Texas textbook refers to slaves as "workers" in section on immigration in America. Mother posts about it on Facebook, outrage ensues, and publishing company promises to alter passages.

Yes the slaves were just over here on a work program.

A work program that included daily whippings and abuse if they did not work hard enough, and the opportunity to have their loved ones and children sold to other plantation owners so that they would never see them again.

This page was in the a textbook called World Geography published by McGraw-Hill. And it was publicized on Facebook by a Houston mother by the name of Roni Dean-Burren who made this video.

That video went viral, and now, according to Wonkette, McGraw-Hill posted this comment about their racial insensitivity:

We believe we can do better. To communicate these facts more clearly, we will update this caption to describe the arrival of African slaves in the U.S. as a forced migration and emphasize that their work was done as slave labor. These changes will be reflected in the digital version of the program immediately and will be included in the program’s next print run. 

"We believe we can do better." Gee ya think? 

Anyhow I thought this was a good example of the power of social media, and a reminder that even though we might feel that nobody is listening to us, sometimes we can make positive change in this world.