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In the beginning of the chapter, we see H is being imprisoned, and he is very aggressive and angry. H is a decendent of Esi. He believes he has done nothing wrong. H is described as big and strong, and it says that most people are scared when he walks into a room. H is a decendant of Esi. H is only 18 years old, and is very naive. When he gets into the jail, an older cellmate tells H to quiet down before they kill him, and H says he doesn't believe anyone would kill them. We then find out that H was imprisoned for inappropriatley looking at a white girl named Cora Hobbs. Although H says he did not do that, the Cellmate explains to him that the white policemen can put you in jail, no matter if you did something or not. The cellmate also says that even though slavery had ended 5 years prior because of the civil war, it does not mean that black people are free. H was set out on a ten dollar bail. H only had 5 dollars, and could not get out of jail, as he had no family to get him out. He had walked from Georgia to Alabama alone, to get away from his plantation. On his way, H would sharecrop. Before H was imprisoned, he was with a woman named Ethe. H cared very much for Ethe, and called her phone of the strongest women he had ever met. H said he had never had a better relationship in his whole life. Now that he was in jail, and could not bail himself and Ethe could not save him either. He was sold to work in the mines. H was known as a first class worker, and was highley valued because of his strength. Every day, H had to go into the mines, and get his daily total of 14,000 pounds of coal. If they did not reach the total, they could be whipped to death. The mines were also a very dangerous place to work. H describes when a man got stuck between two rocks, and couldn't get out, and died. He says men were often crushed, died of heat exhaustion, or of some disease, form constantly breathing in the fumes in the mines. One time, H was paired with a white man named Thomas. At first, Thomas was upset to be paired with H, and used vulgar language to describe him. When Thomas got into the mines, he was very scared, and was unable to get any coal. H decided to save Thomas's life, and do both his own share and Thomas's share, 28,000 pounds in total. The next day, H could no longer feel his arms, and Thomas returned the favor. H got released in 1889, and was put in jail in 1880. H was released a year early. When H was released, he moved to Pratt City, as City of all ex-convicts. H now worked in the mines, for money, not for nothing. H was asked to join a union, to ensure he and the other workers were being paid fairly. H was very vocal in wanting higher pay, which many agreed with. After months of strikes, the wages were raised for the workers. Also, H sent a letter to Ethe, saying he was living in Pratt City. When H returned from the mines, he walked in, and saw Ethe, cooking for him in the house.

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Consequences of Slavery

H, by law, is a free man, as slavery was abolished 5 years before he was put in jail. H is still in a way a slave, as white men and women still make laws, and still make it difficult for black people to lead a normal life. H was convicted for looking a a white woman wrong, and put in jail for ten years. In the chapter the deputy tries to sell him for "20 dollars a month" (160). They sell H off to a mining company for 19 dollars a month. H is not getting paid, and is forced to work, with the consequence of maybe being killed or lashed if he does not mine enough coal. H is being forced into labor, to make money for the companies, and is sold off to them, which is slavery. H pleads he is a free man, and the deputy tells him "No such thing as a free [slur]" 160. The men don't call it slavery, and justify it because H and the others are criminals, even though H was wrongly convicted.

Friendship through trauma

H and the other convicts are forced to risk their lives at no gain other than that if they do not do their forced work, they may be killed. Everyday, the men are sent down into the mines, with a high probability of dieing. In the chapter, a white man named Thomas is put in jail, and sent off to the mines. At first Thomas says to the deputy he doesn't deserve to be with the black people. When he asks the deputy to move him, the deputy refuses. Thomas goes down into the mines for the first day, and becomes very scared. He is unable to work, as he is sobbing on the floor. H was able to mine enough coal for both men, so that Thomas wasn't whipped or beaten. Thomas thanked H. The next day H couldn't feel his arms, so Thomas and a couple other men helped H get to his quota. Thomas says "thank you for helping me the other day" to H (164). H and Thomas became friendly with each other, and the other men in the mines became friends. They shared trauma and struggle, and connected through that to become friends.

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The chapter I read takes place just after the end of the civil war in Alabama. These are some historical events around the time.

Lincoln is Assasinated:

Abraham Lincoln is killed in Washington Dc while watching a play. His assassinator was John Wilkes Booth.

13th Amendment Passed:

This officially outlaws slavery completley in the US. Southern states, however, still make laws to keep slavery intact.

14th Amendment Passed:

Grants citizenship to African Americans. Allows equal protection of the laws. This is loosely followed if at all in southern states.

15th Amendment Passed:

Gives African American men the right to vote. Voting test that are almost impossible are made by southern states to limit their ability to vote.

First Transcontenetial Railroad made:

The connection of all railroads in the east to railroads in the west. Makes travel through the country much more efficent.

Financial panic of 1873:

Stock Market crashes as a result of the collapse of freedmans bank.

Jim Crow Implemented in Southern States:

Laws were made to limit the freedoms that were given to African Americans by the government. Laws made it basically impossible for African Americans to live freely.

The Great Chicago Fire:

Massive fire that spread 3 miles across Chicago. It killed 30 people, and burnt down a substantial amount of Chicago.

Ulysses Grant becomes president:

Elected president in 1868, worked to remove slavery and any of its impact

Popularization of Dynamite:

Dynamite is created, is 5 times as powerful as black powder used previously.

Jim Crow laws heavily effected H in his chapter. H was put in jail with no trial, and wasn't told what he was arrested for. H was sold off to mining companies to mine for them forcefully. H was not paid, and had to meet a quota or else he was punished. H was most likely aressted, because he was big, and they saw him as an asset to put in the mines. The creation of Dynamite also effects H, as it was used heavily in the mines. This made the job very dangerous, as H said he had seen many die from the explosions, and other dangers in the mines.

https://www.identecsolutions.com/news/mining-in-the-united-states-1875-to-present#:~:text=Dynamite%2C%20an%20explosive%20five%20times,drills%20further%20enhanced%20mining%20efficiency.

https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/gilded/timeline.pdf

https://www.census.gov/history/www/through_the_decades/fast_facts/1870_fast_facts.html

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Mining in the united States - 1875 to present

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Interested in the history of mining in the United States? Then let's go!

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Slavery still effected African Americans even after it was banned. In Esi's chapter, she is captured, and put into Cape Coast Castle, under tight and horrible living conditions. She is forced to do whatever the guards say, or else she may be killed. Esi also made friends with a girl named Tansi. This relates to H's chapter, where he made friends with both Thomas and the other men in the mines. They were all forced into labor, and were able to connect through their trauma and struggles.

In H's Chapter, we can see similar experiences effect him. Although it is completely outlawed, H still feels the effects of slavery, as he is put into forced labor by the prison guards. He is sold off and forced to work in the mines. He sleeps in a cell everyday, under horrid conditions. We can see how Esi's events and trauma correlate with H.