its stone.
I was taught that the war was about economics. But I was never taught that in 1860, the 4 million enslaved Black people were worth more than every bank, factory and railroad combined."
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"How Americans deceive ourselves about slavery"
https://www.npr.org/2026/08/14/nx-s1-5928227/how-americans-deceive-ourselves-about-slavery
"Clint Smith's How the Word Is Passed explores how slavery is — and isn't — taught. And Above Ground includes poems to his children about what their ancestors endured and escaped. He spoke with Fresh Air in 2021 and 2023."
Author website:
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RFKKK wanting to "re-parent" black children
#racism #government #congress #adhd #health #parenting #world #eu #europe #uk #Canada #slavery #worldhealthorganization
#meidastouch #reddit #oppression
#internationalnews #humanrights
#tyranny #Epsteinclass -
RFKKK wanting to "re-parent" black children
#racism #government #congress #adhd #health #parenting #world #eu #europe #uk #Canada #slavery #worldhealthorganization
#meidastouch #reddit #oppression
#internationalnews #humanrights
#tyranny #Epsteinclass -
The statue now sits in a place of honor in Freedom Plaza, a square that was renamed, in 1988, for the slain civil rights leader #MartinLutherKingJr., who wrote his “I Have a Dream” speech in the nearby Willard Hotel.
…the statuary ensemble…is one of the most cogent & confrontational expressions of the #Trump admin’s views on race, urban design & public space.
