Power, authority and luck are never permanent. They flow like water that changes its path when it encounters obstructions, or finds the path of least resistance. During this meandering process, it strikes the edges of land smoothly and sometimes roughly, vanishing that part of land from the scene. Same is the case with power. Power transfers from one hand to another, from one party to another and sometimes it is gained by another nation. Kings become slaves and slaves become kings. This is how history records the rise and fall of nations.
Power, authority and luck are never permanent. They flow like water that changes its path when it encounters obstructions, or finds the path of least resistance. During this meandering process, it strikes the edges of land smoothly and sometimes roughly, vanishing that part of land from the scene. Same is the case with power. Power transfers from one hand to another, from one party to another and sometimes it is gained by another nation. Kings become slaves and slaves become kings. This is how history records the rise and fall of nations.
There are many such instances but here I would like to cover the history of the people who probably suffered the most - the Black Americans slaves in America. They are also known as African Americans or Afro-Americans. They are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa. African Americans constitute the second largest racial and ethnic minority in the United States. They are descendants of enslaved blacks of the United States.
In America, slavery prevailed for a long time. The first people to be enslaved by the Spanish and the Portuguese in the West Indies and Latin America were the Native Americans, but the majority of the Native American slaves either revolted or escaped. The resistance of the Native Americans to slavery only increased the demand for Africans to replace them. Africans proved to be profitable labourers. In 1619, the first 20 African slaves were brought to Virginia (America) by a Dutch ship. The Dutch wanted to trade with the colonists by the exchange of slaves for food and supplies. On the other hand, the colonists also wanted the labourers to work for them in settling the new land. The African slaves were very good workers. They helped in settling the land and also in the cultivation of lucrative crops, which increased the demand for more slaves. But the colonists could not enslave them by conquering or kidnapping them, rather they had to make their purchases from the local kings or chiefs. The British Empire helped in this business. Britain became the premier trader in the slavery business from the 17th century onwards and retained this position until 1807. The slaves were transported to all European colonies in America. This trade reached its peak in the 18th century when millions of slaves were transported to America.
The colonists knew the fact that they truly depended on the slaves; therefore, the colonies endorsed slavery into law. The slave trade became a very lucrative business. Proper ships with specialized vessels were built in. The ships moved in a triangle. From the British ports, ships would transport various goods to the western coast of Africa, where they would be exchanged for slaves. The slaves were then brought to the West Indies or to America, where they were traded for agricultural staples for the return voyage back to England. This whole passage was called as The Middle Passage or the Transatlantic slave trade.
Throughout that long journey, the slaves were chained, placed below the deck and were ill-treated. The least space, minimal lighting, stagnant air and poor facilities for the disposal of human waste caused physical as well as mental sickness among the captives. Due to malnutrition and lack of sanitation, many of the slaves became ill and died. The death rate on the Middle Passage was high. For those who survived, a miserable life was waiting in the New World where they were treated as non-humans. They were chattels and were forced to work from morning to night. The Whites were not concerned with their slaves’ health as it was cheaper to buy a new slave than to keep one alive. Some owners allowed their slaves to marry and encouraged them to raise large families but only for their own interest as they used to sell their children. Apart from this, to prevent revolt, Africans having the same language were not placed together on the same plantation. A strict Fugitive Law was also adopted. This law made it easier to recapture runaway slaves than it had been.
Meanwhile the Republican Party, founded in 1854, campaigned to abolish slavery. The party raised voice for the Blacks’ rights who were private property of the Whites; they could not be citizens and could not bring suit in a court against their masters. Their miserable living conditions continued until Emancipation Proclamation.
On Jan. 1, 1863, the formal and definite Emancipation Proclamation was issued. The President, by virtue of his powers declared free all the slaves. Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation, it captured the hearts and imagination of millions of Americans. Moreover, the Proclamation announced the acceptance of black men into the Union Army and Navy, enabling the liberated to become liberators. As a milestone along the road to slavery’s final destruction, the Emancipation Proclamation has assumed a place among the great documents of human freedom. The Black community was given all the basic needs but this strategy also ended in 1877 due to change of government.
Nevertheless, Emancipation Proclamation had freed the Blacks to live where they wanted. Thus, many of them decided to migrate to North in the search of good jobs. The migration was a watershed in the history of African Americans. It lessened their overwhelming concentration in the South, opened up industrial jobs to people who had been mostly farmers, and gave the first significant impetus to their urbanization. By the end of 1919, some 1 million blacks had left the South. The Great Migration, which lasted until 1930, was one of the largest population shifts in the country’s history. 
The Blacks had a dream of equality while migrating but there they were again segregated and ghettoized. They were confined to their ghettos and the segregationist policies became the law of the land. The slavery was brought back but in a new form. They were called sub-humans. They again united to fight for their civil rights. This struggle came forward in the form of Civil Rights Movement that started in the 1950s and continued until 1970s. During this period, many reform movements took place to stop racial discrimination and racism against African Americans. African Americans had fought very hard for their right to be treated as equal citizens in the United States. 
After nearly 100 years since the end of the Civil War, the American people and their government finally ended legal segregation. In the 21st century, all the laws that allowed the separation between white and black Americans no longer existed. The Blacks are a part of the American nation, living a free life with all legal rights. They are no more slaves of the Whites but are equal citizens of United States. Even now, the country is governed by a Black American, Barak Obama, who was inaugurated as president in 2009.
So, power is not static; it remains in continuous flow.
