people, what i didn t understand until i started taking this path back into history is that there very much was another option on the table, that is, black people not being here at all. black people being recolonized and leaving for africa or caribbean or some other part of a yet-determined united states. the fact that not just slaves were free but that the slaves remained here had incredible consequences for the country. we can talk about the obvious good when we think about the freedom struggles of various different groups. when we think about the current marriage equality, it dates back to the civil rights movement which itself dates back to the civil war. one of the most stunning things i came across in my very recent study was when you start studying the women s rights movements and you see how many of those folks started out as abolitionists. when you hear sarah gremky saying by looking into the rights of slaves, i gained deeper insights into my own rights as a woman. t