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Slavery, Race, and Power Dynamics in America
Slavery, Race, and Power Dynamics in America
In 1619, Africans from southwestern Africa were brutally captured, thrown onto a Portuguese cargo ship, and ripped away from the only life they knew (Elliott & Hughes, 2019). The few that survived the heinous conditions, stepped foot onto North American soil where their lives of slaves began and would not end for hundreds of years.
This map shows Fort Monroe, Virginia which is where the first Portuguese cargo ship docked in 1619. During this time, Fort Monroe was known as Port Comfort which was in the English colony of Virginia. Here, the captured Africans began their lives as slaves on US territory.
Around this time, the idea of race was socially established to justify the abuse of Black people for economic profit in a capitalist nation (Farrar, 2019). Enslaved men and women were legally the property of white slaveowners which created a power dynamic that subjugated slaves to inhumane violence. Harriet Jacob’s book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, and Angela Davis’s book, Women, Race, and Class both exhibit this power dynamic during slavery.
Angela Davis, American Civil Rights Activist and Author of Women, Race, and Class, leading the US delegation in Berlin, Germany in 1973 (Ivanov, 2012).
Davis and Jacobs’ books suggest that enslaved Black women had more in common with enslaved Black men than they did with white women. During the time of slavery in America, white women experienced the oppression of sexism being subjected to patriarchy, however, enslaved Black women, who experienced their own sexism, could relate to enslaved Black men more because of the extent of racial hatred towards them, the shared experience of bondage, and the commonality of being dehumanized by the white race in America.
Racial Oppression: The Shared Experiences of Enslaved Men & Women
Racial Oppression: The Shared Experiences of Enslaved Men & Women
Only enslaved men and women could understand the shared experience of hatred towards their race that subjected them to be dehumanized as someone’s property. Davis writes “where work was concerned, strength and productivity under the threat of the whip outweighed considerations of sex” (p. 6). Davis is arguing that within enforced labor, the oppression of enslaved women was the same as the oppression of enslaved men. They both shared this overlying fear of being punished for they knew their white slaveowners showed no mercy towards them.
18th-Century Slave Shackles found in the International Slave Museum (Jones, 2016).
American/Black Women and their Fight for Reproductive Justice. (2020).
Even though they shared this similar experience of oppression, gender caused enslaved men and women to also have experiences that were different. Enslaved women were prone to experience sexual assault from their male slaveowners and this is something that most enslaved men could not relate to. Also, Black enslaved women did not have the right to be mothers because their children would automatically become the property of their slaveowner, however, they were expected to be nurturers and mother-like figures to white children (Whatcott, week 11, slide 5). Gender contributed to different experiences; however, enslaved women could empathize with enslaved men for they both could relate to the horror of slavery.
Intersectionality: This Discord between White Women & Enslaved Black Women
Intersectionality: This Discord between White Women & Enslaved Black Women
During the time of slavery, white women experienced sexism because of the patriarchal society they lived in, but Black enslaved women’s oppression intersected with sexism and racism. Under coverture, white women no longer legally existed once they were married which means they had no legal power, however, white women still held human status while enslaved Black women did not. Jacobs writes of her own experiences of slavery including sexual violence and describes,
“She felt that her marriage vows were desecrated…but she had no compassion for the poor victim of her husband’s perfidy. She was incapable of feeling for the condition of shame and misery in which her unfortunate, helpless slave was placed” (p. 41).
“She felt that her marriage vows were desecrated…but she had no compassion for the poor victim of her husband’s perfidy. She was incapable of feeling for the condition of shame and misery in which her unfortunate, helpless slave was placed” (p. 41).
In this quote, Jacobs is speaking on the lack of empathy felt by her slaveowner’s wife. The fact that white women could not even empathize with the sexism enslaved women experienced shows the extent of dehumanization committed by white women. It was difficult for enslaved Black women to see white women as allies because the jealousy felt by white women caused them to be enemies and often, white women would take out their anger on enslaved women. White women’s lack of social power caused them to take advantage of their power over slaves and this is why enslaved Black women could not see white women as allies.
This YouTube video published by the New York Times in 2015, shows personal accounts of racism and sexism of Black women that are still present today.
American Slavery Prevails
American Slavery Prevails
Even hundreds of years after slavery was abolished, the system of slavery continues to impact the Black community in America today. The civil war following the passing of the 13th Amendment is responsible for the abolition of slavery in 1865. The 13th Amendment states that slavery will not exist in America, except for the punishment of a crime, and this is considered the loophole of the 13th Amendment in which slavery can still exist in modern times. Since the time that slavery ended, incarceration numbers have increased with African Americans being the most populated race of 40.2% (DuVernay, 2016). William Jelani Cobb states that “we now have more Black people under criminal supervision than all the slaves back in the 1850’s” (DuVernay, 2016).
This cart shows the discrepancy of Black Americans in US prisons. Find more charts likes this at Prison Policy Initiative.
Both slavery and the prison administration are economic systems in America that made and continue to make a profit for white capitalists. Once they can lower Black American’s status to criminal, then they no longer have the right to vote, they are unable to secure jobs, and are physically locked up which is very similar to the conditions of slavery essentially creating a modern-day form of slavery.
Strength & Resistance of Black Women in America
Strength & Resistance of Black Women in America
Davis claims that Black women had the determination and immense strength to overcome and resist the violence of slavery. Jacobs discusses how she hid in the attic above a storeroom in her grandmother’s house for seven years to escape and resist her life as a slave. This shows the courage she had and the lengths she went to achieve autonomy and freedom. This is just one example of how Black women have historically resisted slavery but there are also women today who continue to resist anti-Black racism. According to the Combahee River Collective Statement of 1977, “There have always been Black women activists – who have shared awareness of how their sexual identity combined with racial identity to make their life situation and the focus of their political struggles unique” (Whatcott, week 11, slide 14).
