‘Breaking the Chains of Psychological Slavery,’ by Na'im Akbar, discusses the effect American slavery continues to have on Africans in America. Akbar determines where the history of our ancestors in bondage has caused “persisting problems” that affect us today. The ghost of the plantation that has haunted the Black community since the abolition of physical slavery has constructed itself in the form of psychological slavery, which impacts all areas of life of the African in America.
Due to the events and treatment at the time of slavery, there has been a lasting effect on the lives of every descendant of the men and women in bondage. This lasting effect is what Akbar labels as the ghost of the plantation. The ghost of the plantation is the …show more content…
Psychological slavery is a type of post-traumatic stress syndrome, that can be found throughout generations as a pattern of behaviors and experiences in our communities.
In this chapter, Akbar discusses the many ways Black people are still haunted by the ghost of the plantation. One major example of how psychological slavery that remains prevalent in the Black community is the sense personal inferiority. The perception of collective inferiority as Black people can be directly correlated to our time as slaves. In order for masters to keep Africans as slaves, they would continuously humiliate them in an attempt to dehumanize and strip them of their self-respect. Slave masters would engage in acts such as “public beatings, parading them on slave blocks unclothed, and inspecting them as though they were cattle.” This constant onslaught of degradation caused a sense of inferiority that has continued on in the lives of many Black people today. Many “people of color” walk around with the belief …show more content…
The separation between Black people originated during enslavement as a purposeful effort to divide one another. The slave owners believed it would be easier to control a community divided, than one that works together. In order to create this separation, masters would pick up on small differences within a group of slaves, like hue, and give one group slightly better working conditions. This was the original sin which created the house/field slave dichotomy. This division instilled in our community by the white men who sought to control and destroy us has sadly found its way throughout the generations. But instead of this division controlled by slave masters, we instill these “differences” in our own communities. Whether it is differences in complexion, or socioeconomic status, or which Greek organization you belong to, we as Black people have continued the trend of judgment due to “differences” one portion of the black community may have over the other. Division and separation has always been a tactic
Due to the events and treatment at the time of slavery, there has been a lasting effect on the lives of every descendant of the men and women in bondage. This lasting effect is what Akbar labels as the ghost of the plantation. The ghost of the plantation is the …show more content…
Psychological slavery is a type of post-traumatic stress syndrome, that can be found throughout generations as a pattern of behaviors and experiences in our communities.
In this chapter, Akbar discusses the many ways Black people are still haunted by the ghost of the plantation. One major example of how psychological slavery that remains prevalent in the Black community is the sense personal inferiority. The perception of collective inferiority as Black people can be directly correlated to our time as slaves. In order for masters to keep Africans as slaves, they would continuously humiliate them in an attempt to dehumanize and strip them of their self-respect. Slave masters would engage in acts such as “public beatings, parading them on slave blocks unclothed, and inspecting them as though they were cattle.” This constant onslaught of degradation caused a sense of inferiority that has continued on in the lives of many Black people today. Many “people of color” walk around with the belief …show more content…
The separation between Black people originated during enslavement as a purposeful effort to divide one another. The slave owners believed it would be easier to control a community divided, than one that works together. In order to create this separation, masters would pick up on small differences within a group of slaves, like hue, and give one group slightly better working conditions. This was the original sin which created the house/field slave dichotomy. This division instilled in our community by the white men who sought to control and destroy us has sadly found its way throughout the generations. But instead of this division controlled by slave masters, we instill these “differences” in our own communities. Whether it is differences in complexion, or socioeconomic status, or which Greek organization you belong to, we as Black people have continued the trend of judgment due to “differences” one portion of the black community may have over the other. Division and separation has always been a tactic