Claudia Arevalo-Lowe Feb. 20, 1998

While talking about slavery, the first thing that comes to mind is the African immigrants as slaves. As true as this may be, slavery has been around since time immemorial and the first signs of slavery in the United States are seen not with the African Immigrants, but with the first settlers and the European immigrants who followed.

During the tobacco years in the U.S., roughly around 1836, there was what is known as "Indentured servants". These were people who came to the U.S. under the promise that they would receive land and freedom after their "contract" with the owners was completed. They arrived and found themselves being worked to death, and the few females that arrived in that capacity were housemaids who repeatedly got raped. These crimes continued to occur without punishment until a long time later.

Some of the indentured servants found themselves given to other owners as payment for gambling debts and they suffered the harshness of knowing that after the period they were to serve, one way or another, a reason was found to extend their contracts repeatedly and keep them in the capacity of servants, with no rights and mistreated. Needless to say, the mortality rate was incredibly high. Not only were they worked to death, but the ones who were not as lucky , succumbed to malnutrition and illnesses.

These are facts which need to be remembered as they set the example of what was yet to come and the hurdles we have not been able to overcome as of today. Yes, there has been injustice to the African immigrants and their descendants, but the precedent was set long before by the mistreatment of others.