But Slavery Ended 150 Years Ago
But Slavery Ended 150 Years Ago — or did it? ~ When I begin to speak about the trauma and psychological devastation of African Americans as it relates to slavery, I often hear the rebuttal that illuminates the fact that slavery was legally ended 150 years ago — interpolating the postulation that the generational divide has offered blacks an adequate opportunity to overcome any trauma sustained by their ancestors during slavery. Although this argument completely ignores the wealth of empirical data that clearly supports the fact of generational trauma is a real and prominent condition, regardless of race (Yael Danieli, 1997).
What is interesting is that the majority of research that has been conducted on multigenerational trauma on a large social scale involves the Jews and their generational response to the Holocaust. The Jewish Holocaust lasted approximately 12 ½ years, and yet there is significant pragmatic and empirical evidence that this traumatic experience has produce lingering traumatic effects. American chattel slavery lasted over 300 years, and then it didn’t end after it was legally abolished, but we will address a bit later.
Furthermore, epigenetics, a study in the field of genetics that investigates cellular and physiological phenotypic trait variations that are caused by external or environmental factors that switch certain genes on and off, affecting how cells read genes instead of being caused by changes in DNA sequence (Staff, 2015). In essence, epigenetics refers to certain heritable changes in gene expression — active verses inactive genes — that does not involve any type of underlying change in DNA sequence; producing a change in phenotype without resulting in a change in genotype. More simply stated, epigenetic variation is a natural occurrence; however, research has revealed that environmental influences, including trauma can exacerbate changes — producing negative results, such as increased risk of disease and mental health issues.
I could continue citing numerous studies that underwrite the suggestion that American chattel slavery has played an immense role in the current state of black America; however, I want to focus on investigating a baser reality that does not require any scientific expertise to understand. We have already seen that generational trauma is recognized as scientific fact. So, even if life became absolutely grand for slaves after 1865, if the trauma that they had experienced as slaves was not treated, it would inherently perpetuate itself — manifesting itself in multitudinous ways — including hypervigilance, inferiority complexes, poor self-image, intra-racial hostility, poor decision making, oppressor worship and more. However, the truth is that while slavery was legally abolished in 1865, a study of history reveals that it did not end. There was this practice known as peonage. Peonage was the act of declaring that a person owed a debt, and then requiring that person to work that debt off through labor. This practice remained common in the south after the constitutional abolishment of slavery. Finally, the U.S. Congress outlawed peonage in 1867 (Staff, Slavery by Another Name, 2015).
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The oppression and exploitation of blacks were far from over, next was convict leasing. Convict leasing was a practice in which penal institutions leased out prison labor to private corporations, including plantation owners and corporations such as the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company. Convict leasing was the predecessor to the modern Private Prison Industrial Complex (Unknown, 2015). Convict leasing was followed by slave codes and Jim Crow segregation, which used terror tactics, such as lynching, burning and castrating blacks, as control mechanisms to keep blacks in check. Even when blacks were within their legal rights, they rarely challenged whites because of fear of retaliation. Still today, the older generation will rarely challenge the power structure. We see it when older black mothers forgive the white killers of their sons before the funeral has even taken place. This particular act can be traced back to slavery when mothers and wives of black men would have to immediately convince their white masters and overseers that they held no ill will for the killing of their male loved one. This is the perpetuation of trauma.
Frantz Fanon, in Black Skin, White Mask, goes to great lengths to address the multitudinous emotional and psychological impediments created by hostile subjugation.
But Slavery Ended 150 Years Ago
So, let’s be clear here. Nothing has changed. The black man and woman are still being traumatized in a multiplicity of ways. Not only is there proof of generational trauma, but blacks, as a collective, are still being traumatized.
What we must be careful of is not allowing this system to use those who have, at some level, escaped or circumvented its pernicious machinations, to present the image that the playing field has been leveled. I attempt to make it clear that as long as I remain the anomaly or exception, we still have a long way to go. We cannot allow the exceptional accomplishment of a few to write the narrative of the whole. What the exception does is present the possibility of what can be done, even against the odds, but it does not alleviate the odds. When there is overwhelming evidence that a black man with a Bachelor’s degree is less likely to be hired for a position with a company than a white man with less than a high school education, we are still fighting an uphill battle. When two separate university studies reveal that applications with names that appear to belong to blacks are completely overlooked, we have a long way to go.
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When the statistics reveal that a black man is 4 times more likely to be stopped and arrested for drug possession than his white counterpart, even if he is not guilty, despite the fact that the white counterpart is three times more likely to actually have drugs on them, we still have a way to go. When a story breaks that uncovers a plot where a group of officers in Alabama have framed black men for drug possession for more than 20 years without detection or interruption, there is a long way to go. We don’t even have to examine biased laws and cultural criminalization.
Am I suggesting that we are doomed? Absolutely not. We are actually on the cusp of victory, but victory can only be obtained if we are honest about the obstacles we are facing. To present the idea that we have the same opportunities as everyone else is inaccurate and unfair. Have I succeeded in accomplishing some immensely exceptional things in my life? Certainly, but I would be doing my people a disservice by telling them that I did not meet challenges that were placed in front of me solely based on the color of my skin. I would be lying if I did not tell them that I had to be three times better than any non-black person I was competing against. Did that stop me? No, but it might have, if I had not already been warned that the deck was stacked.
I have chosen not to bow down to the idea of white supremacy, but I am keenly cognizant of its existence, and I have spent countless hours and years studying it for one purpose — to destroy it. I am not under the illusion that it does not exist. I refuse to ignore the work of those great warriors that came before me, such as Neely Fuller Jr., Dr. Na’im Akbar, Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, Khalid Muhammad, Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and more, as they exposed this nefarious system of subjugation and control. I decided to step onto the battlefield and make my presence felt. I decided to take on the challenge of completely dismantling a system that has wreaked absolute havoc on my people. The way that I have chosen to do that is through informing and empowering my people to stand up for themselves — to stop begging the power structure for approbation and acceptance. I challenge my people to write their own story, how they choose to tell it. I challenge my people to stop asking for permission to be exceptional. I demand that my people think laterally and critically about every issue — leaving the proverbial box behind.
I am insisting that my people abandon the need to assimilate into the white system, and instead, create their own system, including economics, education, business, entertainment and even sports. While I believe in dual citizenship, especially as a geopolitical strategy, I do not advocate running away from a country that was built on the sweat and blood of my ancestors. I say that we stay and fight for what rightly belongs to us. We have asked and begged long enough, now it is time to fight for it, and may the best man win! ~ Rick Wallace, Ph.D., Psy.D.
Bibliography
Staff, E. (2015). Epigenetics: Fundamentals. What is Epigenetics, 1.
Staff, E. (2015). Slavery by Another Name. PBS Houston Public Media.
Unknown. (2015). Convict Leasing System. Digital History.
Yael Danieli, P. (1997). International Handbook of Multigenerational Legacies of Trauma. The National Center for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, 1.