We are because of them

     One of the bigges themes of both the U.S. Social Justice Movements class I took in the fall and this study of comparative history is the idea of looking back to move forward. Many of our social justice movements in the United States have faltered or fallen short of their goals (I'm looking at you Occupy) because of a refusal or a naiveity towards looking st the successes and failures of previous social justice movements. Similarly, the culture in the US doesn't encourage people to feel connected to their history, positive or negative. As Cate pointed out, one of the most important aspects of the "American Dream" is the ability of anyone, regardless of where they come from to "make it." As a person who doesn't believe in that type of individualism, I have been particularly moved by this notion of looking back to move forward.
      I was confronted by this in a big way during the orientation video at the Iziko Museum Slave Lodge in downtown Cape Town. Out of nowhere, a subheading reading "We Are Because of Them" popped up on the screen. As I pondered this idea, I remembered a discussion we had been having with our vivacious tour guide/comerade Lucy about the state of politics in South Africa today. While this was seemingly off topic, she made sure to point out that everything is connected, that South Africa is the way that it is today because of to everything that has happened here in the past, included an often forgotten legacy of enslavement.
This moment, that phrase and this entire trip has reaffirmed my commitment to the past in a big way and had ignited a fire in me to keep history alive and to always encourage people to figure out where they come from. After all, we are because of them.