The Underground Railroad

The great thing about being in a book club is that you read books you would not normally read.  My book club chose The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. This was a hard book to read.  The suffering of American slaves is painful.  Our own country treated people like this? Dairy cows have it so nice in comparison.  No animal would be treated now like these slaves were treated because our society frowns on animal abuse.  I know people who can't comprehend the idea of white privilege.  If you don't understand white privilege, read The Underground Railroad and I think you will understand. Human trafficking still goes on every day even in our own community. But the problem is more isolated and not sanctioned by states and law enforcement anymore. People in my book club are generally well read.  Other books were suggested. I will try to read them because I feel it is my duty as a citizen of this country to read them but I will have to pace myself. I can stomach only so much suffering at a time. Those books include The Half Never Been Told by Edward Baptiste and Slaves In The Family by Edward Ball.The discussion we had about this book was highly stimulating and thought provoking. I walked out of this group on Tuesday night feeling more hope for the future. Overall our nation is in a powerful and irreversible trend of recognizing the value and worth of each and every citizen.