Subjugation Of African Americans Essay

Subjugation of African Americans Africans were enslaved by European-Americans in the beginning of seventeenth century. European-Americans captured Africans and brought them to America to make Africans their slaves. The masters were getting benefits and earning money by putting the slaves to work for them, While the slaves were separated from their relations and the only way to survive was to accept slavery. Though going to extra ordinary lengths to keep Negros oppressed, White-Americans considered African-Americans separate and unequal for centuries. African-Americans were being oppressed by European-Americans in three forms: Marginalization, powerlessness and violence. First of all, the beginning of oppression faced by African-Americans …show more content…
Powerlessness breeds a culture of silence. For example, African-American slavery in the U.S provides a prime example that slaves were even banned from talking to one another about horrible situations that they were facing. Most of them did not have the words to even share their thoughts and feelings. “The other stage of silence that occurs is indoctrination. At this stage, the oppressed actually believe that they are ‘naturally inferior’ to the ruling class. It was just like that it is their daily routine” (Young 2). Accordingly, Brazilian educational philosopher Paulo Friere, believes that powerlessness is the strongest form of oppression because it allows people to oppress themselves and others. It is easiest to explain by making a connection to Harriet Tubman, one famous freed African-American runaway slave and social reformer. Tubman states, “I would have free thousands more, if they had known that they were slaves” (Young …show more content…
Violence is the worst a negative physical form of oppression. Certain groups of people live to spread the fear among their victims; the oppressors performed sudden attacks on the properties and lives of slaves on purpose. Africans were kidnapped in order to bring them to America. They were tortured mentally and physically, and they were not supposed to say “No”. Slave traders raped the African-American women. According to Frederic Douglass “Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforce, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe ”. In this quotation Frederic Douglas says that slave owners denied slaves basic rights. They are being degraded. Slave owner wants to keep slaves under their thumb. There was a complete ignorance of the presence of slaves feeling. They were not getting paid for their work and so all these parts relates to violent. “Slave owners in the United States sought to completely subjugate their slaves physically, mentally and spiritually through brutality and demeaning acts” (Sullivan