The African-American and the Biblical Account of Israelites

The book of Exodus is enriched with moral, religious, and philosophical approaches to the framework of human character and behavior (Tucker,, 2010). It narrates on how slavery was executed to the people of Israel while under captivity in the land Egypt. Based on this book we can account for the African American slavery that was been witnessed through reporting, publishing, eye witnessing, interviewing, economic and political analysis among other sources of information during the history of America which has been recorded in the last two hundred years. There is a very strong tie between the Biblical Exodus story of the Jews and the oppression of the Africans.

Differences and Similarities before and after the Emancipation

It should be noted that the form of slavery in America was not uniform since it varied with time, region and the demographic class of the slaveholder. When comparing the two groups, it is apparent that there are several differences and similarities before and after the emancipation. Slavery in America was executed for commercial purposes (Hill, Dixon & Garvey, 2011). It was based on the notion of social on economic emancipation of the Western powers. Indeed, the idea behind slavery was based on impoverishing some parts of the world, so that other could prosper at the expense of others. Therefore, slave masters came all the way to African to buy slaves for their commercial purposes (Christopher, 2007). The Jews went into slavery because they disobeyed their God.

The Israelites were welcomed in the land of Egypt as guests before they ended up becoming slaves due to the political standings of their foreign land. Their exile was because of disobedience. God demanded allegiance to His laws and statutes and promised to root Israel from their land if they disobeyed. However, the Americans took the African-Americans captive for economic purposes. There was no known law, which they had broken, as was the case with Israelites.

The Africans went into America as slaves. Their journey was replete with suffering, death, and gross violation of human rights. The African style of arriving to the land of slavery was on individual basis, that is whoever was under captive was not accompanied by his family members. However, after the emancipation, they were assimilated into the American mainstream culture. They did not have to go back to their home countries (Hill, Dixon & Garvey, 2011). This was not the case of the Israelites. The Israelites went into slavery with their families. From the Bible account, Moses is seen trying to stop the whipping of one Israelite slave while Frederick Douglass was seen interested in the way he whipped the slaves and seen to develop courage in this business whenever he saw blood flow from the victim.

Before the emancipation, many people lost their lives as they championed for their rights. For instance, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, possibly because of his role in liberating the blacks from oppression (Hill, Dixon & Garvey, 2011). In addition, violent clashes resulted in death among the many divides in the American history. In Egypt also, many people lost their lives as well. Moses killed an Egyptians. In addition, God also executed His wrath against the Egyptians by killing their first-born (Tucker, 2010).

After the end of slavery in Egypt, God promised to make them a great people according to the covenant. God had promised through Abraham to bless the Israelites that they could gain the gates of their enemies. The Israelites left Egypt with a lot of wealth, and walked back to their home country (Tucker, 2010). However when we look at the African-American slavery, the tag of war is still lingering to attain equality even after several years after the end of slavery. The emancipation of the blacks was not to be achieved by going back to their original places of birth. Indeed, most of the blacks do not know their countries of origin. Therefore, their emancipation resulted in assimilation to the American lifestyle, recognition, and respect of human rights.

Similar themes

From the experiences of the two groups, it is possible to deduce some themes based on their experiences as well as their liberations. First, man is bent to mistreat others for personal selfish ends. At the end, we can see that slavery is immoral and evil and cannot be used as a basis of enriching oneself. Oppression is rampant in many human societies. Although subjugation might occur in different ways, at the end people will be set free from their masters to chart their own course.

Moses Figure in the 20^th Century

The emancipation of blacks is filled with many instances of vicissitudes. Many people played a critical role in the total liberation of the blacks in the American history. Indeed, many people qualify for the tag of the Moses of the 20^th century because of their determination to see full emancipation of the African-Americans. The most notable figure is Marcus Garvey, who led the largest organized group for the liberation of Africans (Hill, Dixon & Garvey, 2011). He is the progenitor of the Black is Beautiful campaign that reached its apogee in the early 1960s and late 1970s. Indeed, the tag of “Black Moses” was coined on this icon, and his escapades have fascinated writers and historians as well as researchers.

Conclusion

In summary, slavery in both accounts is seen as evil. God allowed the children of Israel to go into exile because they had disobeyed His Divine laws. Their liberation was with wonders and miracles. In addition, the Israelites suffered for 40 years in the wilderness before reaching the Promised Land. The Black emancipation movements experienced many hurdles, as many people lost their lives. Overall, slavery is evil as can be seen for the suffering of the two groups. However, at the end, it will require people of charisma and determination to overcome oppression. This is evidenced by the Biblical account of Moses and the many African icons that rose to fight oppression for their people.

References

Christopher, E. et al (2007). Many Middle Passages: Forced Migration and the Making of the Modern World. New York: Academic Books

Hill, A. R. Dixon, J. & Garvey, M. (2011). The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association. London: Duke University Press.

Tucker, M. (2010). Bible Stories and Crafts: Old Testament. New York: Teacher Created Resources, Inc.