TheChocolateLife::LIVE – Words. Beliefs. Actions. Consequences.

“Words inform beliefs. Beliefs inform Actions. Actions have consequences.”

I deliberately, and ironically, chose to use the words “blacklist” and “whitelist” in my post about creating lists of “ethical” cocoa and chocolate companies. I was aware of the potential that some people would find the terms offensive because of historical usage and understanding of the words in different audiences.

I did hear from some ChocolateLife members and others and so I scheduled this room to open up the discussion and to let everyone know what I have decided to do about it.

If you haven’t already, please take a look at the original post (click on the card below) before the room to see if you can get an understanding of my position – and to form your own, which I hope you will share during the live stream using the chat/comment function in whatever platform you’re watching from.

the blacklist
There are many attempts to generate and maintain “whitelists” of ethical chocolate companies. This is not one of them.

Here’s the presentation I used during the stream:

Links to articles and books I

referenced:

What is modern slavery? - Anti-Slavery International
What is modern slavery and what forms of slavery exist today? Find out where modern slavery happens, the numbers behind it and who is affected.
What is Modern Slavery? - United States Department of State
“Trafficking in persons,” “human trafficking,” and “modern slavery” are used as umbrella terms to refer to both sex trafficking and compelled labor. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-386), as amended (TVPA), and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Pe…
Tony’s Chocolonely finds 1,700 CHILD workers in its supply chain
Chocolate brand Tony’s Chocolonely has revealed some 1,701 child labourers helped make its sweets last year, in spite of its goal to help root out exploitation in chocolate production
A Modern Slavery
by Henry Woodd Nevinson ©1906 now in the public domain. Select quotes below.
“In the midst of all such contradictions, what is to be the real relation of the white races to the black races? That is the ultimate problem of Africa. We need not think it has been settled by a century's noble enthusiasm about the Rights of Man and Equality in the sight of God. Outside a very small and diminishing circle in England and America, phrases of that kind have lost their influence, and for the men who control the destinies of Africa they have no meaning whatever. Neither have they any meaning for the native. He knows perfectly well that the white people do not believe them.” (p12)
“The whole problem is still before us, as urgent and as uncertain as it has ever been. It is not solved. What seemed a solution is already obsolete. The problem will have to be worked through again from the start. Some of the factors have changed a little. Laws and regulations have been altered. New and respectable names have been invented. But the real issue has hardly changed at all.” (p12)
It is cocoa that has created the prosperity. In old days the islands were famous for their coffee, and it is still perhaps the best in Africa. But the trade in coffee sank to less than a half in the ten years, 1891 to 1901, while in that time the cocoa trade increased fourfold - from 3597 tons to 14,914 - and since 1901 the increase has been still more rapid. The islands possess exactly the kind of climate that kills men and makes the cocoa - tree flourish. (p188) [emphasis added]
Strong’s Greek Search:slave
Biblehub - also search for uses in NT, OT, Hebrew, and more.
The American Heritage Dictionary entry: slave
The American Heritage Dictionary entry: slave
Roadmap on Living Income - IDH - the sustainable trade initiative
Disowning Slavery: Gradual Emancipation and “Race” in New England, 1780–1860: Melish, Joanne Pope: 9780801484377: Amazon.com: Books
Disowning Slavery: Gradual Emancipation and Race in New England, 1780–1860 [Melish, Joanne Pope] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Disowning Slavery: Gradual Emancipation and Race in New England, 1780–1860
Amazon affiliate link - your purchase of this book supports TheChocolateLife. “Following the abolition of slavery in New England, white citizens seemed to forget that it had ever existed there. Drawing on a wide array of primary sources―from slaveowners' diaries to children's daybooks to racist broadsides―Joanne Pope Melish reveals not only how northern society changed but how its perceptions changed as well.”

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