I am an enslaved African and my ancestors were brought here against their will many years ago and now I am forced to work in a tobacco plantation for the profit of others. My ancestors coming here was a one-sided decision, which they had no part in. I am appalled at you people who say that you are Christians and doing good deeds while you turn your back on what you are doing to us. I hope that this speech can give you some insight on how we view this horrible crime.

We should not be in slavery. It is unethical due to the horrible conditions that we are put through and we are not treated like equal human beings. You may say that we are property and think that we are savages with no concept of right and wrong. I am standing up here today to say that we are human beings with a heart, feelings, and thoughts. Being a slave violates unalienable human rights that are outlined in Declaration of Independence. The thought that those rights only belong to white males is an ignorant thought that should not be believed. I understand that because I was born to slaves, under your laws, I should be a slave too. I am ashamed of this law because it gives my people no chance in life despite what they could offer the world. I know that we are needed to support the economy and pick tobacco to make money for our landowners. However, we are not mules and I am sure that you could find a way to manage without us having to be inferior and demanded to work on your land. It would be considered fair to pay workers that work for you because in a true democracy, people are given rights and in the current situation, our rights are being ignored. I am deeply saddened by the situation of slavery and depression that my people are going through because of you.

I think that we should be able to vote for our elected officials in office. If we have to live here against our will, we should be afforded the most basic right, the right to elect somebody to represent us. We work harder and longer than anybody else here, yet we are not represented in the government. Like it or not, we have our own ideas and thoughts and we need opportunities to rise up just like non-slaves have.

Just because I think that we should be allowed to vote does not mean that I believe that we should be counted as part of the population for the House of Representatives. Because we are enslaved and not given any rights, I do not believe that by living here, we should be strengthening you in the House of Representatives. You do not want to give us any rights, yet you want to gain power by having us live here. From no perspective can that be just because the mentality of gaining power from owning slaves is ridiculous. The Declaration of Independence states, “all men are created equal.” That should include everybody that lives in the land called America. If we are not given the right to vote, then we are not citizens and should not be counted as part of the population when we have no say of what happens.

I hope that this speech has helped you to see the error of your ways and given you insight to our point of view. I also hope that you can see the inhumanness of not only slavery, but the way we are treated everywhere. We just want equal rights and I do not think that that is too much to ask. Please consider helping us and trying to be more just and Christian-like in your decisions and actions.