This slideshow includes Black women activists that have historically resisted hatred and racism towards Black Americans. To name a few: Harriet Tubman, Audre Lorde, Alicia Garza, and Rosa Parks.
Black activists such as Harriet Tubman and Mary Church Terrell to just name a few, throughout history have told their stories to exemplify the obstacles they have gone through. This is a form of resistance for they are attempting to re-write the history that used to only be told through the white man’s perspective. Women like Harriet Jacobs are courageous for opening up her life to the world to show the corruption and truth about this nation and this will always be one of the most powerful forms of resistance.
The Fight Must Continue
The Fight Must Continue
Oppression of the Black race in America started when the first captured Africans stepped foot on North American soil and Black racial oppression in America has not ended since. Throughout history, the rights of Black Americans have come a long way, however, there are still incredible injustices. Slavery ended but, modern-day slavery is disguised by the “justice” system so the fight must continue. The fight for social reform and the fight against institutional racism must prevail. To this day, America is responsible for slavery and Black activism is not going to stop until there are justices and reparations for all Black Americans.
Reparations for Slavery and the Lingering Effects
Reparations for Slavery and the Lingering Effects
Black Americans were given nothing to build a progressive life for themselves following slavery which created a wealth discrepancy between Black and white Americans and this discrepancy has yet to end. Slavery introduced systematic racism within this capitalist nation that is not being nationally addressed because such inequalities continue to benefit wealthy white Americans by ensuring less economic profit for Black Americans. I believe it is our American duty to take responsibility for the inhumane act of slavery by distributing reparations to the Black community to diminish such racial inequalities.
To help achieve more equality for Black Americans, I think we should start by funding for equal resources of education for K-12 to guarantee an equal opportunity for higher education and profitable careers despite the economic status of one’s living conditions. Also, an allotment of money given to Black families to be used to help pay for lower-class monetary struggles such as college, bills, medical expenses, and bail money for unjust sentencing could drastically benefit their life in America. Other than economic reparations, I think systematic reform within the justice system to ensure fair sentencing along with extended training of law enforcement that includes psychological testing to limit racist policemen could directly repair the inequality Black Americans face. I am aware my opinion on possible reparations is limited for I have not had first-hand experienced racial inequalities and could never completely understand what it will take to repair the harm slavery has caused.
Listen to this podcast on SoundCloud for my conclusion and personal insights on Reparations for Slavery and the Lingering Effects.
N'COBRA Website
http://www.ncobraonline.org/about-ncobra/
Citations
Citations
ABOUT NCOBRA - National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations. (2017). http://www.ncobraonline.org/about-ncobra/
American/Black women and their fight for reproductive justice. (2020). Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights Education Fund [online image] https://grandmothersforreproductiverights.org/2020/02/04/word-to-the-wise african-american-black-women-and-their-fight-for-reproductive-justice/
Baltimore, B. (2019). Harriet Tubman underground railroad visitor center [online image]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harriet_Tubman_Underground_Railroad_Visitor_Center_Dorchester_County_38.jpg
BlackPast. (2020). 1977 The Combahee River Collective Statement. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american history/combahee-river-collective-statement-1977/
Brown, K. (2020). Many Social Justice Movements Have Been Started by Black. Women. But History Forgets. Well +Good. https://www.wellandgood.com/black-women-activists/
Citizen University. (2016). Alicia Garza [online image]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alicia_Garza.jpg
Coverture. (2017). Women & the American story. New-York Historical Society Museum & Library https://www.nyhistory.org/sites/default/files/newfiles/cwh-curriculum/Module%201/Resources/Resource%201%20Couverture.pdf
Davis, A. (1983). Women, race & class. Vintage Books.
DuVernay, A. (Director). (2016). 13th on Netflix.
Elliott, M., & Hughes, J. (2019, August 19). A brief history of slavery that you didn't learn in school. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/19/magazine/history-slavery-smithsonian.html
Harriet Jacobs. Historic Edenton State Historic Site. http://www.harrietjacobs.org
Herbes-Sommers, C., Cheng, J., Adelman, L., Smith, L., & Strain, T. (Directors). (2003). Race - The Power of an Illusion[Video file].
Ivanov, Y. (2012). Valentina Tereshkova meeting with Angela Davis [onlineimage] Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RIAN_archive_36716_Valentina_Tereshkova_meeting_with_Angela_Davis.jpg#filelinks
Jacobs, H. (2009). Incidents in the life of a slave girl. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
Jones, A. (2016). 18th-century slave shackles from international slave museum[online image]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:18th-Century_Slave_Shackles_from_Tamale,_Northern_Ghana_-_International_Slavery_Museum_-_Liverpool_-_England_(28144996426).jpg
Kendall, K. (2009). Audre Lorde [online image]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Audre_Lorde.jpg
Prison Policy Initiative. Visualizing the racial disparities in mass incarceration. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2020/07/27/disparities/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAk53-BRD0ARIsAJuNhptMPVhz1_8NPKcOZX1PFbVXCrPVNv63hiplvr10_lZ_bR5lCJUdJDIaAhO0EALw_wcB
TheNewYorkTimes. (2015). A Conversation With Black Women on Race | Op-Docs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-xz4qiUBsw
Ukjent, A. (2020). Rosa Parks [online image]. Store Norske Leksikon. https://snl.no/Rosa_Parks
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