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Comment by runako | Hacker News Reader

A book was recently published about a person some consider to be the last enslaved person brought to the US from Africa:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/barracoon-...

(He died in 1935.)

> 100-odd years seems pretty recent, it’s incredible to me that there were slaves so recently in the US.

That's a taboo line of inquiry in the US. In general, the line is to agree that slavery happened in the very distant past, so the institution cannot possibly affect the present.

Edited to indicate this person was the last enslaved person brought to the US from Africa, not the last enslaved person in the US.

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How about 2007, right in New York City, braiding hair? About 21 girls from Ghana were enslaved for that purpose until ICE rescued them. This earned the slave owner about $4 million.

https://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/12/02/slave.labor.ring.busted...

The slave trade is also once again booming in Libya.

Yeah, but now, slaves like that actually have a chance to be rescued by a governmental body, whereas this was actually the total reverse prior to The Civil War.

We both know what I mean, when I say "The Civil War" so, I'd expect that we both know what is meant, when saying Slavery.

There are other words for the situation you discuss, and probably Human Traffiking is a better choice of words, when discussing that kind of thing among Americans.

Agree that, when the context is clearly US, this probably needs to be marked modern-day slavery or something, to distinguish.

The problem with human trafficking is that this is frequently used now for the illegal transport of paying customers across a border, which is a different kind of crime.

I feel there is a huge difference between being in a position where the state actively opposes your bondage, because you’re a human in the eyes of the law, and the state seeing you simply as someone else’s property.

fact check: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2xy51z/when_...

The "War Between the States" ended in 1865, so likely the last former slave died in the 1970s.

Of course you're correct! I edited my comment to note that Barracoon is believed to be the last enslaved person brought to the US from Africa.

Wikipedia counts Sylvester Magee as the last living slave:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvester_Magee

He died in 1971, as you intuited.

But not before reaching an estimated ripe old age of 130! Wow!

“Sylvester Magee (May 29, 1841? – October 15, 1971)”

I just recently said something like this aloud in a casual conversation with a friend (Ad sales guy in NYC) and, through the awkward exchange that followed realized he thought emancipation was 300+ years ago. Given slavery is the most critical part of our nation’s history, I opted to not disctract with the dates of the revolutionary war.

This from someone from a wealthy family who attended private schools and has an MBA.

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