English Literature Ronnie N. Sidney Paper 1 Summer 2002 The Slave Mentality When I decided to choose this topic, a famous quote came to my mind that said, "The most potent weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed." America's two-hundred odd years of slavery has conditioned a new breed of Negro, known as the African American. A breed of Negro that has no knowledge of his native origins or religion, carries his white ancestral surname and a century after slavery is still burdened its mental scares. A mentality that originated from our black ancestors by the compliance and control techniques used by white slave owners. A mentality in which the psychologist B.F. Skinner said is "true of the exploited worker, too- and for the same reason. They have both been kept in their places, not by external force, but much more subtly by belief implanted within their skins. It sometimes an almost hopeless task to take the shackles off their souls." (1) The tools that whites used implant those beliefs into our genetic makeup in order to domesticate us, has yet to become suppressed. It is the past experiences of poor family structure, privilege, lack of education, western influence and violence that has shaped the behavior of today's and yesterdays black folk. In order to understand the present problems with broken homes and lost identity in the African American community, you must first understand their sources. During slavery, slaves had no control over their children and relationships. Accounts of slave children being separated at birth were put into perspective when Frederick Douglas said it was done to "hinder the development of the child's affection towards its mother, and to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for the child." The ancient divide and conquer technique had to have a tremendous psychological effect on the black family. It was also common for slave masters to have sex and impregnate their slaves without their consent. Also what Jacobs call the "tangled skiens of genealogies in slavery!", has today's African American confused of his or her genetic makeup. The rapes and sexual practices by slave owners to black women defaced their self image and destroyed their self respect. The masters jealous control over the his women slaves created tension in the lives of men. Marriage was illegal for slaves even if it was to a free men. Besides, even if the women and free man were to marry, their child would "follow the condition of their mother" and thus be enslaved. The natural rights of black males were remitted by whites, and its vacancy destroyed their since of manhood and role in the family. Hip Hop has picked up where slavery left of with its glamorization of premarital sex, single parents, and the disrespecting of females. Abortions, STD propaganda, and homosexuality through its showcase on t.v. has become a modern way to control the population in minority communities. Sometimes I find myself wondering how my life would be in Africa. All of its countries great customs, beautiful women and magical landscape. Western influence has since ravished Africa's natural resources and left the country in bitter turmoil. The first export America sought from Africa was her own people. The slave ship which herded blacks from different regions and tongues, was our first step into Americanization. The Americanization process involved learning a new language, adapting to a new culture and believing in a new God. Phyllis Wheatley said in her poem, "On Being Brought from Africa to America" that it "Twas mercy brought me from my pagan land," i'm thinking more on the lines of cultivation, servantship and profit. How could she say that when slaves weren't allowed to marry, become christened, read, write or even look in a white persons face for that matter. Whites were said to use religion to control us because of its forgive and forget philosophies. Equiano spoke about his admiration for the western ways when he says, "I no longer looked upon them as spirits, but as men superior to us; and therefore I had the stronger desire to resemble them, to imbibe their spirit, and imitate their manners." Early in life you are taught that the European way is the superior way of life. Their flaunting of large estates, Harvard educations, expensive cars and foreign clothes is enough to make anyone desire to be them. Many of our women try mold their appearance into that of the ideal white lady with their straightening of hair, colored contacts and nose and lip jobs. The media also feeds us thousands upon thousands of images of black men with white wives, Rolex watches and humongous homes. Everything that we believe is beautiful or extravagant has been implanted into our head by the prototypical images being displayed by the American media. The life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of the African American mirrors that of a barrel of crabs, and has fragmented our culture into a sink or swim society. During my reading of Jacobs and Douglas's narratives, I find them using many references to the animal like treatment of slaves. Whites prized many of their animals over their slaves and auctioned each side by side. In Frederick Douglas's narrative, the depiction of the feeding habits of children mimic that of pigs when he says, "He that ate fastest got most; he that was strongest secured the best place' and few left the trough satisfied." He also describes the allotment of food in which each slave received monthly and it reminds me of the present social services departments. Each device is used to create total dependency, rather it be a slave to slave owner or welfare recipient to social worker. By keeping blacks on welfare, the system is keeping blacks out of white neighborhoods and into poverty. Hey, somebody has to work at Mcdonalds and sell drugs to keep the economy spinning and keep the rich getting richer. The good Negroes who today have freedom but are totally dependent on the government, are contrasted to the bad Negroes who are confined to jail bars. Those are the Negro's who slave owners called "unmanageable" but today are just called "non-rehabilitative." Slaves were said to have to "stand, listen and tremble" at the voice of a slave owner. Today lawyers, police officers and government officials use this to strike fear in the hearts of young black Americans. Many black males consider themselves "political prisoners" because of their acts at defying the "system". But many end up dead just like Demby in Douglas's narrative. Demby was the slave who refused to comply with his master after numerous warnings and was later shot in his head. The overseer who shot him got off scot free like he was wit the NYPD. His excuse for shooting him was that, " He was setting a dangerous example for other slaves, -one which, if suffered to pass without some such demonstration on his part, would finally lead to the total subversion of all rule and order upon the plantation... other slaves would copy by example; the result of which would be, the freedom of slaves, and the enslavement of whites." The fear that whites have of minorities overthrowing their tyrannous ways, has them pedaling less money into inner city public schools, building jails before they