Freedom Isn’t Free: Are You Prepared to Pay the Price?

Written By: Charron Monaye

“And that’s the best part, George, being free. Can’t nothing be better than that.”

Those words from the television series Roots carry a meaning far beyond the moment they were spoken. They force us to confront a question that is uncomfortable, personal, and necessary:

If freedom had a price tag attached to it, could you afford it?

In episode 5, Chicken George was a talented and successful cockfighter who earned a living unlike many enslaved people of his time. Under certain circumstances, freedom could be purchased. With a willing “massa” and enough money, a person could buy a document known as a bill of sale. George had the ability to earn money, and he enjoyed the reward of his success. He bought gifts for his wife, Matilda, and his mother, Kizzy. He dressed well, embraced the lifestyle of a “sporting man,” and created a life that reflected pride, comfort, and achievement.

And who could blame him?

After a lifetime of being denied basic freedoms, experiencing dignity and the ability to provide for loved ones felt like a victory. The clothes, celebrations, and comforts represented something deeper: the feeling that he had mattered.

But comfort and freedom are not the same.

That lesson became clear when George reunited with his old friend, Marcellus. Unlike George, Marcellus had sacrificed in the present to secure his future. He saved his money, purchased his freedom, and held a bill of sale that gave him something priceless: the ability to control his own destiny. When George learned that Marcellus had saved more than $2,000 to buy his freedom, he was forced to confront a difficult truth. While he had been using his earnings to enjoy life, his friend had been using his earnings to change his life. The difference…