Besides being the workhorses of a growing young nation, African slaves brought with them their music, art, culture, and food. All modern music can be traced back to roots in slavery and Africa: country, rock, jazz, and especially hip hop. The influences of African artistic expression and shared culture can easily be seen, but what is often looked over are the not so easily recognizable economic influences of African slaves.

(Updated below)

I just read something that has verily shocked and outraged me. Via Raw Story - Workers told to shape up or pay up:

"Looking for new ways to trim the fat and boost workers' health, some employers are starting to make overweight employees pay if they don't slim down. Others, citing growing medical costs tied to obesity, are offering fit workers lucrative incentives that shave thousands of dollars a year off health care premiums."

At the last, the companies and corporations are now flatly coming out, unafraid and unfettered, to proclaim their intent of actually controlling your lives as they see fit.

Marks, Mississippi. Marianna Arkansas. Memphis Tennessee. These are the first stops for John Edwards on a special journey that begins July 16 in New Orleans, goes up the Mississippi, across to the Rust Belt of the upper Ohio Valley states and ends in Appalachia. John Edwards is highlighting poverty in this country: The Road to One America Tour.

What does China and John Lennon have in common, you may ask. Not much. But if he were alive today he would be doing his outmost to point the finger at China, its slave labor practices and its huge financial involvement in Sudan.

Recently Chinese officials have raided Hongtong Shanxi an area of Northern China and rescued almost 500 workers from slavery type conditions. The workers were forced to work in brick kilns, iron mines and coal mines. Some 29 of the workers were children and some were mentally disabled.