Enslavement Disrupted the African’s Authentic Culture Essay

There have been many to write about the struggles, misfortunates and traditions of those who were enslaved. There have also been scholars who argued that upon their arrival, the enslaves came to North America as blank slates and were complete submissive to authority. In this ideology, many scholars believed enslaves traditions, customs, folk stories all derived or mimic European culture. This ideology also implies that those who were enslaved lacked any social or structural guidance, religious beliefs, values and heritage. While there are many examples of slave traditions and customs that have similar attributes of the Euro-American culture, there are many elements of their West African culture that remained authentic and in practice when slaves were shipped to North America. These same traditions gave them strength and courage to resistant their oppressor and challenge their current social environment. In Lawrence Levine, Black Culture and Black Consciousness, he provides example of blacks exemplifying agency over their current situation as well as how these customs and traditions where they derived from. This paper will discuss how those enslaved exercised agency through music, spirituality, and folk tales to excerpt their independence and challenge the agreement of the tabula rasa slave and docility within slavery.

This primary source shows historians the first signs of the impact the slave trade will soon have on Africa. The most well known narrative is The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah- Equiano. Olaudah was a slave from present day Nigeria that was kidnapped at a young age and sold into the slave trade along with his older sister. This primary source serves as great importance to historians, for it gives a first hand account of the trade. For example, Equiano describes his memories of the boat to Barbadoes. “”Made ready with fearful noises, and were all put under deck… the stench of the hold while were on the coast was intolerably loathsome.” This quote serves for the purpose of allowing readers to understand the misery and discomfort endured by the African as they traveled to the Americas. The next stage for the slaves includes auction and sale, where they would be sold to an owner. In The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave gives the insight of how a young slave felt to be sold once making it to the Americas. She describes it as, “handled me in the same way that a butcher would a calf or lamb he was about to purchase.” This source allows readers to see how whites treated slaves as “nonhuman” this social view impacted American’s lives until the late 1960s and beyond. The next sets of primary sources of non-African people they describe the slave trade through a “white perspective”. “A Description of the Coasts of North and South Guinea” written

President Lincoln gave the black people hope and this is what they needed. Initially his decisions and actions are to preserve the Union; however, they were the black people’s only hope for freedom. President Lincoln needed the black people as much as they needed him. Southerners prideful thinking led them to believe they are superior to blacks. The South could not function without the labor of the slaves and depended on them heavily for working the fields and running households. The treatment of black slaves is unjust and cruel. Families separated from loved ones, women, and men beaten regularly. Slaves received small rations of food, denied education, and could not travel without a note. There rights completely stripped that left them with little dignity. The day that President Lincoln declared that freeing the slaves was essential in winning the war was a day of celebration! Many slaves responded by fleeing and rushing to enemy lines while for other’s it took months before finding out. Many slave owners withheld this information. The Emancipation Proclamation would ignite a series of events that would change the course of history. This is the beginning of change for our country. Blacks come together and are willing to sacrifice their lives for this cause. They realize that they need to take swift action. If the Confederacy wins the war, it will be the end of their existence.

When I think of the African slave trade, I realize that over 10 million people were removed from that continent in less than 500 years. Some scholars believe it may be as large a number as 20 million. I would like to pose a few questions and attempt to answer them in this collection of writings and opinions. The evidence and historical documents will show some of the economic and social impacts the Slave Trade had on the African continent.

The history books harbor numerous accounts of state-run human oppression. The accounts display that the necessity for labor often influenced the practice of coercion and violence. While reviewing the work of Dr. Delridge, L Hunter in The death of the Negro volume I, 2, and 3 it became clear that a degree of unequal actions molded a form of inferior status that shape the Negro call to freedom songs. To name the weapon with which the colonial United States of America brought about unnecessary sorrow, demands we examine the floor plan of this institution called slavery. The project involves discovering how the African’s ideologies survived under European values in the United States of America. The study shows the coercive practices of the Europeans tenets that ensured the involuntary cooperation of the slave.

The history books harbor numerous accounts of worldwide and state-run human oppression. The accounts display that the want for labor often influenced the practice of coercion and violence. While reviewing the work of Dr. Delridge, L Hunter in The death of the Negro volume I, 2, and 3 it became clear that a degree of unequal actions molded a form of inferior status that shape the Negro call to freedom songs. To name the weapon with which the colonial United States of America brought about unnecessary sorrow, demands examining the floor plan of this institution called slavery. The project involves discovering how the African’s ideologies survived under European values in the United States of America. The study shows the coercive practices of the Europeans tenets that ensured the involuntary cooperation of the slave.

African slaves have been a fast adaptive race from the eighteenth century during the era of slavery through to emancipation.