can be filled and keeping us dependent on them in poverty. Today's parole and bonds parallel fugitive slave laws that binds a person to his or her state without consent from the jurisdiction. Industry's are now creating billion dollar businesses from the slave labor produced by inmates. Jails also like slavery employee overseers to watch the behavior of the helpless inmates who have no way to speak out against any injustices. Once the inmate has been released from his shackles, he is released into society with no amendment rights and little hope for the future. Since blacks and other minorities make up well over 50% of the penial system, its enforcement of slave tactics to control minds and body's of the prisoners is not shocking. Education was used by slave owners to oppress the slaves and turn them into mindless drones. Today, education has become institutionalized in order to rift out the weak and keep the power in the hands of the few. During school, the African American child is forced to consume countless chapters of European history and a few here and there about civil rights. No wonder why the minority drop out rate is so high, they know nothing about their past and their ancestors struggle to achieve equality. Most people now only look at high school and college as ways to get higher paying jobs and not as ways to increase their learning. The "Athletically gifted" or "Privileged" are given scholarships while the average African American child has to depend on financial aid and or join a branch of the military. Many of us are presented very few options beside those that call for enslavement by the government. Frederick Douglas's narrative gives us an idea of the power of education during his encounter with his slave owner. His slave owner said that education would "unfit him to be a slave: and he will become unmanageable, and of no value to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good, but a great deal harm. It would make him discontented and unhappy." His master recognized his most important weapon of oppression could led to an upheaval among the slaves if in the wrong hands. After Douglas's dormant mind began to awaken, he started to envy the "Negroes for their stupidity". A stupidity today that has led to the nonchalant attitude and kept the slave mentality in tact. A mentality that has us neglecting education about OUR history, governmental affairs and the environment, only to have it replaced by the "get money" attitude that fuels our economy and keeps the US as a world power. The American government has pacified its people and enthraled them with entertainment (in which 90% of what you see is controlled by 10% of the media outlets) in order to satisfy the interest of those with money and power. So it is no wonder why our American children's History scores are at an all time low and our country is known as one of the dumbest industrialized countries in the world. I have already outlined a few of the control and compliance techniques used by slave owners to control there slaves such as prison, education and family. But in order for you to understand the slave mentality, you must first understand the minor facts which underlay it. As Jacobs said in her narrative that slave owners "claimed a right to rule me, body and soul." With control like that, no wonder why 150 years later many of us still don't have a mind of our own. During Douglas's narrative, he describes the enthusiastic feelings of slaves to get to visit the big house. The slave owner used the "privilege" as a way to gain obedience and to seem as if they were gracious hopes. Douglas said that only the "smartest and most trusty fellow was called," which created a sense of nepotism amongst the slaves. As slaves journeyed to the house, they would sing songs of joy. Those acts by slaves were said by Douglas to show the "dehumanizing character of slavery." Slaves were often time asked on their opinion of the slave master by other slaves, masters or undercover spies. If the slave told the truth and said his master wasn't treating him good, he was beaten or removed from the plantation. The Plantation they were threatened with, was often deemed as the worst place for any slave in America. So, many slaves conditioned themselves to speak highly of their master no matter who asked. The speaking highly of the slave master created a false belief in the slaves mind that his master was the best, which wasn't the case most of the time. Slaves would even fight slaves from other plantations because of arguments that ensued from bragging on who's slave owner was the best, because a "poor man's slave was deemed a disgrace indeed". Every time I read that, I find myself thinking of how inner city youth today fight and sometimes kill over which block they live on.They forget that they inhabit the poorest part of the city and their building and block is owned by the government. Douglas then goes on to talk about how his slave owner used tar on the fence to deter slaves from stealing in his garden. Douglas quoted that the slaves feared the tar as much as their punishment for stealing because it a negative reinforcement effect which kept the slaves in line (If I steal, I get punished I don't want steal because I don't want to get punished ). The gardens beauty signified the wonder of freedom to the slave, who's attempts at attaining were spoiled by the white man. The slave owner also used the black chief gardener to punish the slaves and it was used to create ambivalence toward him instead of the slave owner. But it was Frederick Douglas's defiance of his slave owner which showed the mental and physical aggressiveness of the black man. It is that same aggressiveness that whites are fearful of and control by jails, religion and brainwashing. We have been living with this mentality and sense of freedom since the end of slavery. Today the government gives us welfare, public housing and drugs as means of control and prison to force us to comply. That statement echos an exert from of B.F. Skinners Walden Two which says, "The threat of pain. It's a primitive (here we go with the monkey remarks) principle of control (Slavery and media). So long as the fence is electrified (poverty, poor schooling), we have no trouble-provided the needs of the sheep are satisfied (drugs, welfare, housing, entertainment). But if we relent, trouble is bound to arise sooner or later." Then he ends it by saying, "Nothing short of an insurmountable fence or frequent punishment will control the exploited." (1) That is why school systems tend to cater to "special" kids because they know that knowledge is power and that power oppresses. African descendants are some of the most exploited people on the face of this earth. We have been stripped of our families, natural resources, religion, motivation and hope. The mentality that was conditioned into the minds of our ancestors and carried on by their children needs to be suppressed. It is one that needs to be replaced by one of little influence and independent. We also need to use our physical aggressiveness and sense of adopted hope to strengthen our minds. Slavery was an important part of history that must always remember, but it is mentality is one in which we have to forget.