Romo, Jennifer

Enslaved black women suffered more than one could ever possibly imagine, they all share many horrific experiences of violence, forced labor, and much more. Enslaved black men were also subjected to the same violence and harsh labor that black women experienced. While white women did not have many rights and seized to only exist for their husbands, they had the right to converture (a husband would make all the decisions for his wife, and she would depend on him) which was idealized by white women instead of being a slave and being considered property that was only used for profit/labor and treated with brutal violence. Enslaved black women had more in common with black men than they did with white women, they both went through hell and were treated like dirt for profit and what best suited their needs, and most importantly they were not considered to be real human beings nor treated like ones.

Black women had a whole different experience of oppression than white women in America. White women were covered under coverture and unlike black women, they were allowed to get married and have their identities controlled by their husbands. Although white women could not legally do many things like owning property, it became ideal for them to only work at home, be good wives, and take care of their husband’s needs because doing those things were traits of a “real woman”. On the other hand, black women were not allowed to get married, have families, or be housewives, their role was to be slaves who performed intensive labor work so they were never considered to be “real women”. They were not seen as weak as opposed to white women and were not legal people, they were their slaveowner’s property and were reminded of their status by sexual violence from their slaveowner. Enslaved black women also had to take care of white families and are assumed to be nurturers of white people, and their reproductiveness was only valued so they could produce more slaves. It might have been difficult for white women and black women to see each other as allies because they lived two completely different experiences. White women depended on black women for domestic labor and believed that they were biologically superior to black women, this may have led them to believe that the white women were the only ones that deserved equal rights. White women were fighting for gender equality, while black women were fighting against racism and gender inequality.

No matter how much black women suffered, that did not stop them from resisting slavery. They resisted slavery by escaping from their slave owners, defending themselves against violence, participating in sabotage, and teaching themselves how to read and write. In Harriet Jacobs’s novel “The Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”, she resists slavery and sexual harassment by saying no to sexual advances, beginning an illicit affair with a white male, and hiding in an attic for seven years before escaping to the North. Hiding in an attic for seven years demonstrates how committed Jacobs was to not letting anyone profit off of her labor/reproduction and defending her body from sexual violence. Also, Jacobs releasing her novel, in general, was an act of resistance because it displays that slaves were educating themselves despite it being illegal and that she and many others were resisting domestic violence despite being labeled as “property”.

Both black women and black men shared many of the same experiences of being slaves. Violence was used to discipline both genders and to control them against their will, they both completed difficult labor, and were all considered and treated as property. Black women were not made to feel as if they were a true woman because they were not allowed to have families nor stay at home, and were degraded through sexual violence. Meanwhile, black men did not feel as if they were real men because they could not converge nor own property like white males. Both genders were not seen as human beings, their job was to do as their slave masters pleased.

The system of slavery continues to impact black communities to this day in many ways. One way the system of slavery affects black people to this day is through the lack of wealth that black people own and lasting ideas of racism. In the 1619 podcast, it is discussed that the U.S. became the wealthy nation that it is because of the source of cotton, with slaves being the ones who were used for labor for the reproduction of cotton. Many slaves were needed for the demand for cotton, and as a result, many were exploited. Due to the exploitation of black people, the U.S. economy was built on brutality which explains the lasting racism of black people. The lasting racism has led to black people being the race with the highest amount of inmates in jail and has led to them getting discriminated against in the workforce and in general since they are believed to be “inferior” compared to white people. The culture in American capitalism was extremely brutal towards enslaved individuals from the very beginning. Now white people feel entitled to power because they are the ones who started capitalism and wealth through brutality. White people also benefit from the wealth that their ancestors built through slavery, while black people have no such advantage and lack financial stability because their ancestors were the ones building the nation’s wealth without gaining anything in return and built their life from absolutely nothing once they were free.

In conclusion, both enslaved men and women experienced many traumatic events, and to this day African Americans go through hardships every day that resulted from the racism and brutality that their ancestors faced. White women did not have many rights because of their gender but they never experienced racism, they were not degraded nor nearly worked to death and their people were not being exploited and taken from their own country by force to become slaves. Despite the sexual violence enslaved women had to deal with and the tough labor they worked, they never stopped fighting. They educated themselves, fought back, escaped, and educated the public by sharing their stories about their unique experiences. African Americans, remain strong to this day despite all of the injustice they still go through that resulted from slavery and they remain fighting for equality, they will not give up fighting until they see true change in our society.

We need Reparations for Black Americans

I genuinely believe that nothing can ever wholly repair the harm of U.S slavery, however, there are reparations the U.S and its citizens need to make to help repair some of the damage that has been done. I am convinced that the government which includes the President and Congress need to apologize for the country ever having slavery in the first place, and for the harm, it caused their descendants to this day. Many African Americans suffer from psychological problems because of the aftermath slavery has created, and something like an apology can help them heal. They may not accept the apology, but that is up for them to decide because they are the ones who live with the pain every day. The U.S. in my opinion also needs to do something to financially support African Americans who have had a disadvantage economically and whose ancestors helped the U.S. make a profit from their labor. Since the U.S began its wealth with the help of slave labor, they can afford to give them a check, a free college education, free health-care insurance, etc.

From what I’m aware of my family has never benefitted from slavery, and even though that is the case I still have a personal role in reparations. This includes educating myself on the history of slavery (the true brutality of slavery I didn’t learn in school) and listening to the stories and concerns of individuals who have been harmed and suffer from consequences that were created by slavery even to this day. I want them to know that I completely acknowledge their traumatic history and how sorry I am for it and that I am on their side, I wish to reassure them that I am an ally of theirs. Some ways that I plan on proving myself as an ally includes involving myself in campaigns that promote benefits to those that have been negatively impacted by slavery, signing petitions, participating in protests, educating ignorant people about the racism that came from slavery, and calling them out on their ignorance, and by asking African Americans who are trying to make a difference in their community for ways that I can help spread awareness and letting them know that I am always there for them to help in any way possible that I can. Personally, I cannot imagine the pain the descendants of slaves go through every day, but I do know that if there is a way I can help make things just even a little better, I am there for them to do the right thing.

"Justice requires not only the ceasing and desisting of injustice but also requires either punishment or reparation for injuries and damages inflicted for prior wrongdoing. The essence of justice is the redistribution of gains earned through the perpetration of injustice. If restitution is not made and reparations not instituted to compensate for prior injustices, those injustices are in effect rewarded. And the benefits such rewards conferred on the perpetrators of injustice will continue to "draw interest," to be reinvested, and to be passed on to their children, who will use their inherited advantages to continue to exploit the children of the victims of the injustices of their ancestors. Consequently, injustice and inequality will be maintained across the generations as will their deleterious social, economic, and political outcomes.”

― Amos Wilson