The history books hold many accounts of oppression on the international and national level. These accounts indicate that the need for labor frequently promoted a practice of distinctive dominance of the least favorite group. To identify the weapon that caused the unnecessary sorrow in the colonial United States of America is to examine the floor plan of this institution called slavery. The project involves discovering how the African’s ideologies survived under European values in the United States of America. The study will display the coercive practices of the Europeans tenets that ensured the involuntary collaboration of the slave. By studying the work of Delridge, L Hunter The death of the Negro. Vol. I, 2, and 3 uncovers a form of inferior status and unequal action.

Melvin Herskovits’ 1941 publication The Myth of the Negro Past argues the survival of the African culture and its substantial influence in the lives and history of Africans in the Americas. Furthermore, Sterling Stuckey argues that not only did the African religion and culture survive the Middle Passage, it became a pivotal part of the African identity in the America’s.1With that in mind the role of African spirituality was important to the planning and execution of slave resistance measures such as the Nat Turner Virginia Raid 1831, Denmark Vessey Revolt 1822, Bahia Revolts 1807-1835, Tacky Revolution 1760, and the Haitian Revolution 1791. The Africans brought with them many traditions to the America’s as well as developed many through syncretism between their beliefs and European ideologies. The importance of spiritualty was henceforth reinforced by Europeans through the enacting of laws and the establishment of codes as machines of control.1Therefore, I argue that slave resistances and subsequent revolts of the Tacky Revolution 1736, Bahia Revolts 1807-1835, Haitian Revolution 1791, Nat Turner Virginia Raid 1831, and Denmark Vessey Revolt 1822 used African spirituality as a factor for resistance. Furthermore, I argue that Europeans took extreme measures to distort and remove African spirituality.

I chose this class because I wanted to know more about Black/African history. As we all know society seem to lack in that department when it comes to teaching about it. Black humanities sounded like a great class to farther increase my knowledge about African and Black people. I really don’t know what my expectation was to be honest. I just tried to go in with an open mind and hope I found something interesting. Also, I hoped that the history was treated with respect. I have experience before when Black/African history was brought up (not often of course) some teachers spoken about the subject with a condescending tones. Anyways, the class was ok. I did feel that the class was taught in a way to not offend the white people in the room. I felt

There was confrontation between religion and culture on the African continent. There is an internal as well as external struggle for the individuals in the story from religion and culture.When considering slavery there had always been slavery of some sort throughout the African country. This would occur when one clan conquered another and took some people as their spoils and to live in enslavement. The culture of the native people is rather ritualistic and traditional. There are certain practices and behaviors that appear to act as

For 300 years, Africa participated in the Atlantic Slave Trade, providing humans in exchange for other goods. During that 300 years, some twelve million Africans were transported to the Americas. This mass, forced migration had many consequences for Africa, in many aspects of its history. In World History classes—both high school and college— these consequences for Africa are usually omitted, and a more Eurocentric view of the Atlantic Slave Trade dominates. Because of this, many are not aware of the impacts of the slave trade on African societies. This paper aims to remedy this, by presenting the major impacts that Trans-Atlantic Slave trade had on the social and political history of Western Africa. By focusing on Western Africa, this

Art is important to every culture, in every country, on every continent. Art is especially important to those who are oppressed in society. This reasoning is true for the culture of the African slaves in the United States from 1830 to 1877 in particular who were forced out of the life they knew, stripped of their names, and told even beaten to forget their heritage. The method to doing this is by examining the works of several enslaved artists from that time in history, and events that happened during their daily lives, surrounding major historic events we study today. Also reading articles, journals, and important historical documents about slaves and slave culture and how life was for them in this time in the United States. Then, one can better understand exactly how essential the different forms of artistic expression were in the lives of the slaves. The right to education and showing their culture through song, and music allowed slaves to pass on their history, morality and their individual stories for all to adhere and learn to tell their story. Therefore this paper will demonstrate art was important to the culture of American slaves from 1830-1877 because it allowed self-expression, taught history and practiced morality through education, song and music.

Slavery as an institution has been implemented in various cultures throughout history, effecting people of various races, ethnicities, and religious affiliations. Few civilizations, however, have been as victimized by the institution of slavery as those found in Africa. Slavery in Africa was typically an institution that varied in importance and necessity based on location, and it was not an economic staple until the 18th century.

The famous historical movie “Roots” represents the colonial Africa during the age of Exploration.As European nations competed with each other to facilitate imperialism across the world, collective societies in Africa lead a simple life with limited contact with foreigners. Tribes in Africa established a community that preserved cultural and traditional values; therefore, they had limited knowledge of European schemes for expansion and corrupt business tactics.Moreover, the tribes in Africa had conflicts with other tribes and thus, encouraged slavery as form of reward for the victorious tribes.Europeans utilized this system in Africa and deceived tribes to benefit themselves during the colonial era; however, European slavery and slavery within Africa was extremely different.