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Aug. 31, 2005 This is the first of three columns that will deal with the issues of so-called "slavery": This first part will focus on blacks as prisoners of war rather than as slaves, and the repercussions of forced servitude. Subsequent columns will deal with the issue of reparations—including a response to David Horowitz’s asinine attempt at discrediting the movement. Some might argue that war is a mutually agreed upon condition between sovereign nations, but the U.S. is currently fighting a "war on terror" with attackers who are not assigned to a particular country. While blacks in colonial America may not have been a sovereign nation, being held in bondage was tantamount to a war declaration against us as a people" rather than a country. Slavery was a component of a war waged against blacks, who were kidnapped and brought to this country. Even those who were sold to Europeans by other Africans were already prisoners of war. The battle waged on American soil was one to keep blacks suppressed—period. Thus, so-called slavery was more than forced labor without recompense. Displaced Africans suffered psychological trauma after being ripped from their homeland and families, then being stripped of their language and culture. More important was the forced adaptation to European values. These are similar to elements of dehumanization inflicted upon prisoners of war. Malcolm X compared the plight of those held in bondage in the U.S. to that of Moses' people in Egypt: "Moses’ people had a slave mentality ...The Negro in America is the same way. And if you go back to that time you will see that some of them (Moses' people) believed in him, but many were afraid of the slave master. They didn't believe they could get along without Pharaoh." This is known as "The Stockholm Syndrome", whereas the kidnapped develop an emotional bond to their captors, after being threatened with death, but then aren’t killed. Subsequently, the slave experiences relief that the master has "spared" him, which spawns feelings of gratitude and makes subservience the cornerstone to survival. Author Joyce Moore elaborates on this as it applies to blacks in captivity: "(This) strategy of trying to keep your captor happy in order to stay alive becomes an obsessive identification with the likes and dislikes of the captor which has the result of warping your own psyche in such a way that you come to sympathize with your tormenter." (Joyce Woods, "Getting to the Good Wood", http://www.goodwood.bravepages.com, 2001). The establishment of the slave mentality required "breaking the spirit" of the captives to the point where chains were no longer needed. Many of these captured Africans were indoctrinated with Christian precepts, which encouraged obedience to one’s master. Therefore, these men were slaves in the truest sense of the word; conditioned to not only appease, but to mimic their master. Ezra pound wrote of these individuals, "A slave is one who waits for someone to come and free him." Those in chains were not slaves, but freedom fighters. Such men were determined to escape, or fight to be free. Like POWs, their first rule was to try and escape, as many did. Author LaRue Nedd contends that these blacks did not fit the general definition of "slave". They resisted the efforts of their captors to keep them in bondage. (LaRue Nedd, "Why We Shouldn’t Call Our Foreparents Slaves", 1999). These men often attempted to kill their owners, plotted escapes and organized rebellions. In fact, more than 1,500 such rebellions have been recorded. (Matthew Stelly, "Black Is The Color of Society’s Fears", p. 9). The thought of slave insurrections frightened white Americans, who by this time were outnumbered by slaves, and in some states, by 2-to-1. Further illustrating the fear of whites was their reaction to David Walker's "Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World" (1829). Walker wrote, "The whites want slaves, and want us for their slaves, but some of them will curse the day they ever saw us. As true as the sun ever shone in its meridian splendor, my colour will root some of them out of the very face of the earth. They shall have enough of making slaves of, and butchering, and murdering us in the manner which they have." This lead the Georgia's state legislature to place a $10,000 bounty on his head. Whites, particularly those whom lived along the Atlantic coast, were also fearful of a simultaneous attack from a foreign power. These citizens knew that the U.S. Army was ill-equipped to defend against such a turn of events. An article on the website of the Texas State Historical Association states, "Apprehensive Texas leaders, facing the impending arrival of the forces of Antonio López de Santa Anna, charged their enemies with fomenting a black rebellion in the summer of 1835. The greatest uncertainty centered on slaves along the Brazos who in October reportedly "made an attempt to rise" as part of an elaborate scheme to seize the land...The crisis passed with the Texans' victory, but gangs of runaways participated with Indians and Mexicans in a guerrilla-like warfare for the remainder of the decade." ("Handbook of Texas Online: Slave Insurrections", The Texas State Historical Association). Again, this does not jibe with the definition of "slaves". "Actions by the Texas legislature concluded in 1857, ‘Our slaves are the happiest . . .of human beings on whom the sun shines.’ ("Handbook of Texas Online: Slave Insurrections"). But the myth of the "contented" and "child-like" captive contradicted the reality. Just one year later the Texas legislature passed a measure to repress insurrections and punish those involved in them. As early as 1704 slave patrols were established. (Sally E. Hadden, "Slave Patrols: Law and Violence in Virginia and the Carolinas", Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2001). This lasted until "the post-Reconstruction night terrors of the Ku Klux Klan." (Kendall Clark, "Patrols and Privilege", Monkeyfist.com, March 2002). In 1757 The Georgia State Assembly enacted a law that created slave patrols. Their law was similar to one established earlier in Florida. Thus, the south was literally a police state. Again, if displaced Africans were so content, why was such legislature necessary? Insurrections led by Gabriel Prosser (1800), Denmark Vesey (1822), and Nat Turner (1831) had instilled an element of fear. Adding to that was Toussaint L’ouverture’s victory over the French in Haiti (1801), which proved that "Slaves could be victorious over large European armies, and the American colonists had taught by their example in the American Revolution that violence in the service of freedom was justifiable." (Norman Croombs, "The Black Experience In America", excerpted from www.rit.edu). Prosser’s attack on Richmond, Virginia was the result of several months of secretive planning and organizing. The desired result was to gather guns and powder and get other slaves to join, which would compel whites to negotiate with them. But the plan was delayed by a storm and Prosser was victimized by two traitorous slaves. 22 Years later Vesey organized a group of rebels, only to have his plan foiled by turncoats. Vesey and his cohorts—some 100 men—were arrested, including four whites. Vesey and the other leaders of the group were killed. Just nine years later Turner struck, leading a rebellion that resulted in the deaths of sixty whites in Southampton County, Virginia. Eventually Turner and his cohorts were captured and hanged. After reconstruction, slave patroller laws were repealed, but the same fearful mentality amongst whites still existed. Hadean writes that the controlling of Negroes was left to "Klansmen and policemen." (Hadden, p. 220). Taking all of this into consideration, I contend that the plight of these kidnapped black people wasn’t slavery as much as it was a black fight for freedom. This was met with a counter effort by whites to maintain the status quo. In short, captive blacks were POWs. I further contend that continuing to label blacks as "slaves" while referring to whites in somewhat similar situations as POWs is a linguistic and psychological ploy to further denigrate blacks. Whites argue that blacks have had more than enough time to climb the socio-economic ladder, but would rather whine about being victims. What whites fail to realize is that the effects of this dehumanizing process still impact upon blacks. Or as one writer phrased it, "In a society that began to demonize African Americans almost as long as it first enslaved them, blacks have endured being cast as menacing shadows at the edge of bad dreams." (Richard Lacayo, "Stranger in the Shadows", Time, Nov. 14, 1994, p. 46). Psychologist Omar G. Reid contends that the psychological consequences of our bondage have resulted in intergenerational psychological disturbances. Reid asserts that there are a lot of black men whom, "Can’t understand why they feel so much general anger and nervousness when ‘My life hasn't been too bad’.'' Fellow doctors Larry Higginbottom and Alvin F. Poussaint agree that there is a correlation between black pathologies and slavery, which they call "Post-Traumatic Slavery Disorder". Poussaint asserts in his book "Lay My Burden Down", that "a culture of oppression," impacts upon black people psychologically and physiologically.' Yael Danieli, a clinical psychologist, points out other cases of multi-generational trauma amongst the Native Americans, Holocaust victims and Cambodian genocide victims. She believes politicians are resistant to the idea of multigenerational trauma, "Because it brings up the specter of reparations, and because addressing long-term trauma rarely fits in with short-term political considerations." (Marcella Bombardieri, "Theory links slavery, stress disorder Post Traumatic Slavery Disorder, I'm Not Kidding", The Free Republic, November 2002). Dr. Freddie Parker, head of the Department of History at North Carolina Central University believes that to survive, slaves had to develop coping mechanisms that persist to this day. "In many ways, black people and other people in this country are still oppressed...when slavery came to an end, four million people were just put out there, and there was not this attempt to make it an easy transition from slavery to freedom. And though we talked about getting the right to vote and citizenship; what was absent was an economic infrastructure." (Freddie Parker on, "Black Issues Forum", host: Natalie Bullock Brown, University of North Carolina TV, 2002). It is further argued that had the idea of 40 Acres and a Mule been implemented, blacks would have been able to cultivate and develop their land. Parker postulates, "…the basis of freedom is the ownership of land. And you can have the right to vote; you can have the right to access public accommodations, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense if you don't have a place to live, or if you don't have the means to make a living. So I think one of the most significant failures of reconstruction was the fact that this economic infrastructure was not provided. And I think we are where we are today because of that." Or as Karenga succinctly suggested, "How can you be equal to a man who owns four houses if you live in one of his apartments?" (Maulana Karenga, "The Quotable Karenga", 1969 Saidi Publications). ------------ About the author: Timothy Stelly is the 46-year old author of "Tempest In The Stone" and the soon to be released, "The Malice of Cain". His third novel, "Darker Than Blue" is under consideration for publication. Mr. Stelly currently resides in Pittsburg, California with his three youngest children Dante, Kimberly and Lawrence. Excerpts from The first two books and the first two chapters of his anthology, "Frankenigga--And Other Urban Tales" can be viewed at: stellbread0.tripod.com Email: stellbread@sbcglobal.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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